Donegal ETB announces two senior management appointments

Donegal ETB has made two senior management appointments to its Further Education and Training (FET) Service.

Ms Deirdre McColgan has been appointed to a new post of Assistant Training Centre Manager with primary responsibility for quality assurance while Mr Aidan McCloskey has been appointed Adult Education Officer, replacing Ms Martina Needham who retired in June.

Donegal ETB is the largest education and training provider in the county with almost 18,000 students and 1,400 staff across the county and its islands, along with an annual budget of €83.5 million.

Its extensive Further Education and Training (FET) Service catered for almost 7,000 students in 2021 across a network of eighteen FET Centres and numerous other venues across the county and its islands, providing education and training from Levels 1-6 on the National Framework of Qualifications.

Deirdre has worked with Donegal ETB since January 2005, as a Guidance Counsellor, Youthreach Advocate and Coordinator of the Adult Guidance and Information Service. A qualified Guidance Supervisor, she has also worked extensively with her guidance colleagues at post-primary level across Donegal. More recently Deirdre was the lead author of Donegal ETB’s Self Evaluation Report for the QQI Inaugural Review. She undertook her undergraduate and postgraduate study with Ulster University and continued her further, higher and professional education with North West Regional College, St Angela’s College, NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin.

Speaking about her new appointment, Deirdre said, ‘I am delighted to be undertaking a new role with such an innovative and forward-looking organisation. I am proud and privileged to be leading a dedicated team whose focus is on delivering highly commended Quality Assurance policies and systems across the FET Service.’

Hailing from Kilcar, Aidan completed a Bachelor of Business Studies in Letterkenny Institute of Technology and a B.A. (Hons) in Public Management at the Institute of Public Administration, Dublin. He also studied Irish Language at Ulster University. Aidan joined Donegal ETB in 2001 as a Clerical Officer and has worked in the Finance, Contracted Training and Human Resources Divisions. He was appointed to the post of Community Education Facilitator in 2016 and in 2017, became the Basic Education Coordinator, leading a team delivering literacy, numeracy, digital skills, family learning and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) across the county.

On his appointment to the role of Adult Education Officer, Aidan said, “I am excited to take up this role in Donegal ETB’s FET Service with responsibility for a range of programmes that are valued for their contribution to education and learning in communities throughout the county. I look forward to exploring new opportunities and continuing in our tradition of working in partnership throughout Donegal, making it an even better county to live in, to learn in and to work in.”

In congratulating both of them on their appointments, Donegal ETB’s, Chief Executive Anne McHugh said, “I am thrilled to welcome Aidan and Deirdre to the FET Senior Management Team to which they will both bring a wide and varied breadth of experience and knowledge. Their input will greatly enhance and contribute to the extensive work plan in the Further Education and Training Service of Donegal Education and Training Board. I wish them well as they embark on their new roles and look forward to working with them for the communities of Co Donegal.”

Deirdre began her post in May, while Aidan took up his position in July.

Tags: