OMG! What a Complete Education!’ – City of Dublin Education and Training Board in the spotlight on new podcast

Staff from Ballyfermot College of Further Education, which is part of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, will feature in this week’s episode of ‘OMG! What a Complete Education!’, a new podcast series, co-hosted by ‘Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling’ authors Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen.

The eight-part series, created by Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) features learners from across a range of programmes and initiatives within Further Education and Training (FET).

In this week’s episode, Cleo Knight, originally from Portarlington in Co. Laois and working in Ballyfermot College of Further Education, speaks with McLysaght and Breen, who also studied and met at Ballyfermot.

Knight says that after struggling at school, she felt she excelled at Ballyfermot where she studied media and went on to work in the world of television and radio after graduating. She has been a full-time teacher in Ballyfermot for the past two years.

Also in this week’s episode is John Moriarty, the Director of Transformation and Knowledge (Further Education and Training) at the City of Dublin ETB.

John previously worked as Principal of Liberties College and Deputy Principal of Ballyfermot College of Further Education, which Emer and Sarah attended.

He taught Television Production at Ballyfermot College of Further Education for many years and also worked in the television industry, before working in teaching full-time.

Throughout the series, learners of all ages and backgrounds will share their experiences of Post Leaving Cert courses, apprenticeships, outdoor education and returning to education as adult learners.

Commenting at the launch of the podcast series, co-host Emer McLysaght said: “Sarah and I have always been very proud alumni of Ballyfermot College – our first episode really is a love letter to Ballyfermot!

“The wonderful thing about co-hosting this podcast has been hearing so many different people’s stories and experiences from colleges and training centres right across the country.

“There are so many people, like us, who didn’t know for sure where they wanted to go or how to get there, and found a way through a FET course and with the support of the staff behind those courses.”

Co-host Sarah Breen added: “It may sound cliché to say, but the people on this podcast are inspirational because they are regular people who have found a way to change their lives and get where they want to be through education. We all know someone who didn’t have a great experience in school or didn’t get the points they needed for a particular course, or who never got any qualifications at all. But hearing Cleo’s story, it shows listeners just how many opportunities there are out there!”

Dr. Fiona Maloney, Director of Further Education and Training at ETBI, said: “We initially had the idea for this podcast as we were aware, through our work with ETBs across the country, that there were thousands of learners and people involved in education who had really interesting and inspiring stories to tell about their education journey. Through this podcast we hope that people of all ages and backgrounds can see that there are education options available to suit everyone – no matter what your age, background or interests are.

“Whether you’re the parent of a school leaver just beginning their path with Further Education and Training; or a student yourself who has swapped a Higher Education course for Further Education to pursue your dream career, or if you’re an adult learner developing reading, writing or numeracy skills – we hope OMG! What a Complete Education! encourages and inspires people across the country and opens their eyes to the endless education possibilities.”

OMG! What a Complete Education! was created by ETBI in partnership with SOLAS. The first two episodes of the podcast are available from Tuesday, 11th October on Spotify, Apple and all other podcast platforms.