Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service hosted the Annual National Education Achievement Awards for members of the Traveller community on 1st December 2022, with Senator Eileen Flynn as the guest of honour at this year’s event.

At publicjobs.ie, we were proud to sponsor the awards for the last three years and play an important role in supporting this vital work. There were 60 people nominated for the awards and 11 were in attendance on the day.

The awards are presented to Travellers across Ireland, who had recently completed one of the following; Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate, QQI major level 3/6, Special purpose award, GCSE, A Levels BA, Post Grads, Masters and PHD. Accompanying the recipients to the event were the families, friends, teachers, and others who have supported them in their education.

Exchange House Ireland National Traveller Services hosts this annual event to congratulate the recipients of the award and to ensure that what they have achieved is valued and applauded. The Award also highlights the increasing uptake in Traveller people accessing formal education. They are role models for other Travellers, who are engaged in, or are considering returning to, formal education while portraying positive images of the Traveller community.

An Exchange House spokesperson, said,

“We consider it important to celebrate education which is essential to the future of the recipients of the award and to the Traveller community. Accessing education is providing them the opportunity to build for their future, that of their community and society in general.”

Margaret McCabe, Chief Executive Officer, publicjobs.ie, added,

“At publicjobs.ie, we are proud to sponsor the National Traveller Awards to recognise the achievements of the traveller community across Ireland. At publicjobs.ie, we believe that a thriving, inclusive public service that is energised by the contribution of employees from all sectors of society leads to more innovative, productive workplaces and more responsive and inclusive policies, programmes and services.”