BREAKING: Site purchased for new third-level college campus in Kilkenny
A site on the outskirts of Kilkenny City has been acquired for a new flagship further education and training college
A site on the outskirts of Kilkenny City has been acquired for a new flagship further education and training college which will cater for up to 5,000 students.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Patrick O’Donovan TD today announced the purchase of a site that will be home to a new 'College of the Future' in Kilkenny.
Government funding worth tens of millions of euro will drive the development of the site at Joinersfolly, adjacent to the ring road near Loughboy, creating a new state-of-the-art education and training campus for Kilkenny Carlow ETB (KCETB).
KCETB have also today been given the green light to proceed to the next stage of development of this project, with sanction been given to begin the 'Pre-Tender - Project Design, Planning, and Procurement Strategy' stage of development.
Speaking today in Kilkenny, Minister O’Donovan confirmed that KCETB is moving to the next stage in the process of delivering a further education and training campus that the entire region can be proud of.
"Today we are signing for the purchase of a 15 acre site and I’m incredibly excited to see it become a campus that will deliver so much for the learners, staff and community of Kilkenny Carlow ETB," he said.
"Back in 2022, my predecessor Simon Harris announced that Kilkenny had been chosen as one of the locations to develop a further education and training 'College of the Future'.
"It is not ideal that FET provision in Kilkenny has been scattered around 14 different locations in the city. Now provision will be brought together at one modern, high-spec facility where learners will have the opportunity to progress in the best possible facilities.
"This is what we mean when we speak about driving parity of esteem across the tertiary sector – it shouldn’t matter where you live, what you are studying, or whether you are in FET or university.
"Everyone should have the same opportunity to reach their potential."
Andrea Dalton, Chairperson of KCETB said that this is 'a great day for KCETB' and that 'the delivery of this project for the region has been the ambition of the executive team and the board over the past number of years'.
"I extend warm congratulations to the executive team and all the staff for their work on the project to date and believe that this college when built will bring enormous benefits for students throughout the ETB area and beyond," she said.
KCETB Chief Executive, Eileen Curtis also described today's announcement as wonderful news for KCETB and Kilkenny.
"This marks an important step forward in the delivery of the college campus," she said.
"The proposed new integrated FET college has been a key strategic priority for KCETB and will transform the learning opportunities available across our communities.
"It will provide for the future skills needs of local industries and create a talent pipeline of graduates available to live and work in Kilkenny.
"Today’s announcement is a real vote of confidence in the area and it will ensure that Kilkenny with this new campus can provide a growing range of specialist courses and apprenticeships which will have long lasting benefits for the KCETB area."
Director of Further Education and Training (FET) for KCETB, Martha Bolger expressed her own delight at the announcement.
"The entire FET staff are thrilled at the positive news delivered today by Minister Patrick O’Donovan and we are enormously pleased that the FET College proposal can now move to the design and planning stage," she said.
"It has been our vision for some time to deliver a FET college for KCETB to build on the good work of staff over many years and this project will transform the landscape for FET in the region."
The KCETB FET Service works with 16,000 learners annually across a range of full-time and part-time programmes from Levels 1 to 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications and is the largest provider of education and training across the counties of Kilkenny and Carlow.
Currently KCETB's provision is spread across 15 locations in the city and today’s announcement will mean that in the future they can be integrated into one flagship campus.
The state-of-the-art facility will offer a full range of courses, including apprenticeships with supports for students and links with industry.
It will deliver real opportunities for students to learn in Kilkenny and create pathways to further study at university, in SETU, thus keeping students in the region.
For many years there has been a call for a third level facility to be established in Kilkenny and today’s announcement recognises that need and will create opportunities for strong alliances with SETU into the future.
It will also enable a larger proportion of school leavers to choose the further education and training option locally first and then move on to other higher education and training opportunities. It will also promote and support innovation and research with industry and is in line with government policy which strongly supports regional development.