Education is key in Ireland having a strong recovery.
When COVID first hit the Irish shores, every organisation in the country coped as best as they could. We were told to protect ourselves, each other and especially the most vulnerable in our society. We were given guidelines to follow and sent home to stay safe. It wasn’t too long before we all became all too accustomed to words like unprecedented times, social distancing and even radio hosts reminding us regularly to wash our hands.
Many of us, organisations included, moved online in the hopes of adjusting to our “New normal” that didn’t feel normal at all. As the reality of COVID became clearer and lockdowns extended into and beyond the summer, those businesses that couldn’t move online had the unfortunate decision to close their doors.
As a society we’re all accustomed to the online world. Even with the impacts of COVID, the adjustment to moving to a more virtual environment should have been almost seamless. The reality, however, has been far from it, with many sectors impacted. One of the affected sectors was education. Every student, from primary school to third level was moved online, even creches started having an online presence. The feedback from many was that this was a large adjustment and understandably so. Going from attendance to fully online is no small accomplishment. COVID tore down traditional education methods, forcing educators to think outside the box and develop ways and means of teaching in an online environment.
This increased demand in online and distance learning which has been accelerated by the global pandemic. However, it is long been a staple of further education in Ireland. The Open College has been providing online learning since 2004 and in that time has grown to become Ireland’s largest online distance learning course provider.
As Ireland begins to emerge from COVID’s shadow, a successful recovery will be dependent on a skilled workforce. Many people who have been affected by the pandemic have taken the resilient approach of using their time to upskill and retrain, utilising online and distance learning courses.
The added benefit of online education is the flexibility that allows learners to study and grow in their own time and at their own pace. The Open College provides over 90 accredited QQI courses in Healthcare, Childcare, Business, SNA, Law and many more. We also provide online degree programmes in Health & Social Care and Early Learning & Care all delivered by expert educators through state-of-the-art user friendly platforms.
With the end of the pandemic in sight, The Open College will continue to help uphold Ireland’s reputation of having the most educated workforce worldwide. We will continue to strive for innovation and excellence in online education, deliver high standards in further education and provide a rounded learning experience for all of our learners.
For more information on all our courses, visit our website – www.theopencollege.com or contact our team for further information and advice.
