About BCFE

Mission Statement

BCFE is a college of further and higher education providing vocational education through the provision of excellent teaching and guidance in a caring and supportive learning environment.

Recognising our position within the City of Dublin VEC we have a responsibility to provide educational opportunity and support to all, and in particular to our local community.

Conscious of our educational tradition we continue to be innovative and creative in the provision of courses to meet the needs of our present and prospective learners.

Our courses provide learners with relevant qualifications and competencies enabling them to enter and advance in the work force or continue to further studies.

Core Values

Equal opportunities and access.
Respect for each individual.
An open and flexible approach to learning.
Learner-centred.
Commitment to innovation and improvement.

Aims

Our aims are:

To continue to be a leading provider of further education.
To be innovative in developing new courses at different levels in a planned and integrated way through consultative processes.
To further improve the quality of our courses and their delivery.
To provide a range of courses recognised within the Qualifications Framework.
To contribute to educational access and opportunity for the local community.
To develop internal structures appropriate to a college of further and higher education.
To continue to enhance the physical resources of the college.
To enable staff to develop their full potential within the college.
To further develop partnerships with potential and current employers.
To further develop collaborative relationships with educational institutions.

Management

Ballyfermot College of Further Education is managed by the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee (CDVEC) with a local Board of Management representative of the community/special interest, industry/services and commerce, students and staff.

The CDVEC is the statutory agency for vocational and technological education for the City of Dublin. It manages 21 schools and colleges, which cater for 11,000 students.

Maureen Conway is the Principal of the College and the Deputy Principals are Diarmuid O’Brien and Kevin Devine.

History

Ballyfermot College of Further Education is a leader in further education and training in the Republic of Ireland since it opened in 1979. Following the radical social, economic and demographic changes of the last few decades in Ireland and the corresponding evolution in education, Ballyfermot College not only contributed immensely to the development of Post-Leaving Certificate courses (PLC) for Irish school leavers, but also offered further education, specific skills and training in areas previously untouched by most educational institutions.

The college opened in 1979 as the Senior College Ballyfermot. Since then the college has worked with a range of educational and industrial partners to develop and offer a wide range of successful courses in further and higher education. The college caters for students from the age of 17 and upwards.
The college offers a choice of 39 courses of Further and Higher Education in 9 departments.

Senior College Ballyfermot (SCB)

The Senior College opened in September 1979 to provide the Leaving Certificate to students from Ballyfermot. After consultation with local secondary schools it was decided that students from 3 of the local schools, Ballyfermot Vocational School, Caritas and St Dominic’s would complete their leaving certificate in the Senior College. The new school offered a wide range of subjects to the boys and girls of the area. The College is part of City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee.

The new College also offered secretarial courses to post Leaving and post Intermediate students, as well as pre-employment courses for post intermediate students.

During the 1980’s a range of post Leaving cert. Courses were introduced into the College, including Preliminary Engineering which had links with DIT Bolton Street, Hotel Catering and Tourism courses which had links with CERT, Business courses and Social Care courses. Most of these courses continue today.

In the 1990’s the Senior College gave up its Leaving Certificate classes, which returned to the local schools, and continued to develop Post-Leaving Certificate courses making it a leader in developing this area of education.

In 2000 the Senior College changed its name to Ballyfermot College of Further Education.

Departments

Within BCFE there are several Departments:

Art, Design and Graphics
Moving Images
Business
Engineering
Lifelong Learning
Media
Music, Performance, Management and Sound
Social Care
Television and Film
Travel, Tourism and Reception

Please visit our Course List page for details on the courses available within each Department.

Buildings

Thare are 3 separate buildings within BCFE college. The Main Building and Media Building are side by side, to the left of Ballyfermot Road if coming from the city centre direction. The Arts building is located around the corner, on the Chapelizod end of Kylemore Road.

Map of Campus Buildings

The Arts Building is where courses in Art, Design and Graphics and the Irish School of Animation are located. The other courses are located mainly in the Main and Media Buildings, although individual classes may be located in any building, according to resource and room availability.