Youth and Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Youth and Education

Cllr Gearoid Murphy, Dr. Rory O Donnell, Michael Moynihan TD, Minister for Education Norma Foley, Maura Walsh CEO of IRD Duhallow, along with Board Members; Anne Maria Bourke and Michael Twohig at the launch of the Youth Needs Analysis Report.

carry out CPR and deal with choking. The class was practical, with lots of fun and the young people went away with the confidence in dealing with accidents if necessary.

Apprenticeship Preparation Course

The Apprenticeship Preparation Course was delivered online and gave young people everything they need to succeed at the selection tests and interviews used in a variety of apprenticeship competitions like the ESB, Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus, Aer Lingus, Altantice Aviation Group, eir etc. Young people gained transferable skills and interview skills that they can use for any job application. After completion of the course participants have access to an e-learning platform for 12 months where they can continue to practice for the apprenticeship competitions.

Webinar: Supporting Children with Dyslexia At Second Level

Many parents of students with dyslexia struggle to know how to support the student at second level as the challenges are different to those experienced at primary level and the present Covid crisis has exacerbated this. This Webinar gave practical help and advice to parents of second level students and also parents of 5th and 6th class children. The topics addressed included: how dyslexia affects the student at second level, key educational choices such as subject choice, language exemptions etc., resources such as useful websites, and ways to support the student in the following areas such as organisation, note taking, memory and learning, reading, writing, spelling and vocabulary.

Launch of Youth Feasibility Study

The Youth feasibility Study, was funded through LEADER and allowed IRD Duhallow to commission the GESERA Institute of Action, to carry out a comprehensive needs analysis of young people aged 16-35 across the Duhallow and Lee Valley areas. IRD Duhallow was delighted to welcome Minister for Education Norma Foley in July 2021 to officially launch this extensive and in-depth report with Dr Rory O Donnell (who wrote the foreword), Dr Brendan O Keeffe, Maura Walsh and Anne Marie Bourke also presenting the report and it’ s findings. This research represents one of the most extensive and in-depth studies undertaken among young people in rural Ireland.

Circus Workshops

IRD Duhallow was successful in an application to Cork County Council Arts Grant and received part funding for Circus Skills Workshops. IRD Duhallow ’ s Afterschools and STRIVE programme participated in 6 weeks of Circus Skills Workshops from two Cork circus companiesAlchemy Arts and the Circus Factory. The workshops opened children ' s and young adult’ s minds to very different art forms to what is normally on offer locally. In rural Duhallow often GAA is the only social outlet for many of our young people; these new experiences and different art forms have hopefully inspired them to develop an interest in arts in their community.

Dr. Rory O’Donnell who wrote the preface for the Youth Feasibility Report presenting at its official launch. Dr. Brendan O’Keeffe presenting his findings from the Duhallow Youth Feasibility Study report at its official launch in the James O’Keeffe Institute.

The Afterschools children enjoying the Circus Workshops with Will Flanagan of Alchemy Arts. This was part funded by the Cork County Council Arts Fund.

Employment and Training

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in unparalleled challenges for IRD Duhallow in delivering Employment and Training offerings and services.

The challenges faced were and remain varied affecting both members of our communities as well as staff serving the same. Challenges included the uncertainties in relation to the ever evolving epidemiological situation, changes in public health advice, high levels of fear and heightened anxiety among people and simply put an unprecedented landscape for staff to operate. Limited IT skills and poor broadband connectivity in parts of Duhallow remained a major challenge for those wishing to participate in online offerings.

The team at IRD Duhallow remained highly motivated, professional, committed and determined to serve its communities and most importantly vulnerable cohorts in unprecedented need of support, services and encouragement.

Across various programmes including SICAP, Dormant Accounts and HSE National Lottery Funding for Family Carers, Skillnet etc. IRD Duhallow supported almost 2000 learners by providing 180 + courses.

Development Officers continued to work closely with scheme participants from programmes such as the Tús community work placement scheme, the Rural Social Scheme, Community Employment and the Community Services Programme and their respective supervisors. Having these employment schemes based in-house continues to allow for a comprehensive wrap around service for participants being able to access multiple services offered by IRD Duhallow, including the Job centre and labour market activation training opportunities, resulting in a coherent approach of service.

The approach taken was largely hybrid (online and face- to –face) with the view of connecting and reconnecting after initial lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. IRD Duhallow ’ s work required this adjusted approach, in order to allow for the strict adherence to public health guidelines, protecting both its staff members and clients, all while finding innovative ways to deliver services.

Marketing and promotional efforts in our community newsletter reaching 14,200 homes and through our social media channels remained strong alongside text message campaigns and promotional posters.

While the adaptation of offers played a significant role in delivering services in 2021/2022, it is also important to highlight the strong efforts made in ensuring that all possible safety measures were undertaken and strictly followedespecially at a time of face to face meetings or training. IRD Duhallow went over and beyond in protecting its patrons by carefully documenting individual details to accommodate contract tracing if required, temperature checks, phone calls in advance of events in order to ensure that participants would not attend if experiencing symptoms of COVID19, room set ups always ensuring adequate spacing etc.

Online SICAP booking forms were introduced in order to facilitate data collection without face-to-face interactions.

The work of the IRD Duhallow Employment and Training team was monumental in assisting newly arriving Ukrainians in Duhallow by assisting in securing employment and accessing training. As the local development company for the region, IRD Duhallow worked closely with local employers in identifying employment opportunities suitable for local people in Duhallow greatly benefiting from long established relationships and rapport. Acting as in information point and trusted partner for Employment and Training, IRD Duhallow took great pride in integrating new arrivals into their host communities.

IRD Duhallow ’ s Colm O’Connor and Stephanie Moynihan developed a ‘Build your own nest box course ’ which was delivered online through the pandemic.

IRD Duhallow Job centre publishes fortnightly articles in the Discover Duhallow magazine giving readers topical advice on employment related topics. IRD Duhallow has a laptop library, which allows students to ‘ check out’ a laptop to help support them with online learning and assignments. Stephanie Moynihan of IRD Duhallow loaning a laptop to Rachel Passet.

Stephanie Moynihan from IRD Duhallow with Board member Padraic O’Connell and some of his colleagues from Bord Gais who delivered a CV clinic with Ukrainian Residents in the Green Glens in Millstreet.

Job centre

The IRD Duhallow Job Centre offers an array of services for employers and individuals seeking employment. The Job Centre offerings successfully pivoted to online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Duhallow Job Centre actively promoted its services in the communities it is serving using several outlets of advertising. These included the IRD Duhallow website including designated Job Centre page, monthly IRD Duhallow newsletter reaching 14,200 homes in Duhallow, the Discover Duhallow magazine with 4,000 fortnightly editions, the IRD Duhallow Facebook page and training brochures. IRD Duhallow Job Centre is benefiting strongly from referrals and word of mouth with the communities of Duhallow. The publication of fortnightly articles in the Discover Duhallow magazine has had a positive impact on promoting the service by providing topical advice supporting the service in reaching a diverse pool of candidates. IRD Duhallow Job Centre successfully expanded on its service portfolio by not only introducing monthly CV clinics and interview preparation workshops in 2021/2022 but also launching fortnightly digital newsletters to all those on the Job centre database. Further, monthly updates are posted on social media and the IRD Duhallow website. IRD Duhallow has been instrumental in assisting Ukrainian refugees in Duhallow with CV preparation and job search as part of their response to the Ukrainian Crisis. By connecting with Ukrainians currently living in Duhallow, IRD Duhallow assisted with the identification of employment opportunities and identification of training requirements to achieve “job-readiness ” .

An excellent Curriculum Vitae is often the first step in seeking employment. Development Officer Stephanie assisting Job centre client in writing her CV.