The courses run for 11 months and divide into 2 sections:
October to March: Theory, Practicals and Visits followed by Exams at end of February
March to September: Practical learning and gardening, projects (e.g. growing crops, writing up your report) and summer visits.
The courses are flexible to fit in with your schedule – you don’t have to study every day for 11 months! The courses run through the summer so that you can experience a full growing season – learn the theory through the winter, plant crops in the spring and then harvest in late summer. We feel that this is very important to gain real experience of all stages of growing. There are plenty of long holidays (shown below) so you won’t be studying all year!
An important part of the courses is the practical element and also meeting other participants. Below are dates when you can come to the college for practical days. Please note you don’t have to come on all the days shown below – but you should aim to be available for some of them. We realise that it can be hard to get time off work so most of the days are at the weekend in the hope that this will make it possible for you to attend. For those travelling a long way to Dromcollogher we recommend staying overnight in a local B&B. Full details of the schedules for the practical days will be available at the beginning of the course.
Welcome / Induction Day
Saturday 6th October 2012, 11am to 5pm at the college.
Practical Days (Autumn)
Weekend in November – dates TBC
Practical Days (Winter)
Weekend in January – dates TBC
Exams
Weekend in February – dates TBC
Practical Days (Spring)
Weekend in April – dates TBC
Practical Days (Summer)
Weekend in July – dates TBC
Optional Visits and Practicals
Optional visits to farms and gardens (dates to be confirmed) throughout the year.
End of Course
Friday 6th September 2013
Holidays are as follows:
Mid-term break
24 October to 30 October
1 week
Christmas
19 Dec to 8 Jan
3 weeks
Mid-term break
13 Feb to 19 Feb
1 week
Easter
26 March to 15 April
3 weeks
Summer (from June)
No theory to learn – complete projects in your own time.
During holiday weeks there will be no course material. As distance learning is a flexible way to learn you can of course choose to study at times that suit you. However, if you want to be assessed for certificates you will need to attend at the college for some of the practical days and exams as well as regularly accessing the distance learning website.
Prices
For 2011-12 the National Organic Training Skillnet was able to support applicants for the courses. We hope this may be possible for 2012-13 – we will update you in July 2012 with full details.
Most applicants who are resident in Ireland will qualify for this funding – NOTS are able to pay 30% of your course fees so the prices are as follows:
Full certificate (8 modules) full price €1,600, Skillnet supported price: €1,120
Other Grants
If you are registered unemployed and living in Ireland it is possible that your local FÁS office may pay 100% of your fees. We are not able to arrange these grants for you and it is up to you to contact your local office to see if they may be willing to pay for the course. We are happy to offer help by talking to your FÁS officer and supplying them with any details they may need.
If you’re not sure whether you can afford the courses or whether FÁS may fund but are interested to sign up, then we encourage you to complete the online enrolment form and we’ll give you any help we can while you arrange payment of funding.
5. Dates, prices, grants
Dates for your Diary
All courses run from October September.
The courses run for 11 months and divide into 2 sections:
The courses are flexible to fit in with your schedule – you don’t have to study every day for 11 months! The courses run through the summer so that you can experience a full growing season – learn the theory through the winter, plant crops in the spring and then harvest in late summer. We feel that this is very important to gain real experience of all stages of growing. There are plenty of long holidays (shown below) so you won’t be studying all year!
An important part of the courses is the practical element and also meeting other participants. Below are dates when you can come to the college for practical days. Please note you don’t have to come on all the days shown below – but you should aim to be available for some of them. We realise that it can be hard to get time off work so most of the days are at the weekend in the hope that this will make it possible for you to attend. For those travelling a long way to Dromcollogher we recommend staying overnight in a local B&B. Full details of the schedules for the practical days will be available at the beginning of the course.
Holidays are as follows:
During holiday weeks there will be no course material. As distance learning is a flexible way to learn you can of course choose to study at times that suit you. However, if you want to be assessed for certificates you will need to attend at the college for some of the practical days and exams as well as regularly accessing the distance learning website.
Prices
For 2011-12 the National Organic Training Skillnet was able to support applicants for the courses. We hope this may be possible for 2012-13 – we will update you in July 2012 with full details.
Most applicants who are resident in Ireland will qualify for this funding – NOTS are able to pay 30% of your course fees so the prices are as follows:
Other Grants
If you are registered unemployed and living in Ireland it is possible that your local FÁS office may pay 100% of your fees. We are not able to arrange these grants for you and it is up to you to contact your local office to see if they may be willing to pay for the course. We are happy to offer help by talking to your FÁS officer and supplying them with any details they may need.
If you’re not sure whether you can afford the courses or whether FÁS may fund but are interested to sign up, then we encourage you to complete the online enrolment form and we’ll give you any help we can while you arrange payment of funding.