GREAT THINGS HAPPEN OUT OF THE BLUE
Upskilling Opportunities for Frontline and Military Personnel
Transitioning to a New Career? Consider Upskilling.
When planning your exit from a life of service, investing in upskilling can significantly enhance your career prospects. By acquiring new skills or deepening existing ones, you can increase your job security, earning potential and overall career satisfaction.
Why Upskill?
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Increased Job Security: In today's competitive job market, having specialised skills can make you a more attractive candidate.
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Higher Earning Potential: Upskilling can open doors to higher-paying roles and promotions.
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Career Advancement: New skills can help you transition into a new field or advance within your current industry.
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Personal and Professional Development: Upskilling can be a rewarding experience, allowing you to learn new things and grow as an individual.
Popular Upskilling Areas for Frontline & Military Personnel
Many frontline and military personnel possess transferable skills that can be valuable in various industries. Here are some popular upskilling areas:
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Technology: Cybersecurity, data analytics, software development, and cloud computing.
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Business: Project management, leadership development, marketing, and sales.
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Education: Teaching, instructional design, and educational technology.
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Construction and Trades: Project management, construction management, and engineering.
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Health & Safety: Conducting site safety inspections and investigating accidents or dangerous occurrences
Government-Funded Training Programs
The Irish government offers various training programs to support individuals in upskilling. These programs often provide financial assistance and guidance to help you achieve your career goals.
Tips for finding the right upskilling opportunity
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Assess Your Interests and Goals: Determine what you're passionate about and what you want to achieve in your career.
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Research Available Programs: Explore different options, including online courses, on-the-job training, and apprenticeships.
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Consider Your Budget and Time Commitment: Factor in the cost and time required for each program.
Featured Courses
Kapsuun Group Courses
KAPSUUN GROUP
Kapsuun Group are a leading provider of training solutions who have continually demonstrated their support for the military and law enforcement community through the provision of accredited online courses, developed in partnership with and accredited by Ulster University. Kapsuun Group courses are designed to enhance skills, provide professional recognition, and support continual professionaldevelopment and education.
Our clients include, Frontex, The Irish Defence Force, An Garda Síochána, The Danish Police Service, US Department of Defence, The Metropolitan police, Merseyside Constabulary, The Australian Army, Grant Thornton International, Net-A-Porter and Gatwick Airport to name a few.
AN ACADEMIC ASSOCIATION
Our partnership with the University of Ulster gives us access to internationally recognized accreditation for our training and qualifications. For example this course equates to 4.5 US academic credits.
Ulster University is a leader in vocational training at degree level and works with professional bodies, such as the Kapsuun Group, to ensure programs are current and fit for purpose. The university is a member of the association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of European Universities, Universities of Ireland and Universities of theUnited Kingdom.
Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery
Learn to recognise the signs of human trafficking and modern slavery, and understand how these crimes operate across sectors including transportation, housing, agriculture, construction, hospitality, and retail. Developed in partnership with the University of Ulster, this university-accredited online course covers trafficking methods, forced labour, child exploitation, sexual exploitation, trade in organs, and global responses. Participants also receive practical guidance on identifying victims and producing modern slavery declarations.
Format: 4 weeks online · 10–15 hrs/week · Full e-Tutor support · Level 4 certification (20 UK credits / 10 ECTS)
More information:
kapsuungroup.com/accredited-courses/human-trafficking-modern-slavery-course/
Open Source Intelligence
WHAT IS OPEN SOURCE INTELLIGENCE?
A website you browse to, a YouTube video you watch, a blog or social media post you read. This is all publicly available data known as Open Source Intelligence or OSINT.
Our university-accredited OSINT course has been designed by academics and subject matter experts in cyber security and intelligence. The course provides training in intelligence gathering in the digital age, including social media intelligence training and an introduction to the dark web. The course also equips students with the skills necessary to protect their own cyber footprint.
Format: 4 weeks online · 10–15 hrs/week · Full e-Tutor support · Level 4 certification (20 UK credits / 10 ECTS)
More information:
kapsuungroup.com/accredited-courses/osint
Deep & Dark Web Course
WHAT IS THE DEEP DARK WEB?
The World Wide Web is estimated to consist of more than 130 billion individual web pages and is constantly growing. Only 4-10% of these web pages are on the surface web and readily available to the public. The deep
and dark web make up the remaining percentage.
So what can be found below the surface? Take our course on the deep and dark web to find out. Our university-accredited Deep and Dark Web course has been designed by academics and subject matter experts in cybersecurity and intelligence. The course provides information on the deep and dark web and criminal activity found online, training on how to access the dark web safely, and the basics of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Format: 4 weeks online · 10–15 hrs/week · Full e-Tutor support · Level 4 certification (20 UK credits / 10 ECTS)
More information:
kapsuungroup.com/accredited-courses/dark-web
Other courses
Security Institute Courses
The SII (Security Institute of Ireland) is the Security Industry’s Sectoral Body. It is responsible for Education, Course Development, Training, Certification and liaison with the National Regulatory Authorities within different jurisdictions.
The Security Institute was founded in February 1981 and granted a licence by the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism. It is a ‘not for profit’ organisation owned by its members. It is structured with a Board of Directors who are elected by the members. The Board also appoints a CEO (Chief Executive Officer), senior officers and working committees.
Gain a Certificate, Advanced Certificate or a Diploma and move up in your career in the security industry with recognised qualifications. SII classroom-based and online courses will help you gain a new qualification, upskill and progress your career. This will assist you obtaining a job in front-line service and enable you deliver exceptional and professional service. All their courses are carefully developed in consultation with industry stakeholders. Extensive national and international research is also carried out to ensure that course content is relevant to the participants, the industry and clients.
For more, see the Security Institute website.
Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy
The micro-credential courses offered by Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy are crafted in collaboration with industry experts.
They help develop Ireland’s workforce in meeting the future demands of the offshore wind energy sector. Explore upcoming courses and start your offshore wind career journey today.
Go to their Micro-Credentials page or click on any of the sample courses below.
PECB Training from Fortify Institute
Fortify Institute is proud to partner with the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB) to offer globally recognised, ISO-standard training and certification programmes to professionals and organisations across Ireland and beyond. Whether you're pursuing a career in information security, AI governance, data protection, risk management, or compliance, our PECB-accredited courses are designed to equip you with the practical knowledge and credentials you need to succeed. Delivered online through flexible eLearning or via live instructor-led sessions, our training options are ideal for individuals, teams, and businesses ready to build cyber resilience and meet international standards.
And they are happy to offer our audience a 10% discount on certified training from Fortify Institute - simply use the code 'OOTB10' on their website, fortifyinstitute.com/pecb-courses
Certificate in Safety & Health at Work
at UCD
With society's focus intensifying on health and wellbeing, in particular workers’ health, the Centre for Safety and Health at Work (CSHW) continues to meet the needs of our society using blended online platforms and flexible teaching programmes to cover key contemporary issues.
The Certificate in Safety and Health at Work is an introduction to a comprehensive range of topics including safety and health legislation; risk and safety management; identification of a wide range of workplace hazards; workplace wellbeing, emergency management, occupational health hazard management and occupational safety hazard management. At the core of the programme, you will learn about risk assessment and management practices that can be applied to any discipline or sector.
Your first day on campus, the Orientation Day, will be Friday 19th September, 2025. The three other campus tutorial days throughout the academic year are scheduled as follows:
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Friday 28th November 2025
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Friday 27th February 2026
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Friday 24th April 2026
Students resident in Ireland are expected to attend the tutorial campus days. These are invaluable face-to-face learning days with your tutor and fellow students, as well as providing networking opportunities. Students outside of Ireland will be provided with access to live online tutorials delivered at the same time as the on-campus tutorials.
Learn more: https://www.ucd.ie/cshw/
Micro-Credentials
at UCD
UCD micro-credentials are an exciting new innovation developed and delivered by UCD’s world-class academic faculty.
What are UCD micro-credentials?
Micro-credentials are short, accredited, flexible, industry-aligned courses, that give learners the opportunity to upskill in highly-specialised areas. The content for micro-credentials in UCD is developed and delivered by the university's world-class academic faculty.
Why UCD Micro-credentials?
Micro-credentials aim to address many of the barriers to life-long learning and their flexible design enables learners to successfully balance further study with other commitments. Each micro-credential is a fully standalone upskilling opportunity, but learners also acquire university credit in the form of ECTS.
Learn more: www.ucd.ie/microcreds
Empower Your Team. Enrich Your Workplace:
PG Cert Health & Wellbeing with UCC and MTU
UCC and MTU have developed a Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Wellbeing, a Level 9 qualification that is flexible, part-time and 100% online. The programme is tailored for professionals who want to become health and wellbeing champions within their work community.
✔ Easy to fit learning around schedules
✔ Part-time, full online delivery
✔ Practical and purpose-driven content
Start with a Certificate with an option to progress to a Master’s
Delivered by two of Ireland’s top universities: UCC & MTU
By completing this programme, students will not only enhance their career paths but also make meaningful contributions to wellbeing and development.
This is an excellent opportunity for those looking to upskill, future-proof their careers, and make a lasting impact on student wellbeing.
Learn more and apply here: www.ucc.ie/en/pchw/
An tÚdarás Slándála Príobháidí
The Private Security Authority (PSA)
The Private Security Authority (PSA) is the statutory body with responsibility for licensing and regulating the private security industry in Ireland. The PSA is an independent body under the aegis of the Department of Justice. Established following the passing of the Private Security Services Act in 2004, the PSA started licensing security contractors in 2006 and security employees in 2007. The PSA’s head office is in Tipperary Town with inspectors operating nationwide.
The primary role of the PSA is to ensure that the public is protected through a standards and qualifications based licensing system. The PSA works in partnership with both employers and employees in raising standards in the industry to the benefit of the consumer, public and society.
The PSA currently licences over 30,000 contractors and employees across 12 sectors including:
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Alarm and CCTV installation, monitoring and maintenance
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Door and Event security
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Locksmith services
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Enforcement Guard
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Access Control and Powered Gates
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Security Guarding
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Private Investigators
See the PSA website for more details: www.psa-gov.ie/
