DOING THE BUSINESS: Donegal Daily in conjunction with the ETB will be profiling a number of individuals and businesses who have successfully graduated from one of the many training programmes ETB has to offer.
As the ETB launch their latest diverse range of courses, Donegal Daily spoke with Paul Carr from Glenties. Paul trained as an IT Technician with the Donegal ETB, which led him to do a third level course at the LYIT and gain employment at Pramerica in Letterkenny.
Before taking on the course, Paul had been working on the pier of Killybegs ever since leaving school. He decided to study IT in 2012, and was amazed by the doors it opened up for him.
“My prior knowledge in IT before doing the course was fixing computers for friends and family,” he said. “The course started from the very beginning and progressed, and by the end there was a lot of knowledge to be gained from it.”
The 47 week level six FETAC course ran on a full-time basis and covered a lot of topics in the IT sector, including A+ and Network+. Paul gained such a depth of knowledge about one particular subject, CompTIA Network+, that he is now teaching classes on it at Pramerica.
Paul went on to study Computer Security and Digital Forensics at the LYIT after finishing the course, and as a result of his qualification with the ETB, he was able to bypass the first year of the degree.
Pramerica accepted Paul onto a 10-week internship when he was six months into his studies at LYIT. He recalls being in competition with third and fourth year students for the placement, but puts his acceptance down to his extra ETB qualification.
“I must have done something right at Pramerica, because they allowed me to progress into my final year part-time and work with them too,” he said. Paul graduated from the LYIT last week.
Paul now works as a web application pen tester (ethical hacker) at Pramerica. “I’m very happy in my work and I love my job. Working in security changes everyday. Unlike with programmers, tomorrow when I come into work it could be different than today,” he said.
“The course was how I got to where I am today,” Paul said, “it was probably one of the best courses I did in my life, and I would definitely recommend it.”
For people considering studying IT with the ETB, Paul recommends that they go down to talk to staff. He remains in contact with his past teachers and visits them to discuss networking while he teaches the subject himself at Pramerica.
The approachable staff at the ETB will help prospective students with any questions, he said.
“Do what I did. Go down and speak to them if you have a question. The course starts at the start and doesn’t require vast extensive knowledge in IT. You need a small idea of computer parts, but I would highly recommend it to anybody with an interest in IT,” he said.
The programme Paul studied in 2012 is equivalent to the former FETAC level 6 course. Participants taking on the course now will not achieve the FETAC (Now QQI) certificate but the range of CompTia (industry standard) qualifications on successful completion.
For further information on these programs and others contact Sarah on 074-9120542
Email for course inquiries: coursesdonegaltc@donegaletb.ie
Visit www.donegaletb.ie
Click here for more details on the course.
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