Hi cmalone,
Your nephew must be bored with his job in the public service!
Who in their right mind would abandon a permanent and pensionable for the legal profession right now!
mf1 and Mc Crack have given you and up-to-the-minute commentary there, while purple has suggested a slightly different route.
Personally, I think that if your nephew has a management degree or significant management experience he could build on that and move into the private sector.
That should be excitement enough to last him the rest of his life!
Older businesses are facing intense challenges to persist in the face of the continuing economic situation, which will involve going through a process of change management and redundancies.
Skills in personnel management and employment law will be an advantage to such firms.
New business start ups are happening all the time and they need gray(ing) heads on the boards to advise them.
Many of the below management courses have a law component, whether it be contract law or employment law.
Here are some options for him to consider if he chooses to take this advice.
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Smurfit Business School
Your nephew - assuming he has some capital behind him could contact the Smurfit Business School in Carysfort Avenue.
According to a talk I attended there last year one graduate - a barrister - who achieved the MBA is now employed by NAMA.
However another lad who did the course fount it didn't slingshot him up the career ladder as he had hoped.
Over €30,000 for a one year MBA might be a bit steep for some to find out it didsn't deliver the results.
It was described as being a very intensive course with a lot of extra-curricular work.
You can basically forget about weekends and home life for the duration.
Smurfits appears to have maintained its world standings and its alumni network is considerable.
In the current challenging economic climate there is no certainty that graduates will walk straight into a job when they finish.
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Trinity
Alternatively, Trinity also runs some well- respected courses in the up-to-€10,000 range. Here is some information on one I looked at recently
"...the postgraduate diploma in Project Management for your attention.
Entry Requirements: An honours degree (level 8) in Engineering or related subject, or a suitable professional qualification (a B.Sc. Surveying will be considered if the candidate is working in an engineering environment).
A candidate without a relevant level 8 degree may be interviewed to establish his or her suitability for the course .
On-line application is currently open on: [broken link removed] Current application deadline: 31 August. The application fee is non-refundable.
Once the on-line application is made, please note that submission by post of (hard-copy) supporting documentation will be requested by PAC in Galway.
In addition to degree transcripts, certificates and CV, two professional letters of reference (not academic) will be required.
Please note – there is no need to fill out the online academic reference form, as for diploma courses, two professional references on company letter-head are required.
EU fees for 2011-12 are: 5,750. Non-EU fees: 11,500. Student levies of 85 euro also apply. Academic fees are deductible for income tax purposes.
EU fees are payable in two instalments: 1st September and 1st February.
Our diploma courses are one-year, part-time Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses aimed at those in full-time employment in Ireland. All our diploma courses are graded at level 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications.
Lectures are held on Friday evenings from 7.00 - 10.00pm and Saturday mornings 9.30am - 12.30pm over two twelve-week terms. Course dates:
Friday 30 September 2011 - Saturday 17 December 2011
Friday 20 January 2012 – Saturday 7 April 2012 (there may be no lectures Easter weekend). There are two exams in May.
For general information on application procedures see: [broken link removed]
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Bluebrick and Springboard
Alternatively,
Bluebrick.ie and the associated [broken link removed] are also useful places to start.
A post graduate course is not cheap to pursue at circa €5,400, but it takes you to a Level 9 NFQ with good standing and an overview of the profession he has already developed a skillset in.
For people on Jobseekers for 6 months, such courses are offered FREE. I post that here for what its worth in case other readers can avail of it.
As with Trinity, a Fetac Level 8 degree under his belt already would be a distinct advantage, but Springboard also operate a Recognition of Prior Learning [RPL] process, so people with commensurate experienced can be accredited and avail of the courses.
Some professional bodies will not recognize this RPL process, but the post-graduate qualifications appear to be [broken link removed] [National Framework Qualifications] accredited.
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Fás/ Solas
Fás ran a Fetac Level 6 course in Management last year delivered by the which is a broad-based course at a level those without formal qualifications can attempt.
The course - S29Z -offered the core modules of Business Management, Finance and Employment Law and was a very good way of testing one's ability or gaining recognition for prior learning.
The course currently offered by BMI the Diploma in Business Management, may not be exactly the same course, but seems to offer the same kinds of modules - he should check this.
In my case, despite having maintained my professional competence over the years by attending courses, seminar and undertaking self-directed study, I found it to be a challenging course.
The employment law section in particular required a high degree of extra-curricular online study just to get your head around some of the emerging bodies of law, like [broken link removed] and [broken link removed].
The course was also full-time, two days a week, with four 105minute sessions per day (one and three quarter hours each) two fifteen minute breaks and half hour for lunch.
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Summary
The point I'm making is that leaving a civil service middle management position to move to a full-on learning course like the Smurfit MBA might be too much, too soon.
Undertaking a middle-level broad-based course would be a useful means of easing back into academic studies and achieving a result, as opposed to hitting a wall.
No courses or qualifications offer job security.
I think your nephew might therefore be well-advised to consider a part time MBA such as those noted above and maintain his position while achieving it.
After that, he may be able to avail of a "sabbatical" or "career break" option from his civil service position, which could allow him to dip his toe into the water yet hold a reserve position.
I hope this brief trawl through the options assists in his deliberations.
There are a lot of ways forward for a guy turning 40.
Without suggesting he avails of it, it may be worth noting that the cut off point for seeking permanent residency (as opposed to a temporary permit or working visa) in some countries (Canada, Australia) is 44 as of this time last year - I haven't checked recently.
ONQ.