TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

of this success by restoring competitiveness to the region and attaining a security of supply
throughout Ireland.
Education
Following the closure of many textile manufacturing firms and diminishing farming services in
Letterkenny in the early 2000s, Letterkenny was left with a lack of skills training among the
unemployed workers where their skills became redundant, leading to a high degree of social
exclusion and social welfare dependency in the area. By the mid 2010s to counteract this
problem, there were significant educational, training and retraining facilities, up to and
including third-level institutions available within Letterkenny and the surrounding county.
Governance
In 2015, Letterkenny launched the new
“multimedia classroom” strategy. Grants were
given to people who wanted to up skill or who
found it difficult to get to institutions; they could
sit at home and get their training. These grants
provided the pupils with free broadband modems
and laptops and access to all the course material
they required. This strategy took a while to take
off because of the human inertia to change but by
2030 the increase in highly skilled employees for
the knowledge based economy was on the
increase.
Letterkenny has emerged as a gateway city that has begun its quest to deliver successful social,
environmental and economic change by engaging in collaborative leadership with Derry as well
as promoting awareness of change through a forum called Best Leadership that encourages a
broad range of perspectives and experience. Participants have been able to address
opportunities and challenges with increased skills, commitment and cohesion within their
workplaces and communities in this region. Long gone are the days where decisions on the
development of Letterkenny are left on the back-burner and salutations to the days of
conversation around leadership and critical issues affecting their communities.
186