• ESB Chief Executive Pat O’Doherty, Minister Denis Naughten TD and An Cosán Virtual Community College’s Liz Waters help launch new partnership
• Energy for Generations funding to power rollout of Ireland’s first virtual adult education platform – An Cosán Virtual Community College (VCC)
• ESB to also leverage skills and knowledge within company to bring about more sustainable and positive outcomes in communities

3 November 2016

ESB is proud to announce a three-year partnership with An Cosán Virtual Community College (VCC), which will help develop an online academic programme for adult learners that is currently being rolled out nationwide through community based organisations. 

VCC, Ireland’s first virtual adult education platform, aims to increase access to further and higher education nationwide and address social inequality through online and mobile technology.

VCC caters for adult learners who have not benefitted from mainstream education, and for those who wish to continue their education in an accessible and affordable way. It combines a virtual classroom, online live lectures with independent activities, assignments and face-to-face sessions in community partner settings.

Announcing the new 2017-19 partnership, ESB Chief Executive Pat O’Doherty says that this commitment sees the company taking a strategic approach to effect positive change. “There are many barriers for people across Ireland in accessing further and higher education.  This innovative new programme has the power to break down these barriers and offers a unique opportunity for anyone wishing to develop their skills and achieve their full potential.  ESB is conscious that our staff and our company have been the beneficiaries of historically high standards of educational delivery. We have an obligation to acknowledge and repay that investment made in us and we are pleased to announce our continued support of VCC today.”

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment Denis Naughten TD says: “VCC exemplifies the capacity of online and mobile technologies to bring crucial educational opportunities to citizens all around Ireland, and ESB’s support both in terms of funding and knowledge sharing is to be warmly welcomed. These technology-enhanced community hubs – urban and rural – are spread across the country, which will be underpinned with broadband rollout initiatives announced in Budget 2017. This strategic support by ESB will bolster educational supports in these underserved areas and ensure that communities across Ireland are equipped with the skills for the digital age.”  

Director of VCC, Liz Waters adds: “Many people across Ireland face a multitude of barriers accessing further and higher education, ranging from rural isolation and lack of institutional access, to child and family care considerations and, very importantly, financial issues. VCC has the power to break down these barriers and offers a unique opportunity for anyone wishing to develop their skills and achieve their full potential. The significant support VCC receives from ESB cannot be underestimated. It has allowed us to create the infrastructure to bring VCC into being. It is also an important statement of belief in what we are doing and an acknowledgement of aligned values. It supports VCC to bring the light of transformative education to the most underserved communities across Ireland.” 

ENDS

Editors notes:

About ESB:

ESB operates right across the electricity market: from generation, through transmission and distribution to the supply of customers. ESB is the owner of the distribution and transmission networks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It has a 49% share of generation in the all-island market and a 38% share of electricity supply in the all-island market with 1.4 million customer accounts.

ESB contributes over €2billion annually to the Irish economy through dividends, investments, taxes and jobs. ESB provides significant employment both directly, with 7,600 employees, and indirectly through contractors and service providers.

About Virtual Community College

An Cosán Virtual Community College (VCC) is a social enterprise, set up to scale nationally the work of An Cosán, the largest community education organisation in Ireland, that has served the community of Tallaght West for over 30 years. VCC is an award-winning innovative education initiative. It seeks to change lives and communities through online education and empowers people to learn using the latest virtual, online and mobile technologies. Working closely with its community partners, VCC caters for learners who have not benefitted from mainstream education, offering a wide range of accessible accredited and non-accredited courses. All of VCC’s courses are designed to respond to community education needs and the organisation supports students to reach their full potential. VCC’s model of education is based on concepts of inclusion, participation, social action, capacity building and transformational practice.

ESB’s Support of VCC

In 2014 ESB extended the remit of their Energy for Generations Corporate Social Responsibility Fund to include a new focus on education, which recognised the need for educational supports at all levels to ensure that Ireland has the skills it needs to compete effectively in the future.  The Fund targets a range of measures across all educational levels, from primary to third level, including adult education.  In line with this new focus, ESB engaged with An Cosán who were developing Ireland’s first virtual adult education platform – the Virtual Community College (VCC).

ESB entered into a three year pilot partnership (2014-2016) with VCC to scale the work of An Cosán in Tallaght West.  This partnership involves a combination of funding and skills and knowledge sharing and has enabled VCC to develop an academic programme for adult learners that is currently being rolled out nationwide through community based organisations. 

ESB’s, through the Energy for Generations Fund, has extended their support of VCC for a further three years (2017-2019).  This support will involve a combination of funding and skills and knowledge sharing.