From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Minister of State for Further Education and Skills Niall Collins TD have today (26 February) welcomed confirmation that over 1.5 million people have viewed The Right Course website.
The Right Course is a resource for those for in businesses, employees or unemployed people outlining the supports and skills and training options available to them at third level. This includes short courses, digital skills courses and options for return to education at third level.
Speaking today, Minister Harris said:
"I am delighted this website is such a success. It shows an appetite from people to want to keep learning; to have that opportunity to update their skills or learn something new with a view to furthering their career.
"It has been really popular, and we know it is helping people - It is the third most-visited landing page on gov.ie – only behind the main COVID-19 page and the travel advice.
"It’s never too late to learn something new and now in particular, it is vital that we have a skilled, educated workforce to ensure our economic recovery after what has been an extraordinarily hard time, for some sectors especially.
"The Right Course website is updated continually to make sure that the information is current and that any new initiatives are outlined for people to avail of."
Minister Collins added:
"There are some excellent training options available for people, including Clear Customs training for Brexit, training for those in the tourism and hospitality sector which was recently launched, and more besides. I would encourage people to log on to gov.ie/therightcourse and see what is available for them."
The Right Course has received over 1,593,946 visits since it launched only 6 weeks ago . Particularly popular has been the free online college courses through e-college, offered through SOLAS which has seen a big increase in enrolments, with 8,049 people signed up to courses on eCollege in 2021 to date.
Skillnet Ireland noted that in the days following the launch of The Right Course, site traffic was 329% higher than the average day in January, contributing significantly to growing awareness of the range of Skillnet Ireland programmes. The Skills Connect webpages experienced the most significant rise in visits and saw an increase of receive 35 times more traffic than an average day in January, and consistently higher levels of traffic since the launch.
The one-stop shop website has information on further education and training places and the courses in higher education, and information for those on a social welfare payment.
It is also a resource for business owners on the range of upskilling options available from Skillnet Ireland including enterprise-led business supports, targeted upskilling opportunities for employees in businesses, free online training programmes and virtual job placements.