Blog
24th June 2010
Legal Secretary - 2010 updates
All Irish Law modules for the Pitman Training Legal Secretary Diploma have now been updated to include the latest legislation. Call 1800 532632 for study information and start dates. The updated modules are:
An Introduction to Irish Law
Wills & Probate Law in Ireland
Conveyancing Law in Ireland
Civil Litigation in Ireland
Irish Company Law
Irish Family Law
Criminal Law in Ireland
25th May 2010
GO....Get That Job! Fantastic new course for 2010
Great News for Jobhunters!! Pitman Training have launched a brand new course designed to help you get work...fast! The course contains everything you need to know about assessing your strengths, the job-search process, creating an effective CV, applying for jobs and attending interviews. Call your nearest training centre on 1800 532632 for course availability.
14th February 2010
Book NOW! 2010 Sage Payroll course
If you want to learn about all of the latest changes to Payroll procedures from the last December budget, contact any Pitman Training centre in Ireland NOW! You can start your course any day with our self-paced learning programme covering both Manual and Computerised (Sage QuickPay) processes and get both Pitman Training and FETAC certification (additional fee applies). Call your nearest Pitman Training Centre for free - ring 1800-532632
29th October 2009
Budget Call for Training
Director of Pitman Training calls for additional support for career-based training in December’s budget.
Representatives from the largest independent network of training centres in Ireland met last week in Portlaoise at the annual Pitman Training Conference, to formulate a strategy to tackle the growing unemployment problem.
Following the two-day conference, Director of Pitman Training Ireland, Derek Smith, was keen to emphasise the need for investment in training programmes that can deliver highly practical, career-based skills, which employers are demanding during these challenging times.
“It is critical that practical training is promoted by the government as this is what employers want…employers are telling us every day that new employees must have practical skills allowing them to be productive from day one. Therefore, we are calling for a range of supporting measures in the forthcoming budget to assist those seeking employment who are ready and willing to train in a practical, hands-on way to meet this demand”
According to the central Statistics Office, the national unemployment rate now stands at 12.6% with this figure expected to rise well into 2010. Furthermore, the numbers now participating in full and part-time training programmes is at the highest level in over a decade, with many courses offered by FÁS and state institutions oversubscribed months in advance of start-dates, capacity is clearly an issue.
Tomás Finneran, Director of the Cork and Kerry Pitman Training centres believes that there is a growing void for skills-based, practical training.
“There has been far too much emphasis during the Celtic Tiger years on the knowledge economy, with thousands of students graduating each year from our third level institutions lacking real, employable skill-sets. The real requirements of employers are now more apparent than ever with the onset of the down-turn. Employers can no longer afford the resources to offer practical, real-world training on site, and it is clear that prospective employees now need practical, demonstrable skills for most of the positions currently advertised in what is an increasingly competitive jobs market”
The Pitman Training name has been synonymous with quality training for generations starting out with one shorthand school in 1870. Today, Pitman Training is unique in being not only the oldest and longest running independent training company, but also for having the largest independent Irish network of training centres. There are more than 90 Pitman Training Centres all over the UK, Ireland and the Middle East, training 50,000 people every year.
In fact, Pitman Training is now the largest independent training network in Ireland offering local solutions to businesses and individuals alike. The organisation offers a choice of training options including full and part-time courses both at their centre and from home using their unique home-study system.
There are currently 15 Pitman Training centres across Ireland in towns such as Dundalk, Galway, Gorey, Mullingar, Sligo, Cork and Wexford. In 1992, Pitman Training launched a programme to expand its training network given the demand for highly practical career-based skills, a sector that the Institutes of Technology and Universities were struggling to address. Since then, Pitman Training has grown steadily to a network of 90 locations throughout Ireland and the UK with the first Pitman Training Centre in Ireland opening its doors in Dublin in 1994.
As well as an ever-expanding range of courses for business, ICT and professionals, Pitman Training have developed their services further with FETAC government accreditation for all Pitman Training Diplomas. Another expanding market for Pitman Training is the move towards online and home-study training with more and more Pitman Training courses available online. Training Centres can therefore continue to deliver courses to individuals no matter where they are located. The centre in Cork was established in January 2008 and since the start of 2009 has been Cork’s fastest growing training institution.
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14th July 2009
Tracy got the job!
Pitman Swords helps Tracy change her future....
Take a look at the Irish Times for 14th July and find out how Tracy Doyle changed her approach!
“Tracy noticed quite a few of the administrative vacancies were in the health area, as a medical secretary, and the money seemed good. However, experience was emphasised in every case. She went back to the web, searching for a suitable course that would give her the experience she required. She found that Pitman offered a diploma in medical secretarial skills, and that there was a Pitman College in Swords, north Dublin, which was easy to travel to from her new home in Ratoath, Co Meath.
She applied and was accepted but then became pregnant. She was still studying when her daughter was born in November 2007. She returned to Pitman two months later in January 2008 and completed the diploma. “I was due back to work in July 2008 so I did up my CV, and I saw a job on the internet for a position in Santry, Dublin,” she says. She applied and received a phone call about a week later for an interview. With no time to brush up on interview skills, she was in a state of nerves. “There were three people on the interview panel and my mouth was so dry,” she says. It was also the shortest interview she had ever completed.
Two days later, to her pleasant surprise, the phone rang and she was offered the post. She handed in her notice, leaving the property and financial world behind her. She has been working as secretary to an orthopaedic surgeon in a sports injury clinic ever since.
“It’s never easy to make a decision to change, and it was really only instinct that told me I wasn’t comfortable with what I was doing.” she says. “I suppose in hindsight I can see that one of the difficulties was that we weren’t meeting the sales targets – the housing market had begun to slow down a bit – but no one really noticed it back then.
“And to think that if I had stayed where I was, I would probably be redundant now. As it is, I am well equipped for the years ahead.”
Why not take a leaf out of Tracy’s book and change YOUR life! Call Pitman Training for free on 1800 532 632.
