Anne McHugh is Chief Executive of Donegal ETB, the largest education and training provider in the county, providing post-primary education, Further Education and Training, outdoor and music education and has legal responsibilities or youth work.
Welcome to Donegal ETB’s first ever blog post.
Donegal ETB is still a relatively ‘new’ organisation, having come into existence in 2013. We continue to look for new and better ways to communicate who we are and what we do to the many individuals, communities and partners we work with across our county. Having redeveloped our website in 2019, we thought what better way to provide a more in-depth understanding of our work than through a regular blog.
2020 was, without doubt, the most tumultuous year that most of us will have experienced on both a professional and personal level. But we have gained an amazing amount of new knowledge most particularly in the area of ICT. I believe that this pandemic has changed forever the way we do so many things that we thought could and should never change. The ‘office’ may never be the same again. The way we teach has surely changed forever. Some of the changes are positive, even though we may not think so now. We much prefer to be in control of change but that has not been possible. So let’s make the most of the new ways of working that have been thrust upon us and try to use them to our advantage.
Our managers and staff have always been to the fore when it comes to being innovative and cutting edge and always willing to take a chance on something new for the sake of our students. This positive and forward thinking approach has really helped during these difficult days and made Donegal ETB a leader in so many areas. Our wonderful staff is precious and their wellbeing is paramount. A happy and supported staff means happy and supported students, families and communities. And serving the communities of Co Donegal is what we love to do!
With that in mind, while this blog will be managed by our Communications staff, each blog will be written by a different ‘blogger’ – this will include our current and former students and staff across our schools, FET centres, music and outdoor education service, employers, funders, community representatives and the many other partners we work with both here in Donegal and further afield in order to give you a taste of what we get up to. Our blogs will provide information that you won’t get on our main website or on our social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube).
As Chief Executive, I’m delighted to write our first blog and hope to be able to contribute to it on a regular basis. I hope you enjoy getting behind the scenes of what we do on a day to day basis. Happy reading!
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