SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority, is making its eCollege online learning service available free of charge as a support to Kerry learners who have been impacted by the current containment measures.

eCollege, which provides online courses including computer programming, data science, office productivity, and web and graphic design, is the national online learning service for the Further Education and Training sector.

“As we navigate our way through this national and global crisis, we have decided to open up our eCollege offering to the public, free of charge," Andrew Brownlee, CEO of SOLAS, said.

"This measure is designed to benefit those already doing a FET course who would like to augment their learning and those who have recently become unemployed or had their hours reduced and who wish to upskill and reskill in digital skills."

eCollege is online 24/7 so people can study at a time that suits them and it's now also free to all over 16s for a limited period of time.

"While these are extremely difficult times we are living in, we hope that by making eCollege available to people in Kerry we will help to support those whose livelihoods have been impacted by COVID-19 to re-enter or upskill in the labour market.”

While courses are tutor supported, independent study is required to reach certification standards, he added.

To create a ‘fetchcourses’ account and apply for eCollege courses candidates will need an active email address and have details of their PPSN and postal address to hand.

Further information on eCollege can be found on www.ecollege.ie or if people have any queries locally – they can email: info@kerrycollege.ie.