Offaly native in the spotlight on new podcast

Offaly native, Aisling Cleary, 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, Cleary, from Birr, discusses her apprenticeship course in Laois and Offaly ETB with  McLysaght and Breen, who both studied and met at Ballyfermot College of Further Education in Dublin.  

Cleary originally graduated from the University of Limerick in 2015 with an undergraduate degree in Economics and Sociology. She went on to work in purchasing for Grant Engineering in Crinkle for almost seven years.  

When the Covid-19 pandemic put pressure on the supply chain in 2021, Cleary saw an opportunity to develop new skills and understanding which were in demand. Through Further Education and Training, Cleary is now studying a two-year Masters in Supply Chain Operations through UL’s apprenticeship programme.  

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: “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 Aisling’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 latest episodes of the podcast are available on  Spotify,  Apple  and all other podcast platforms.