TWENTY year old Slane Maguire from Kesh has just completed a two year full-time foundation degree in engineering (with wind specialism) at South West College in Enniskillen.

It’s little surprise that Slane ended up on this course as he has had a passion for engineering for quite a long time.

From a very young age, Slane has attended Irish road racing events with his father, who has competed and raced in them ever since.

Always being surrounded by motorbikes was amazing and he became fascinated by their workings and how everything had to be precise in order to get the very best out of the machine.

“Before long I got the opportunity to work on my father’s motorbikes which furthered my passion mechanical and electrical engineering.

“As I enjoyed working at the bikes so much, I knew that engineering was the path I was going to take when it came to choosing a course at college.

“When I saw the Wind Specialism course, it stood out to me as something different. It also is a sector which is going to keep growing which should heighten my chances of coming out with a good job after I obtain my Degree.

In 2012 Slane applied for work experience in FG Wilson in Larne. His 12 week

placement was part of the foundation degree

“I was accepted into the position. How- ever it was an unpaid position and due to the sheer mileage from Kesh to Larne I was faced with the dilemma of either missing out on this fantastic opportunity or putting myself into serious debt to pay for travel expenses.

“I met with Mark McGuigan to discuss my options and he informed me that I was a prime candidate for the Strickland scholarship – a scholarship presented to students with excellent academic ability but who also take time to give back to their community.

Mark explained that as Slane had been a founding member of a local charity group called ‘North Fermanagh Cancer Focus NI’ (for which I had organised numerous events) coupled with the high grades in all my modules, that I was a very good candidate for the scholar- ship.

“I was awarded the scholarship and this now meant that I could take the fabulous opportunity of working for the global company, FG Wilson.

Without the Strickland scholarship he wouldn’t have been able to take the opportunity and he is very grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to further his education and boost his knowledge of the industry. Talking about his course Slane said one of the things he likes most about the course is that it has a good combination of both classwork and hands on practical work.

“It also covers every aspect of engineering including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and also areas

such as health and safety. The main thing I enjoyed though was the opportunity to work on wind turbines through a hands on approach.

So what about the future?

“I hope to pursue my career in engineering and ideally I would love to get a job working on wind turbines. At the moment I am hoping to get the grades to

continue my education at Queens in September. I have applied for BSc (Eng) in Product Design. But he said he is also considering taking a few years out first to gain some practical experience.

More information on foundation degrees can be obtained from Lorraine Loughlin at SW College, Enniskillen (l.loughlin@swc.ac.uk).

Jobs & Careers Fair

The Fermanagh Jobs and Careers Fair takes place in South West College, Enniskillen on Thursday, October 3 from 10am until 3pm. Over 20 employers will be in attendance with jobs and careers advice and employment opportunities.