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A dynamic Dungloe-based gym manager is crunching numbers with ease after upskilling through evening courses.
Elise Gillespie manages Inis Fitness, the gym at The Waterfront Hotel.
In recent years, she has been doing a different kind of training outside of fitness – bookkeeping and payroll through the Further Education and Training (FET) Service with Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB).
The evening classes, taught once per week in Letterkenny, have strengthened Elise’s business knowledge. Now, she has the confidence to provide backup to the accounts manager if required.
“ETB is a great resource for employers to upskill people,” Elise explained.
“Many employers see the benefit of having a staff member who can pick up where somebody might have left off or who can do more than one task.”
Elise, who is originally from Canada, has spent nine years working for the owners of the Waterfront Hotel and now the Sweeneys Hotel. With a university degree in English and Geography, Elise has a diverse professional background, having held administrative positions in Ireland, England, and Japan.
Upon returning to Ireland, she and her husband moved to Donegal, where she spent 11 years as a stay-at-home mother to their two children.
Once her children were older, she began working as a breakfast supervisor at the Waterfront and was later approached with the opportunity to develop the hotel’s gym.
It was the perfect fit for Elise. Fitness has always been an important pursuit and she holds various certifications in yoga, strength and conditioning, and Pilates instruction.
Through her work at the hotel, Elise realised the need to enhance her knowledge of accounting and finance. This prompted her to enrol in the ETB’s payroll evening classes two years ago. She followed this up with bookkeeping in 2023.
“I love learning and these courses complimented the direction I was going,” she said.
Elise has plenty of praise for all of the staff of Donegal ETB.
“I couldn’t speak highly enough of the enrolment officers,” she said. “They dealt with each person individually on finance, any special government subsidy [for fees], they will do their best to get you into the programme.”
The instructors, she said, were equally as supportive.
“The lecturer for payroll, Mary Feeney, had a lot of industry knowledge because she had worked in different business situations. While she could do the curriculum, she also was able to give a lot of information about what challenges you might come up against in the real world. That was great.
“The instructors have a professional background, not just an academic background.
“Their big push is to support people in their current role in the workforce or to get people into the workforce.”
Elise’s bookkeeping instructor (Garvin Gallagher) was also very accommodating to all students.
“What I found interesting about all of them, with the changing face of Ireland and Letterkenny I could get a sense they wanted to meet people’s individual needs – whether they were new Irish people or people who have been out of the academic world and want to upskill. They are very receptive, respectful and conscious of everybody’s individual needs.”
What Elise enjoyed the most about her training was developing her own understanding of the accounting procedures.
“While I may have done payroll and bookkeeping before, understanding them from the fundamentals and knowing why numbers are the way they are gives you the full picture.
“Now, if an employee were to ask me something about a payslip, I can explain it, I know where it’s coming from.”
The other benefit of QQI courses is the formal qualification gained upon completion.
Elise said: “If you ever change jobs, just saying you do something doesn’t give confidence to a new employer, but having that certification is a standard that you can see.
“And it’s reasonably priced,” she added.
Those in employment, whether full or part-time or self-employment and those in receipt of a Department of Social Protection payment may qualify for fee waivers for Donegal ETB’s evening courses, with specific eligibility criteria.
Elise said she has been greatly supported by her employers throughout her upskilling journey.
“As someone who works closely with the owners of the business, you feel a sense that they want to be providing a person not only with a pay cheque but with an incentive to upskill. They were glad to hear that I wanted to get a deeper understanding.”
Based on her own positive experiences, Elise’s eldest daughter, now 19, has also enrolled with Donegal ETB to study make-up artistry.
“The three instructors I have come across, in makeup, payroll, and bookkeeping, are all very professional, approachable, very knowledgeable. They are so supportive of their student body,” said Elise.
“We are truly availing of those ETB services!”
If you’re thinking about upskilling, reskilling or changing career in 2025, Donegal ETB’s FET Service currently has a wide range of evening courses available. Check out your options on their website (https://www.donegaletb.ie/fetcoursefinder – use the word evening as your keyword) or call their Letterkenny Training Centre on 074 91 20500 to find out more.
If you are currently in employment (full-time, part-time or self-employed), you may be eligible for a fee waiver or reduced course fees (under the Skills to Advance initiative). Contact the Letterkenny Training Centre for further details.
If you are in receipt of a DSP payment, you may be eligible for a fee waiver. Contact your local Intreo office for a direct referral.
Fees apply otherwise.
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