REVAMP Longford supporting communities to shift their focus towards reuse and repair

Monday, October 14 is International E-waste Day, with households, businesses and communities being asked to support efforts to get more end-of-life use from e-products where they can either be repaired or recycled. 

Repairing appliances supports sustainability by prolonging their lifespan and minimising waste. In an era with growing environmental concerns, encouraging repair rather than disposal is critical to achieving a zero-carbon economy. 

The EU signed the right to repair directive in 2024, promoting the repair of goods, which aims to promote more sustainable consumption by making it easier to repair defective goods, reducing waste and supporting the repair sector. 

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REVAMP Longford is a dynamic community-based business with over 20 years in the sector of reuse and repair, most noted for their services in providing quality low-cost furniture and paint along with the repair, upcycling and painting of furniture. 

Their most recent initiative is their Domestic White Goods Engineering Programme.  This is the first programme for the midlands region, and it will help to make the circular economy a reality for both consumers and industry. Taking this initial E-waste challenge to support communities to shift their focus towards prevention and encourage reuse, and repair.  

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People in Longford have contributed greatly to e-waste recycling every year, with 430 tonnes of electrical waste collected in the county in 2023, with 9.2kg of e-waste was recycled per person in Longford last year – falling short of the national average of 10.33kg per person.

The lack of suitably qualified service technicians highlighted the need to make repairability easier and less expensive. 

The EDI Centre and REVAMP Longford are presently delivering Level 6 QQI Domestic White Goods Engineering programmes, this is the first programme in the Midlands region.

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REVAMP and EDI Centre Longford are hoping to increase the availability of repair services technicians to address the significant shortage in the sector.  

This Programme will assist in bridging the skills gaps and introduce standards of best practice through our training course, which increases knowledge and understanding of appliances, including problem detection, diagnostics, and repair.

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With the rising complexity of household appliances, there is a growing demand for qualified technicians who can successfully diagnose and repair difficulties, giving users confidence that fixed goods are reliable and cost-effective.

Domestic White Good Engineering Programme is a QQI level 6 and provides newly qualified appliance service technicians with the confidence in: 

• Domestic appliance Electrical skills
• Small domestic appliance Servicing
• Large Domestic appliance Servicing
• Domestic appliance mechanical skills

Delivered over 20 weeks and free to attend, this is a one-of-a-kind programme in which you will not only gain high-level technical knowledge but also understand the theory behind components and their testing.

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You will also have the opportunity to apply what you have learned in the workshop, where you will gain hands-on experience working on a variety of current appliances and using various testing equipment. 

If you want to broaden your career and learn new skills, this programme is for you; the next programme intake will be commencing in mid-2025. Contact the EDI Centre at 043 33 47515.