Graduates of Cork’s first ever AWS re/Start cohort celebrated their achievement at Cork County Hall on Friday, 16 October.
Here, they were joined by Paul Meaney, Operations Director for EMEA at Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Ashley Benson, Senior Strategic Accounts Manager at Generation Ireland. Minister of State Jerry Buttimer TD spoke at the event, honouring the graduates on their success.
18 GRADUATES
AWS re/Start is a free skills development and job training programme that opens the door to a career in cloud computing for people who might otherwise never get the chance. Offered at no cost and requiring no previous technical experience, it is designed to build skills among unemployed, underemployed and under-represented members of communities.
Alongside technical training, learners receive CV and interview coaching and are connected directly with potential employers, ready to step into entry to mid-level cloud roles.
18 learners graduated from this first Cork cohort, the majority of whom faced three or more barriers to employment, from disability and long-term unemployment to not holding a third-level degree or coming from a low socio-economic background.
Nationally, the programme has a strong track record, having supported 138 people since it launched in Ireland in 2020, with 76% going on to secure full-time, industry-aligned employment.
The Cork programme was delivered by Generation Ireland in partnership with SOLAS, Cork Education & Training Board and Rethink Ireland.
