University College Cork is offering 500 free or subsidised places on its courses for those who want to improve their skills during the Covid-19 downturn.

The places are available for postgraduate and higher diploma courses at the university. Workers seeking to enhance skills in the pharma, agriculture, languages, software, supply chain management, sustainability, health and safety and environmental fields can apply, with many programmes available with a 90% fee subsidy.

UCC was awarded funding by the government under the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) and the Springboard+ initiative to provide the courses.

Six programmes are offering 254 places including:

• Postgraduate Diploma in Bioanalytical Chemistry (level 9)
• Higher Diploma in Sustainability in Enterprise: Meeting the Challenges of the Future (level 8)
• Higher Diploma in Global Software Sales, Support, and Localisation (level 8)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Innovation through Design Thinking (level 9)
• Higher Diploma in Design and Production of BioPharmaceuticals (level 8)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Regulatory Sciences (level 9)

There are also 300 places on 12 part-time programmes run by UCC’s Adult Continuing Education:

In Association with

• Certificate in Environmental Science, Sustainability and Climate (level 7)
• Diploma in Leadership for the Agri-Food Sector (Level 7)
• Certificate in Operator Development (Pharma Manufacturing) (level 7)
• Certificate in Process and Chemical Engineering (level 7)
• Certificate in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (level 7)
• Certificate in Supply Chain Management (Level 7)
• Certificate in Procurement Management (level 8)
• Higher Diploma in Advanced Languages and Global Communication (level 8)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Project Management (level 9)
• Postgraduate Certificate in (Bio) Pharma Processing (level 9)
• Postgraduate Diploma in (Bio) Pharma Processing (level 9)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Arts and Humanities (Level 9).

There is full information available here, or by emailing eoin.hahessy@ucc.ie.