On 26th June, at the INOU’s Learning Hub, we said a fond farewell to two long-standing staff colleagues Lorraine Hennessy, Training Manager and Laura Pierce, Building Futures LTI Co-ordinator.
Lorraine joined the INOU as a Welfare to Work Trainer on 7th May 2007. Lorraine quickly established herself in the position and over the years has played a key role in the development and delivery of INOU Welfare to Work Training Services. Lorraine will be well known to a great many people based in INOU affiliated organisations and beyond. Her training sessions were always very well attended and the feedback from those sessions has been consistently positive. Many people have commented on Lorraine’s professionalism and her extensive knowledge of the welfare to work continuum. More recently, Lorraine co-ordinated the INOU’s successful re-engagement process with QQI. This was a major piece of work and would not have been possible without Lorraine’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of QQI’s Quality Assurance framework.
Lorraine will be greatly missed by the organisation. We are delighted, however, that Lorraine will, for a period, continue to be involved in supporting the work of the INOU’s training services and our new Head of Training, Michelle Kelly.
Lorraine was also a very valued staff colleague and played a key role in the work of the INOU’s Co-ordinating Team and was also, for many years, the INOU’s Staff Representative on the Board of Management / National Executive Committee. Both the Board and the Staff Team wish Lorraine every success for the future.
Laura Pierce joined the INOU as an Assistant Training Co-ordinator on 18th April 2011. Laura was subsequently appointed as an Assistant LTI Co-ordinator on 14th October 2011. Laura’s recruitment significantly boosted the overall training and development resources available to support the INOU’s continued involvement in delivering an innovative three year project as part of the Mount Street Trust Employment Initiative (MST-EI) - an initiative of the Mount Street Club Trust, delivered by the INOU, Ballymun Job Centre and the One Parent Exchange Network (OPEN). The initiative was targeted at addressing poverty relating to unemployment in the Greater Dublin Area. As part of the initiative, the INOU delivered the Building Futures Programme a (then) FETAC accredited training programme and associated workplace internships which drew on participants’ own life experiences to enable them to become peer educators, trainers and mentors. We were also delighted when (the then) FÁS agreed to designate the programme as a FÁS Local Training Initiative in 2011.
Laura has played a key role in establishing Building Futures as a ‘flagship’ INOU programme. The success of the programme over the last 14 years is a testament to Laura’s dedication and commitment to the development of all of the Learners who have progressed through the programme. More recently, Lorraine and Laura and her colleagues were instrumental in establishing a new INOU Learning Hub in Townsend Street in the South Inner City from where we now deliver our Building Futures and Shaping Futures Local Training Initiatives.
Laura brought huge energy and a can do approach to her role and she will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues at the INOU. We wish her every success in her new role.