Developing individual mental toughness and managing equality and diversity in the workplace are among the issues studied by the latest graduates from the Aspire Complete Leader Programme.

The programme is designed to develop supervisory and leadership skills in each of the participants. It is run by the Cork College of Further Education and Training (FET) – Bishopstown Campus – under the Skills to Advance initiative for Trigon Hotels.

A graduation ceremony was held in CorkETB last Thursday, May 2nd for five team members who have been accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), an internationally recognised qualification.

The five Complete Leader Programme graduates are:

● Kathleen Linehan, Strategic Director Of Human Resources, Trigon Hotels

● Eoghan Murphy, General Manager, Cork International Hotel

● Roger Russell, General Manager, Metropole Hotel

● Jared Warner General Manager, Cork Airport Hotel

● Pierce Lowney, Director of Food and Beverage, Trigon Hotels

The seven-month course is delivered by Anne Pettit, a human resource consultant with more than 25 years of experience in managing teams, functions and businesses of various sizes.  Anne has worked on numerous HR Projects and Assignments for both SMEs and National and multinational organisations.

Other modules included in the Complete Leader Programme are Developing Your Leadership Styles, Managing and Implementing Change in the Workplace and Management Communications.

Speaking on the day, Denis Leamy, Chief Executive of Cork ETB praised Trigon Hotels  for the vision they have shown in developing the leadership programme. He said: “The model you have co-designed with Cork College of FET is an excellent example of how FET and industry can work together to upskill and reskill team members.”

He praised the Complete Leader group for the leadership they showed in taking on this programme of study: “It is fantastic to see the Senior leaders of Trigon Hotels taking the time to develop themselves and engage in lifelong learning while leading by example and supporting their team in their own development.”

Denis Leamy also thanked Trigon for working with Cork College of FET and Skills to Advance on this programme, and for entrusting Cork College of FET with their staff development needs.

Managing Director of Trigon Hotels, Aaron Mansworth said; “It is important that our team members know that we are supportive of every opportunity to help develop their skills, especially when it comes to leadership and management roles. We are really proud of the five graduates who completed the recent programme and we are delighted to work with the Cork College of FET under the Skills to Advance initiative to develop the Aspire Leadership Programme.”

Skills to Advance is a national initiative that provides upskilling and reskilling opportunities to employees in jobs undergoing change and to those currently employed in vulnerable sectors. It aims to equip employees with the skills they need to progress in their current role or to adapt to the changing job market.