Dr. Ian Jones:

Traditionally, the institutes of technology would have filled that role, and they still have a role in that respect. There is a dichotomy between servicing a typical CAO or leaving certificate student and servicing an evening student who may be working. There is a third group - I suppose it is now a trichotomy - of people who are currently unemployed or unsure where they want to go, and who perhaps need to be supported more. That is where we seem to fit, and we find that we have been able to develop a structure and process in marketing to them. We advertise on Facebook and the Galway Advertiser, for example, not only to individuals but to mams, dads and grannies. They may see it and encourage people to meet us. We meet everyone who comes into our programme and do not take anybody unless we meet first to determine the level of motivation and suitability. That is not a bad thing, as we want to ensure people are comfortable signing up for a minimum six-month programme, especially if they have a mortgage - for example, if they are nine months behind on it and they have three kids. We do not want to waste such people's time. We want to ensure people will have a great chance of getting a role in the pharmaceutical, medical technology or food sectors.

When individuals come on our programme, we have life coaches who engage with everybody on a one-to-one basis to help them understand the position - this is their three-year plan or five-year plan - and help to manage the self-esteem issues or challenges that go side-by-side with being unemployed. We are engaged in the industry liaison side, helping people understand roles, providing introductions and facilitating matchmaking. We have developed a tailor-made process, and it would have been very hard for an institute of technology to do all that. The institutes of technology are still serving a very good role in terms of engagement with industry and being the third-level leaders in industry-focused education, but we see ourselves as having developed a strong role also.