‘A PLC instills confidence in you’ – Buncrana man levels up for eBusiness career

written by Rachel McLaughlin June 4, 2024

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A young Buncrana man is counting his employment options after returning to education to study eBusiness.

Anton Cunningham, aged 23, had been working in hospitality but wanted to gain the latest digital and IT skills. This led him to enroll in a Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) course with Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB) through their Further Education and Training (FET) Service.

“I didn’t want to go to college but I felt I needed something to upskill with to make myself more employable,” Anton tells Donegal Daily.

The course not only taught him essential software like Microsoft Office, but also web authoring, allowing him to build his own website.

PLC courses are designed as the ideal progression from Leaving Certificate for students who want an extra year to study a specific vocational area and for adults returning to education. The course follows a more college-themed learning style with a mix of practical work, academic work and work experience.

Anton’s eBusiness course is taught in the FET Centre in Buncrana. With just a few weeks left of training, he’s already looking forward to his next step.

“I am looking to progress myself in my own career now and I would really like to start applying for admin jobs. At a recent job fair in the Inishowen Gateway Hotel I realised, there are lots of places I can start applying for with my PLC,” he said.

Anton Cunningham, Buncrana eBusiness

PLC Student

The one-year programme teaches the latest digital and IT skills to work in business administration. Modules include communications, payroll, Microsoft Word, Excel and web authoring – a favourite of Anton’s.

“I feel the modules instil confidence in you, you are always learning by doing and not sitting with loads of theory. Most of the course work is assignments and I didn’t feel anything on this course was super difficult. You build up on what you learn previously.

“I enjoyed learning HTML and building my own website, that was interesting because you are learning while you are doing and you can express your own individuality.

“The learning was nice because our teacher Alan goes over everything very thoroughly and gives you feedback as you are doing it.

“The career guidance was excellent too. We did CV writing and cover letters to prepare for the world of work.”

Anton also found the delivery very adaptable. Students are generally in class until 2.45pm.

“You do a lot of your work in the ETB’s FET centre so you are not bringing a lot home. I could be done by 3pm and have my afternoon to myself.

“We are offered a laptop and this is handy to have to get assignments done on time.”

Anton and his classmates will not only graduate with a QQI Level 5 award but also a network of supportive peers.

“A PLC is very different to school, you can chat with your teacher. There is a nice variety of people of all ages and we all get on well.”

Asked if he would recommend the programme to others, he said: “This is a course for everyone. I would say definitely do it. If you feel you are not ready for college, you can do this one year. It’s a good way to build up your CV.”

Interested in learning more about PLC courses?

Donegal ETB has twelve PLC courses available this September in three locations – Buncrana (FET Centre), Letterkenny (FET Centre) and Stranorlar (Finn Valley College). You can apply online through the links below or if you would like to contact the centres, you’ll find contact details here:https://www.donegaletb.ie/plc.

Buncrana