FINDING A WAY to progress your career isn’t always easy, but micro-credential courses from The Advance Centre are a flexible, affordable way to do just that.

Micro-credentials are industry-aligned qualifications which have been accredited by universities such as UCD, ATU and TU Dublin. These courses are significantly subsidised by the Learner Fee Subsidy, meaning that you could dramatically improve your CV and your career prospects thanks to a €500 course. Courses which are eligible for the subsidy are reduced in price by between 50% and 80%.

In most cases, these micro-credential courses offer a regimen of blended teaching, with classes mostly held online. This means that the courses themselves are tailor-made to fit into a busy working schedule, and you will not have to put your current career on the back burner in order to take a leap forward.

The hybrid of online learning along with occasional supervised, in-person and collaborative projects means that you benefit both from being able to study at a time that best fits your work-life balance, while also reaping the rewards of hands-on teaching from distinguished lecturers in your field. 

The micro-credential courses can also serve as a pathway towards obtaining a MSc in a relevant discipline. 

Speaking about the benefits of undertaking such courses, Fergal Kelly, a data analyst at the Central Bank of Ireland said: “I wanted to re-skill so that I could move to a different role and the content and online aspect of the masters was perfect for me. I wouldn’t have been able to commit to going into a university on set nights for 3 years.

“I also would like to commend all the lecturers and tutors who always responded on time to questions. I’ve been able to make a contribution to my new team pretty much straight away,” he added.

Brian Buckley went on to complete a Master’s in Data Analytics from UCD after completing several micro-credential courses. He said: “I decided to undertake the MSc in Data Analytics having first completed a number of short MOOC courses. 

“I was attracted to the depth and breadth of the course and the balance of theory and practice compared with other options.  At the time I was a Software Architect and wanted to focus more on data analytics and machine learning. The course was everything I had hoped for and has been an incredible journey.”

Whether you’re upskilling, reskilling, or looking to improve your standing in the job market, you can benefit from the wide range of short, flexible, and industry-aligned courses that are on offer. Courses in highly technical and specialised fields such as Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, Data Programming and Industrial Data Analytics are sure to make your CV more competitive. 

Some of the courses on offer include:

• ATU Certificate in Downstream Processing
• ATU Certificate in Upstream Processing
• ATU Certificate in Fill Finish Operations
• ATU Certificate in Cleanroom Behaviour in Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing

There are also dozens of other flexible micro-credential courses in other highly competitive fields, such as Financial Mathematics, Digital Manufacturing and Software Engineering.