Northern Regional College opens up upskilling opportunities for staff

Among the students to graduate at the College’s annual Higher Education ceremony was Gregory Mulholland, Facilities Manager at Northern Regional College’s campuses in Coleraine, Ballymoney and Magherafelt.

Gregory, who was awarded an Institute of Leadership and Management Level 5 Certificate in Leadership and Management is married with four grown up daughters. He said his graduation photograph will take pride of place in the ‘Rogues’ Gallery’ at his Portstewart home.

“My daughters all have graduated so now it’s my turn!” he said.

The ILM qualification is designed to help managers to develop their skills and experience to improve their performance and prepare for more management responsibilities.

Gregory explained that he had previously completed a Level 5 Chartered Institute of Management qualification but because the ILM qualification is the one preferred by many employers in Northern Ireland, he decided that he should do it.

“At a staff conference a few years ago, we were told about the Department for the Economy’s Skill Up programme. This is a flexible skills programme offering a range of free accredited courses to help people re-train and re-skill. One of the available courses was the ILM Leadership and Management course so I thought this was a good opportunity to brush up on my management and leadership skills.

Gregory, who manages the College’s team of caretakers for the Coleraine, Ballymoney and Magherafelt campuses has encouraged them all to upskill. One of the first to take up the challenge was Tony Young, a caretaker at the College’s Ballymoney campus who completed a Level 3 course in ILM Leadership and Management

“I take every opportunity to improve my skills and knowledge,” admitted Gregory who recently completed NEBOSH Environmental Management and Procurement and eTenders courses.

The past few years have been exceptionally busy for Gregory and his team. The former campus at Union Street in Coleraine was demolished in 2021 to make way for the development of a new campus on the site. It is on schedule for completion in Spring 2024 but in the interim, the Coleraine campus was decanted and relocated temporarily to Beresford Avenue. When the new campus opens, they will do the ‘decant’ in reverse to the new campus. In addition, the Ballymoney campus is due to close at the end of the current academic year with staff and students transferred to the new campus in Coleraine.

“Going between the different sites has involved a lot of work but we’re now at an exciting phrase of the campus development project in Coleraine and it’s great to see how it’s all coming together.”

Applications are open for all higher education courses starting in September 2024.  For further details and to apply visit www.nrc.ac.uk