Student Stories

I decided to go back to hairdressing in Carlow Institute of Further Education and Training after having my son as I had lost confidence in myself and my hairdressing skills. I also wanted to gain qualifications that are recognized in the hairdressing industry as I had no qualifications to show for three years of training, I had previously done prior to having my son.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course and completed the two years gaining my junior and senior trade certificate and QQI level 5 hairdressing award and QQI level 6 business award. I also made lifelong friends whilst on the course. I found all the teachers helpful and knowledgeable, kind caring and very approachable. I have also gained valuable advice since leaving the course and have constantly upskilled gaining my Master Diploma in hairdressing and Diploma in Education and Training. I am very proud to say I now am a hairdressing tutor.

I originally applied for the course because I have always loved being creative and makeup has been the perfect outlet. It is something I am passionate about and greatly enjoy and would love to follow a career in this area, which is why I was keen to partake in this course to sharpen my skills and have the opportunity to learn new and exciting styles and techniques and really enhance my makeup knowledge and ability.

I had an amazing experience doing my course at Carlow Institute! All the tutors are very talented in their areas, so I really felt like I gained a lot of new knowledge and skills throughout the course. The course content is so broad that I ended up learning new things I never thought I would like body-painting which really kept the course interesting! The facilities in the college are to such a high standard, the adjustable chairs and large mirrors making the makeup room a pleasure to work in everyday, really giving us a salon type of experience!

I am planning to progress to the level 6 Makeup Artistry course and would love to progress to teach makeup from that so that I can share my knowledge gained with others. I would also love the opportunity to work in a theatre/ cinema setting as these are both areas, I am very passionate about and feel like my time at Carlow Institute is really preparing me for both of these options!

I studied 2 years of Beauty Therapy at Carlow Institute. It was honestly the best 2 years of my life. The course is very in depth and hands on which I thoroughly enjoyed! During my time at Carlow Institute I not only learned how to be a professional beauty therapist, but I also learned values that I have taken with me and will continue to do so throughout my career.

The amazing teachers go above and beyond to help and support you without any hesitation. I am now a fully qualified beauty therapist and have worked in both the Spa and Beauty Industry over the last 2 years. I would highly recommend Carlow Institute to anyone looking to upskill or start their career journey.

I applied for the Art and Mixed Media course to create a unique portfolio and to learn new disciplines of art as well as expand my own knowledge and interests within art.

The staff and tutors were very friendly, approachable and extremely helpful with any queries or uncertainties that I had during the course. The institute had great facilities including a two-storey library with computers that I had access to for my assignments.

There was a large amount of work in the course but I found it manageable and very enjoyable. From doing the course I learned new skills and techniques and explored a new range of media and materials as well as discovering new ways of thinking and observing.

I applied to colleges using my portfolio that I created during the year, and I am now currently studying a BA of Fine Art and Education at NCAD, Dublin.

During my time in the Music Performance course, I was able to expand my horizons both musically and academically as well as being able to drive myself to become a better musician and performer. The teachers were brilliant and very helpful in all my modules. I am now in my second year of college in BIMM Institute Dublin, an achievement I would not have accomplished had it not been for the time spent in Carlow Institute.

Returning to education, I completed a Level 5 Certificate in Graphic Design with Distinctions with Carlow Institute.

I have really enjoyed learning how to design collateral through branding projects in Graphic Design. Using various mediums in my work has expanded my skillsets further, drawing my ideas out, to digitally composing them. This has made me curious to explore more ideas through thinking and designing creative concepts for products and future projects in design. I am currently studying Healthcare with Carlow Institute and hope to get into Art Therapy and continue my love of painting through imagination, colour and vivid style.

I recently unveiled a new body of work for our new Campus here in Carlow Institute, taking four months to complete, my signature imaginative style is heavily influenced by the work of Francis Bacon and Pablo Picasso.

My motivation for enrolling on the Legal Studies course was to gain knowledge about the principles of law. Also, I had heard positive reviews about Carlow Institute. I always had an interest in law from TV programmes, but this course has opened my eyes to the massive impact that law has on society. I’ve had fantastic experiences with the staff and the course content such as Family Law and Criminal Law is incredibly interesting. The teachers are helpful and friendly, they put me at ease straight away! I hope to progress to study law on a Level 8 degree course at third level.

Having extensive clerical experience, I felt that the medical secretarial course afforded me the opportunity to combine both my experience and my interest in the medical field. However, having worked in the arts for the previous 20 years, my clerical and administrative skills needed updating. Having researched the variety of modules offered on the medical secretarial course and learning of the excellent facilities offered at Carlow Institute, I was impressed and motivated to embark on the Level 5 Medical Secretarial course. From the beginning, the teaching staff have been helpful and holistically supportive in every step of my journey. The modules offered in the course are accurately geared towards a career in the broader medical field e.g. Dental/Doctors surgery, Hospital etc.

A long-term happy and successful career in this area is my goal.

I was not ready to go to college and I had no idea what to study. I decided a PLC would be a good stepping stone. I looked through the Carlow Institutes prospectus thoroughly and I confidently chose Business Administration.
I was very nervous to start, but the staff and students were warm and welcoming. I made great friends. The staff were caring and helpful when it came to stress with assignments and helped me learn many new skills. I progressed to level 6 Business in the Institute and I am planning on studying in college next year.