On behalf of the Chief Executive and MSLETB Executive Management Team, I would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
2021 has been another challenging year for MSLETB. I would like to thank the staff of MSLETB for their ongoing support for our organisation and all our students and learners. I wish to acknowledge the contribution of each and every staff member, capably led by our managers and leaders, within or schools, centres and administration offices which allowed us to continue to serve our communities and this would not have happened were it not for your resilience and professionalism.
Our Board and Chairperson, Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady, are to be acknowledged for their work. They have been hugely professional and supportive in carrying out their oversight responsibilities for the ETB. They also have repeatedly been complementary of staff and the work being done in MSLETB throughout the year. We have aimed to provide a positive learner experience throughout.
It was a year when some of us lost loved ones and I wish to remember all those who are no longer with us and extend sincere sympathy to all who have had a bereavement during 2021.
While 2021 has been a year dominated by uncertainty, we have achieved many positive enhancements and development to our services, and we experienced some noteworthy engagements and milestones. Some of the highlights have been:
- Establishment of Mayo College FET
- Quality Assurance Inaugural Review with QQI
- Internal payroll migration to shared services (ESBS) and the progression of Financial and HR shared services projects ongoing.
- New programmes at various stages of development and delivery in further education and training, including apprenticeship, traineeship and skills for those in employment, including the MS Cloud Traineeship and SMART driving programme.
- Increased enrolment in our schools
- Progress on our school ethos and patronage stance in the ETB sector
- A significant additional accommodation programme across FET and Schools in our ETB has continued with completion or further additional accommodation expansion announcements for St Brendan’s Belmullet, St Tiernans Crossmolina, Davitt College Castlebar, Colaiste Iascaigh, Grange PPS, Coola PPS and Carrigallen VS, with significant additional special education provision facilities and other improvement works across the entire school and FET system.
- Significant expansion in Youth Work provision for the Erris area of Mayo and the establishment of a local creative youth partnership programme for the ETB.
- Significant funding was distributed for the newly introduced Mitigating against Educational Disadvantage Fund to community groups all over our region.
- Significant further expansion work on our ICT systems and infrastructure has continued to be hugely beneficial throughout the year in allowing business continuity, with learner and student engagement continuing successfully during the pandemic.
- We welcomed Minister Harris to the ETB twice, meeting staff, learners and students from Ballinrobe Youthreach both virtually and in person, students and staff in Mayo FET services, Ballinode College and MSLETB Training Centre Sligo.
In achieving these highlights, we also acknowledge the support from our funders and Government Departments, particularly Department of Education, DHFERIS, SOLAS and DCEDIY and we also wish all our external community stakeholders and enterprise in our area best wishes for Christmas and 2022 and thank them for their ongoing support and assistance.
I look forward to working with all our stakeholders to further develop the opportunities we provide in our community in 2022. We can anticipate another challenging spell ahead, but with the experience we have gained recently I am confident that we will make 2022 a truly successful year for MSLETB.
Wishing you all the very best, stay safe, please observe public health guidelines and I hope you have a peaceful and enjoyable Christmas.
Guím daoibhse agus do bhur dteaghlach síocháin, sláinte agus sonas ag an am seo den bhlian agus san Athbhliain.
Warm Regards
MSLETB Executive Management Team.
Tom Grady
Chief Executive – Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board
