Springboard Courses

What Is Springboard?

The Springboard+ initiative in higher education offers free courses at certificate, degree and masters level in areas where there are identified employment opportunities in the Irish economy. It is co-funded by the Irish government and the European Social Fund.      

Essentially the aim is to help people transition into industries where there are significant employment opportunities.

Who Is Eligible?

For full details, you should check eligibility directly on Springboard’s own eligibility page.

The following are some rough criteria to help you begin. Eligibility to apply for courses in 2017/18 academic year are subject to the applicant meeting all requirements, e.g. academic requirements:

  • Returners (formerly Homemakers)
  • People in employment
    • who wish to take a course in the manufacturing sector (e.g. Bio-pharma or medical devices technology)
  • The unemployed or formerly self-employed including the following list Jobseekers Benefit, Jobseekers Allowance, One Parent Family, Disability Allowance, Qualified Adults of Working Age, Carers Allowance, Farm Assist/Fish Assist, Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory or Non-contributory Pension, Blind Pension, Deserted Wives Allowance

Please note: if you have taken a Springboard Course in the last two years, you are not eligible to take up a Springboard place during the 2017/18 Academic Year, unless you are moving up an academic level ie. from a Level 6 to a Level 7 Certificate.

Still Unsure as to Whether or Not You Are Eligible?

Email your CV to sinead.creaner@getreskilled.com along with the answers to the following questions:

  1. Are you currently in employment or unemployed?
  2. Are you receiving a social welfare payment, if so which payment or are you signing for credits?
  3. Where do you live?
  4. Have you taken a Springboard course in the last 2 years?
  5. If you have, what course(s) and what level was it/were they (i.e. Level 6/7/8)?
  6. If you have, have you graduated from that course already? What is your status on the Springboard Website?

If you need to check your status on the Springboard website, this can be checked by doing the following:

  • Log in to the Springboard website
  • Click on the down arrow next to your name/email near the top right-hand corner of the page
  • Select “Applications” from the drop-down menu
  • A pop-up page will open and show a list of courses you have ever applied/enrolled in, and in the line for each course there will be column displaying your “status”

Please email us the displayed “Status” for the course/each of the courses and/or take a screenshot and email it to us.

Once you have provided us with a copy of your CV and the answers to the questions above a member of our Springboard Admissions team will then follow up with you and advise whether you are eligible for Springboard and which of our Springboard courses will suit you based on your previous work and education background.

We will then email you a link to the relevant/active official Springboard Application. You will need to apply on the Springboard website using this link. There is a specific closing date and time for Springboard courses which will be mentioned in the email – you will have to submit your application before this deadline.

Does That Mean I can Apply for a GetReskilled Course Free of Charge?

Basically, yes – provided you meet one or more of the Springboard Eligibility Criteria you may now apply for a free Springboard place on our courses.

We offer two courses under the Springboard Initiative both of which are Level 7 Certificate Programmes that are academically accredited by the Dublin Institute of Technology. Completion of one of these courses will allow you to meet the academic criteria for future employers in the pharma or med device manufacturing industries.

On average, we get about 600 inquiries a month for our courses, we take about 40 of those for interviews, and we offer places to approximately 30 people.

Please Note: We have limited places available for employed people looking to move across, as under Springboard+ 2017/18 priority of places has to be given to those in unemployment. Currently, we only have places for employed people in our September 2017 intake.

What Is The Application Process?

Step 1 – Ensure you are Applying for the Correct Course

Before you apply for any of our courses, you should first have read the information on the Springboard FAQ webpage.

Step 2 – Submit Your Official Springboard Application

To learn more about how to submit your Springboard application, watch our video below:

Once you have submitted your Springboard application you must send your supporting documentation by email to sinead.creaner@getreskilled.com. The documentation required will depend on which of the Eligibility Categories you fall into:

1. Unemployed / In receipt of Social Welfare / Signing for Credits

        Copy of an up-to-date CV (even if you have previously provided same)

AND

        Scan/Photo of your most recent An Post receipt

OR

        Letter/Documentation from the Dept. of Social Protection showing you are

         currently in receipt of a payment/signing for credits

2. Returners (formerly Homemakers)

        Copy of an up-to-date CV (even if you have previously provided same)

AND

        A form to complete which is available on this link

         and must be completed and sworn declaration before a Commissioner for

         Oaths attesting to your status.

3. Formerly Self-Employed

        Copy of an up-to-date CV (even if you have previously provided same)

AND

        A letter/statement from the Revenue Commissioners stating that you are no

         longer trading

OR

        A similar letter from your (former) accountant

OR

        Sworn declaration before a Commissioner of Oaths attesting you are no

          longer Self-Employed/Trading

4. Employed

        Copy of an up-to-date CV (even if you have previously provided same)

AND

        Sworn declaration before a Commissioner of Oaths attesting you have

         been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least 3 of the 5

         years preceding your entry to the programme

AND

        Copy of your most recent P60 or other relevant revenue documentation OR

          a letter from your current employer to confirm employment or self- 

          employment

Once you have successfully completed this application you will get an email from Springboard confirming your application has been submitted, or a pop-up window on your application saying it has been submitted. If you can’t find an email, check your spam folder as sometimes it can be filtered there accidentally.

If you don’t get a confirmation email or a pop-up window saying that your application has been submitted, then your application may have accidentally been saved as a “draft”. To check if this is the case:

  1. Log in to the Springboard website
  2. Click on the down arrow next to your name/email near the top right-hand corner of the page
  3. Select “Applications” from the drop-down menu
  4. A pop-up page will open and show a list of courses you have ever applied to or enrolled in. Alongside each course, there will be column displaying your “status”. This status will read “draft” if your application has been wrongly filed as a draft by the system.

Should you not have a “Draft” application for the course (and if you still haven’t received an email), you will need to submit another application via the application link you were emailed earlier.

If you have any further issues, you will need to contact Springboard Tech Support Team directly on support@springboardcourses.ie or (076) 6151247.

Once you have submitted your application our Course Programme Manager, Sinead Creaner, will also receive an email from the Springboard system advising that you have submitted an application and she will email you directly to confirm it has been received and guide you through what will happen from there.

Should you have any queries, once you become an “Applicant”, you can email Sinead directly on sinead.creaner@getreskilled.com

Once the application closing date has passed, all applications will be considered and we will contact you to advise of the outcome of your application and anything else we need.

Contact Us

Hopefully, that has answered most of your questions about making an application via Springboard. If you have any further questions or would like clarification on any points, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Call Sinead: +353 (0)21 240 9016