Nagle Centre, Waterford, celebrates outstanding achievement

A total of 92 students from the local community were awarded with their certificates, 30 adults for the ECDL (European Computer Driving License) and 10 Primary and Secondary School students received their ECDL, 40 adult students were awarded with their Advanced ECDL and 3 adult students were awarded with an Expert Licence qualification at the graduation ceremony held at the Granville Hotel.

Mayor of Waterford, Cllr. Jack Walsh, and Mr Pat O’Neill, a member of the Nagle Centre board of directors and a leading businessman who is currently Chairman of Natures Best and former managing director of Glanbia, were guests of honour at the graduation ceremony.

"Now, more than ever the need for education and up skilling is imperative and it is wonderful to see all of these graduates here this evening being commended for their studies," said Cllr Walsh. "This is a great achievement for everyone involved."

Mr  O’Neill  added: " The success of the Nagle Centre is in no small part due to the balance it has achieved in its teaching methodology, between both the content and the process. It allows former students to go on to become excellent tutors, which has proved a very successful strategy. The Nagle Centre is now a vital part of the community infrastructure in Waterford City at a time when the need for continuing education has never been greater".

“The new Lisduggan location at the Millennium Building which the Nagle Centre recently moved to allows it to provide their services to an even greater number of people for whom acquiring new skills and knowledge greatly increases their career prospects. In the current economic climate many people now have the time to improve their skills and the Nagle Centre facilitates this in the most user-friendly fashion possible,” added Mr O’Neill.

Sister Josephine Deegan, Nagle Centre Director, said: “Some people who are accustomed to living in a non-digital world may feel intimidated by technology but by learning some simple computer skills, they quickly grasp how technology opens up new horizons of knowledge to them and allows them to develop new skills they might have thought impossible. Successfully completing the Nagle Centre courses provides many of our students with a new sense of confidence and belief in their own abilities and can open up valuable new career options and opportunities."

The Nagle Centre was established by the Presentation Sisters in 1998 after the initiators identified a need for inclusive training within the community, and has gone from strength to strength, offering classes to the whole community. It is currently providing courses for approximately 300 people each year, a figure it hopes to substantially increase in its new premises in 2009. The courses are validated either by The Irish Computer Society, established in 1967 as the national body for information and communication technology for professionals; or by the Further Education and Training Awards Council – FETAC – which is the national awarding-body for further education and training in Ireland.

It recently appointed a Board of Directors which include leading figures from the education, business and voluntary services sectors. Chairman is Brother Philip Ryan, a Christian Brother who is a former manager and assistant chief executive of the Edmund Rice International Heritage Centre, Waterford and who taught in secondary schools in Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Clonmel.

The Nagle Centre was recently presented with the ICS Skills Best Practice Award 2009 award at the AGM of the Irish Computer Scoiety.  It was presented by Jim Friars CEO of the Irish Computer Society and Sean Haughy was the Guest Speaker.  .  The ICS Skills Best Practice Award recognises ECDL Centre that demonstrate best practice and innovation in the implementation of ECDL programmes and particular commitment to the development of IT skills among its clients.

As we celebrate the 225^th Anniversary of the death of our founder Nano Nagle and acknowledge her as the most outstanding Educational Innovator of her time, we believe she would be proud of the work of this centre today.