Geraldine from Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan completed the QQI Level 6 course in Administration and IT for Business in Cavan Institute in May 2020.

"I attended Cavan Institute in the 2019/2020 academic year as a full-time student on the Administration & IT for Business (Year 2) course. I was a mature student and went back to college to refresh my administration skills and to upskill my computer skills at the same time. I wanted to go back into the workforce.
The course itself was very interesting with a range of modules including Administration Practice, Payroll Manual & Computerised, Bookkeeping Manual & Computerised, Banking & Insurance, Front Office Skills, Spreadsheets, Word Processing, Work Experience & Communications.
I enjoyed my time in Cavan Institute and at no time did I feel any different from any other student, being a mature student. Once in the classroom, everyone was there to learn and work as a team. The support from tutors was excellent. They were always ready to listen and help out when any student was struggling.
As part of the course, there is an opportunity to go out on work experience for two weeks, which was both a confidence boost and very enjoyable being back in the office environment. The tutors in the different modules help prepare the students before they went out on their work experience. In the Communication module, for example, there was CV preparation and interview skills, Front Office and Administration Practice with telephone skills and front office skills and internal communication and practices within the office environment.
Unfortunately, COVID 19 disturbed college life as we knew it back in March 2020 but we continued the course online from home with the help of our tutors and got to the complete the course which was an achievement in itself.
We learned extra skills that will be of benefit to us by learning online, Teams meetings and presentations which would not have been the case if we had completed the course traditionally. So, you might say with every negative there is a positive!
Having completed the course, I feel more confident with the new skills that I have learned and I’m ready for the next challenge.
I highly recommend Cavan Institute and it has so many courses to choose from, for people like myself who either wish to go back to work or change their career by following their dream career.
Cavan Institue opens many doors or pathways to any career for anyone who wishes to pursue it.”