REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF CITY AND GUILDS MEDALS OF EXCELLENCE DUNDALK
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF CITY AND GUILDS MEDALS OF EXCELLENCE DUNDALK, CO. LOUTH MONDAY 13TH MARCH
A dhaoine uaisle, is mór an onóir agus an pléisiúr dom bheith anseo inniu ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas libh as an chaoin-chuireadh.
I am very pleased to be with you in Dundalk and I am very grateful to Emer McManus for her kind invitation to be here today. I attend many formal events, but it is days like today that I really look forward to as it tells the “good news” story of so many young people in Ireland who have taken on the challenge of improving their skills, broadening their experience, opening their minds to the new and challenging world of education, opening their lives to new possibilities and opportunities.
The City and Guilds Medals of Excellence are a real and valuable recognition of the personal development which each of the recipients has reached. They are not easily earned, demanding so many hours of time and effort and commitment to your futures. You have every right to be proud of yourselves today and we too are proud of you and this island we share will be a stronger and better place as a result of what you have achieved and the enhanced contribution which you are so well qualified to make to society.
The seven young people who are receiving awards today faced the stiffest competition to be among the recipients of the Medals of Excellence. There are about 130 medals awarded each year to a pool of over 1.7 million potential candidates. You will have to do the calculations yourselves, I, unfortunately, do not have a City and Guilds certificate myself. We are in the company of young people who have been tested to the very highest levels and have proved their worth to an exceptional degree of excellence. They are exemplars, leaders, role models – the kind of people who make great citizens, great colleagues and I hope their success will be an encouragement to others to aim high so that their very best can reveal itself and their talent shine.
As we meet here today, I know that there are many young people considering their futures. I would like to encourage them to consider seriously looking at the City and Guilds, or other educational course. In a few years time would you rather be saying to yourself ‘I wish I had spent more years just hanging around aimlessly?’ or ‘I wish I had spent more time getting a qualification?’
We are lucky on this island to be blessed with a strong, durable commitment to education and the economic, political and cultural confidence we experience today can be directly related to the enormous widening of uptake in education which marks the past thirty years off from the long years of underachievement which preceded them.
Qualifications, like the ones from the City and Guilds, are not simply pieces of paper to hang on a wall. They are important statements about skills an individual has committed to developing. They are testimony to the level of skill attained and testimony, too, to the character of the person, for we know that those who achieve these qualifications are people of determination, commitment, resilience as well as ability. Their qualifications are specifically tailored for the needs of our modern world, as you would expect from courses which are designed with the contemporary needs of business, industry and community strongly in mind.
Ireland's future depends on the skills, adaptability and creativity of its workforce, which is why I welcome the outstanding knowledge, versatility and adaptability, as well as the innovation and originality, which the City and Guilds fosters. The achievement of medallists, in demonstrating excellence in these strategically relevant areas, augurs well for your future lives and means that you are well placed to avail of many and varied career opportunities now and in the future.
Today we are honouring young people from both sides of the Border. Both jurisdictions need young people of proven talent and ability and we have a vested interest in encouraging each other to strive for the best. Two prosperous and peaceful neighbouring jurisdictions have much hope and potential to offer their young citizens. The work you undertook to gain your qualifications will help to build that prosperity and consolidate that peace. The Medals for Excellence are a recognition of our trust in you and our faith in the future you will between you carve out. I congratulate each and every one of you, and wish you every success in your future endeavours.
Go raibh maith agaibh.