eTwinning
The Erasmus Plus Programme offers Ó Fiaich Institute students the opportunity to apply to work abroad as part of their chosen PLC course. Placements will be arranged with employers in the host country with support from Ó Fiaich Institute. You can experience living in another culture, enjoy travelling, improve language skills, gain a Europass Qualification, add this experience to your CV and get that valuable job.
Placements normally take place during the academic year September-May. If your application to work aboard is successful, you will qualify for a grant towards the cost of the mobility programme including travel, accommodation and living expenses.
Research has shown that a period spent abroad no matter how short, helps to open our minds to other cultural experiences.
The Ó Fiaich Institute Erasmus + will offer you:
- An experience living in another country
- The opportunity to travel
- Help improve your language skills
- A Europass Qualification
- Increased employment opportunities
- Growth in confidence and self-reliance
- 80% of Erasmus+ graduates are employed within three months of graduation.
- 72% stating their Erasmus+ experience helped them land their first job.
- Nearly half of Erasmus+ trainees were offered a job in the company where they trained.
How is your Erasmus+ exchange funded?
Under the Erasmus+ programme, students from Ó Fiaich Institute will have the opportunity to spend two weeks on work placement with a European partner organisation as part of their course.
Erasmus students receive a maintenance grant, which is provided by the European Commission. The aim of the grant is to assist students with travel and the cost of living abroad. The amount varies from year to year depending on how many students are participating in the programme. The grant is not means-tested and does not affect students’ entitlements to other grants, such as SUSI, Back to Education, etc.
This video captures a powerful eTwinning collaboration between O’Fiaich Institute of Further Education in Dundalk, Ireland, and CIFP Santa Catalina in Aranda de Duero, Spain. It looks at building bridges through the 3 pillars of Education, Business & Culture.
Through immersive college tours and regional exploration, students and staff examined how education systems, economic landscapes, local enterprise, and cultural identity mirror one another across two European regions.
The project highlighted clear educational pathways from further education into industry—showing how learning connects directly to real-world opportunity. As part of this journey, participants explored world-class wineries in Spain and specialist whiskey distilleries in Ireland, discovering how heritage, innovation, tourism, and international marketing are shared strengths in both regions.
Special thanks to Boann Distillery, Mo Chara, El Lagar de Isilla, Hotel Torremilanos, Slane Distillery, and Fairy Trees Winery for their generosity, insight, and inspiration. Our thanks to Léargas and Consortia de Castilla y León. This eTwinning project was funded by The European Union.