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IT Sligo's First Custodial Care Students Graduate

The first graduates of the Higher Certificate in Arts in Custodial Care (HCCC) were conferred on Friday, 5th Mar, by IT Sligo at the Irish Prison Services Training and Development Centre at Beladd House, Portlaoise. Eighty graduates were conferred by the Register of IT Sligo Dr. Brendan McCormack, in a ceremony overseen by Mr. Dermot Ahern TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Speaking at the ceremony the Minister said ‘Today marks a milestone in the further ongoing development of the Irish Prison Service. Officers now receive recognised certification and academic award in recognition of the successful completion of training’

'Staff from the Irish Prison Service and IT Sligo have worked in close partnership to design and develop the content of the Higher Certificate in Custodial Care.  The programme is now at the forefront internationally in the education and training of prison officers’ added the Minister.

The eighty graduates are representative of the first 136 Recruit Prison Officers to successfully complete the Higher Certificate in Custodial Care. The Irish Prison Service, in partnership with IT Sligo, commenced delivery of this programme in September 2007 in a range of locations including Irish Prison Service Training and Development Centre, prisons in the Dublin area, at IT Sligo and through online learning methods.  There are currently 497 students studying on the HCCC programme at various locations around the country.

Speaking prior to the event Professor Terri Scott, President IT Sligo commented: ‘IT Sligo has again taken a leading role in education, by providing the first accredited Custodial Care Course in Ireland.  The ongoing delivery of this programme reflects the flexible, adaptive and dynamic learning environment at IT Sligo.  

''Today’s graduates not only have enhanced professional skills as they embark on careers in the Irish Prison Service, they also have an internationally recognised qualification from IT Sligo. The programme, delivered over a two-year period, provides a challenging educational environment that develops the core competencies of custodial care within a critical and reflexive professional context. The delivery of the programme breaks new ground in its unique combination of work-based learning, co-delivery, distance learning and enquiry-based learning.’