Oberstown’s vocational skills training programmes focus on providing young people with practical skills that increase their prospects of employment in the future.

Fitness instruction qualification

The National Elite Professional certificate Level 3 and Level 4 are delivered on Campus in partnership with Image Fitness and funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund. These comprehensive programmes provide each participant with the knowledge and skills to become a certified fitness instructor or personal trainer. Read more.

Forklift licence and warehousing skills

The Dormant Accounts Fund is funding a project to train young people at Oberstown in the skills required to work in the warehousing and logistics sector, including training in working with forklift and pallet trucks. Oberstown is partnering with Jungheinrich, a German multinational long established in Ireland, which supplies complete solutions for warehouses, including racking and truck systems. Read more.

Food production qualification

Oberstown’s Catering team has traditionally offered training and work experience to young people in the campus kitchen. Young people join the Catering team to work on preparing lunches and some follow formal programmes as trainees, working towards a QQI Level 3 qualification in Food Production. This has helped young people to secure employment in the food industry after leaving Oberstown.

Coffee education and barista training

Oberstown’s coffee education and barista training programme is a partnership with coffee company Java Republic. The programme gives young people an understanding of how coffee is produced "from bean to cup" along with teaching them the barista skills required to work a coffee machine. Java Republic provide the expertise and equipment to give young people practical experience of this aspect of the catering industry along with the opportunity to become a certified barista. Since 2019, more than 70 people have completed the coffee education and barista training course.

Oberstown coffee van business

The Oberstown mobile coffee van project, funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund, became operational early in 2023 and quickly established itself as a highly popular feature of campus life for staff and young people alike. The project provides young people with on-campus education, skills development and work experience that will improve their future job prospects. Read more

Steps+ career guidance

The Steps+ (Skills, Training, Education, Person-Centred Support) project is a career guidance platform that helps young people in Oberstown to explore their skills, interests and strengths and link these to education, training, and employment opportunities. It is a joint project between Oberstown and Careersportal.ie, funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund. Read more.

SafePass

SafePass is a mandatory safety awareness training programme for construction workers; employers must make sure that employees on construction sites carry SafePass cards. It is a one-day programme that teaches participants the essentials required to work on construction sites without being a risk to themselves or others. Oberstown has run courses on campus since 2022 – more than 35 young people have achieved their SafePass.

Manual handling

Manual Handling is the transporting or supporting of a load that involves lifting, putting down, pushing pulling, carrying or moving. A practical course provides young people with the knowledge and skills to correctly pre-assess, lift, carry and lower objects. It also enhances their understanding of best health and safety practice. Around 40 young people have completed the course and earned their certificates in the past two years.

Work experience and work placements

Oberstown works with Way 2 Work Ireland (W2W), an organisation that provides individual mentor-mentee, training, and employment programmes for young people who are in care or detention. W2W focuses on young people (aged 16-23 years) referred by Tusla or Oberstown.

W2W offers a one-to-one service, designed to create employment opportunities for motivated young people with a care-experienced background by connecting them with businesses who want to give back to the community by focusing on youth development. W2W mentors tailor their role to suit each individual, encouraging and motivating each young person and supporting their aim of securing training and employment across the various sectors.

Four young people engaged with W2W in 2023, the first full year of the partnership with Oberstown. One young person secured a full-time traineeship with Best Drive and another earned a college place on a carpentry pre-apprenticeship programme. W2W arranged work experience for two young people with John SISK & Sons and Best Drive.