Gnó sa Phobal trí Ghaeilge
Is éard atá i gceist le Gnó sa Phobal in Éirinn (https://www.bitc.ie/) ná gluaiseacht le haghaidh athrú inbhuanaithe i gcúrsaí gnó. Tá clár iar-bhunoideachais ag an eagraíocht dar teideal Saothar an tSaoil agus tugann sé deis do dhaltaí iar-bhunoideachais sa Dara Bliain bualadh le fostaithe ó chomhlacht áitiúil le níos mó a fhoghlaim faoi shaol na hoibre. In 2022 ba í ár scoil i mBéal an Átha Móir, Gairmscoil Chú Uladh, an chéad scoil in Éirinn leis an chlár a reáchtáil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Sa bhlag seo, insíonn an múinteoir Staidéar Gnó, Nuala McCool, níos mó dúinn fá dtaobh de.
Agus mé ag obair mar Chomhordaitheoir Teagmhála Baile, Scoile agus an Phobail (CTBSP) i nGairmscoil Chú Uladh in 2016, d’fhiafraigh ár gComhordaitheoir Clár Críochnaithe Scoile (CCS), Sadie Kelly, díom an mbeadh spéis againn i gclár gnó atá á thairiscint do scoileanna dar teideal Gnó sa Phobal (BITC). Is éard a bhí i gceist sa chlár BITC ná clár sé seachtaine do dhaltaí an dara bliain; tig ionadaí ó chomhlacht áitiúil isteach sa scoil agus cuireann sé/sí na daltaí ar an eolas faoi cad a dhéanann siad; buaileann na daltaí le baill foirne agus cluineann siad faoin dóigh a ndearna siad dul chun cinn ón am ar fhág siad an scoil go dtí go bhfuair siad an post atá acu sa chomhlacht anois.
Mar mhúinteoir Staidéar Gnó dúirt mé gur bhreá liom páirt a ghlacadh de thairbhe gur ábhar éigeantach é agus de bharr go gcuirfeadh an clár sin lenár gcuid teagaisc agus foghlama, ach mar gheall go raibh an scoil ag glacadh páirte sa Scéim Aitheantais, scéim a bhfuil sé mar aidhm aici “a chinntiú go bhfuil taithí ar oideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge atá ar ardchaighdeán agus iomchuí ar fáil do na daoine óga uile atá ina gcónaí i limistéir Ghaeltachta agus sa chaoi seo le tacú le húsáid na Gaeilge mar phríomhtheanga na dteaghlach agus na bpobal Gaeltachta”, d’fhiafraigh mé an bhféadfaí an clár a reáchtáil trí mheán na Gaeilge.
Mar a tharla sé, ba é sin an chéad uair riamh in Éirinn a bhí scoil ag iarraidh go mbeadh an clár á reáchtáil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Mar sin, chuaigh Sadie i dteagmháil le foirean BTIC fá dtaobh de. Ar an drochuair, áfach, ní raibh comhlacht ar bord acu ag an am sin a d’fhéadfadh freastal ar ár n-éileamh.
Sheiceáil muid an scéal achan bhliain agus lean muid orainn ag léiriú ár spéise sa chlár agus gach bliain d’fhiafraigh BTIC de na comhlachtaí a bhí páirteach sa scéim an dtiocfadh leo seirbhís a chur ar fáil as Gaeilge ach ní raibh aon scéal dearfach ann. Ina dhiaidh sin tharla an phaindéim agus ní raibh an clár á reáchtáil ar chor ar bith. Mar sin féin, in 2021, bhí lúcháir orainn nuair a fuair muid scéala ónár gComhordaitheoir CCS ag rá go raibh BTIC amuigh ag earcú gnólachtaí úra don chlár, agus tháinig Optum Ireland chun tosaigh le cur in iúl go mbeadh spéis acu an clár a éascú dúinn trí mheán na Gaeilge – bhí muid thar a bheith sásta!
Reáchtáil Comhordaitheoir Réigiúnach BTIC an Iarthuaiscirt, Pamela Kearney, cruinniú Zoom le Nodlaig Brolly ó Optum Ireland agus muid fein le plé a dhéanamh ar an dóigh a dtiocfadh leo é a sheachadadh agus fós cloí leis an dóigh a raibh an clár á reáchtáil i scoileanna lán-Bhéarla. I mí Feabhra 2022 thosaigh muid ar ár gclár sé seachtaine le Optum mar an chéad scoil in Éirinn le páirt a ghlacadh sa chlár sin trí mheán na Gaeilge. Thug Optum dúshlán do na daltaí fosta maidir le taighde a dhéanamh ar thopaic agus é a chur i láthair don rang, rud a ullmhaíonn go maith iad do na measúnuithe rangbhunaithe a dhéanann daltaí sa Tríú Bliain.
Tá muid díreach i ndiaidh tús a chur leis an dara bliain den chlár agus tá muid ag súil go mór le Nodlaig agus an fhoireann teacht isteach gach seachtain. Ina theannta sin, tabharfaidh na daltaí cuairt ar ionad Optum i Leitir Ceanainn i mí na Bealtaine don tseisiún dheireanach. Seo an méid a bhí le rá ag cuid dár ndaltaí: “Bím ag súil go mór le Optum teacht isteach sa scoil mar go mbíonn deis agam níos mó a fhoghlaim faoin dóigh a n-oibríonn gnólacht agus cuireann sé sin go mór lena bhfuil á fhoglaim agam sa rang Gnó.” agus “Ní raibh a fhios agam riamh cad atá ar bun ag Optum sular tháinig siad isteach leis an chlár Gnó sa Phobal a dhéanamh linne.” Is deis ar dóigh é seo dár ndaltaí le fáil amach go bhfuil deiseanna fostaíochta ar fáil anseo sa Chontae dóibh nuair a fhágfaidh siad an scoil. Tá a fhios acu anois fosta go bhfuil sé de nós ag Optum scolaireachtaí a bhronnadh ar mhic léinn atá ag freastal ar OTA (Dún na nGall).
Tá muid thar a bheith buíoch dár gComhordaitheoir CCS, de BITC agus de Optum as a bheith sásta comhoibriú linn. Ó thosaigh muidne, tá roinnt scoileanna eile i ndiaidh tosnú ag glacadh páirte sa scéim trí mheán na Gaeilge – tá lúcháir orainn go raibh muid ceannródaíoch maidir leis sin ar fad.
Tá agallamh faoin chlár le cloisteáil ar an phodchraoladh ‘Business Matters’ anseo. Craoladh an clár sin ar Highland Radio ar an 16 Márta 2022.
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Business in the Community through Irish
Business in the Community Ireland (https://www.bitc.ie/) is a movement for sustainable change in business. Its post-primary education programme, World of Work, provides Second Year post-primary school students with an opportunity to meet employees from a local company in order to learn about the world of work. In 2022 our Ballinamore school, Gairmscoil Chú Uladh, became the first school in Ireland to deliver this programme through Irish. In this blog, Business Studies teacher Nuala McCool tells us more about it.
While I was working as the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Coordinator in Gairmscoil Chú Uladh in 2016, our School Completion Programme (SCP) Coordinator, Sadie Kelly asked if we would be interested in a business programme being offered to schools called Business in the Community (BITC). The BITC programme consisted of a six-week programme for second year students where a local company comes into the school and educates the students on what it is they do, they meet members of staff and get to hear all about how they progressed from school to the position they now have in the company.
As a Business Studies teacher I said we would love to take part as this is a compulsory subject and this programme would support our teaching and learning, but due to the school having entered the Scéim Aitheantais, a scheme which aims to “provide a high quality and relevant Irish-medium education for young people in Gaeltacht schools [and] to support and encourage the use of Irish in Gaeltacht communities”, I asked if it would be possible to have the programme facilitated through the medium of Irish. As it turned out, this was the first time ever in Ireland a school had asked for it to be provided through the medium of Irish, so Sadie contacted the BITC team about it. But unfortunately, they did not have a company on board who could facilitate our request.
Each year we checked back and continued to express our interest in the programme and each year BITC would ask the companies involved if they could offer it in Irish but to no avail. Then we entered the pandemic and the programme did not take place. However, in 2021 we were delighted when we received correspondence from our SCP Coordinator to say that while BITC were out recruiting new businesses for the programme, Optum Ireland had come forward to say they would be interested in facilitating the programme for us through the medium of Irish – we were absolutely delighted!
BITC’s Northwest Regional Coordinator Pamela Kearney immediately organised a Zoom meeting with Nodlaig Brolly from Optum Ireland and ourselves to discuss how they could deliver it and still stay in keeping with the way the programme is run in English speaking schools. In February 2022 we began our six week programme with Optum as the first school in Ireland to participate in this programme through the medium of Irish. Optum also set the students a challenge of researching and presenting a topic to the class, which is great preparation for Business Studies classroom based assessments that students complete in Third Year.
We have just begun our second year of the programme and look forward to Nodlaig and the team coming in each week. The students will also do a site visit to Optum in May for their wrap up session. To quote some of our students: “I look forward to Optum coming in to school because I get to learn more about how a business works and this adds to what I am learning in Business class” and “I never knew what Optum did before they came to do the Business in the Community programme with us.” This is a great opportunity for our students to see that there are employment opportunities here in the County for them when they finish school. They are also now aware that Optum offers scholarships each year for students attending ATU Donegal.
We are very grateful to our SCP Coordinator, BITC and Optum for working with us. Since we have begun, a number of other schools have also begun participating through the medium of Irish – we’re delighted to have led the way with this approach.
Listen back to Highland Radio’s ‘Business Matters’ podcast (16 March 2022) here to hear an interview about the programme.