A NEW Limerick Institute of Technology campus is to create 100 full-time jobs with a further 134 workers employed over the three year construction timeline.
But its long-term benefits will be in the thousands of graduates who will be qualified for careers in emerging technologies where future job opportunities will be concentrated.
It is estimated that the LIT Coonagh Campus, on the site of an abandoned retail development on the Ennis side of the city, will be worth €6 million a year to the local economy in payroll revenue alone.
LIT confirmed on Monday that the Board of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) approved the proposed purchase of the Coonagh Cross site with the support of €3.5 million in capital funding from the Department of Education and Skills.
It will allow LIT to start work on the campus at the rear of the TESCO Coonagh Cross shopping centre almost immediately with the first intake of students scheduled for next year.
The total development will take place over a three-year period, with additional funding being provided by the Department of Education and Skills on a phased basis.
Initially the campus will focus on areas such as precision engineering, which is critical in developing engineers and technicians in a wide range of industries including aircraft maintenance, mechanical and automobile engineering as well as automated production processes in the pharma and medtech sectors.
The campus will include the National Precision Engineering Hub, which will provide services to the manufacturing sector such as employee training, testing facilities and applied research, in close collaboration with the PTMA (Precision Turn Manufacturing Association).
The new campus will also enable LIT to expand a range of other programmes and to provide much-needed additional sports facilities on the northside of the city.
LIT President, Dr Maria Hinfelaar, described the decision as a game-changing moment for the college and for higher education in the Mid West.
“This is a critical capital investment which ensures that LIT will be a key catalyst helping Limerick and the wider Mid West region to continue attracting further high value technology jobs.
“LIT will now be able to almost double its footprint, and to expand course provision in science, technology and engineering to meet the region’s expanding skills needs.
“We are anticipating that the first students will be studying on the Coonagh Campus next year and when the first phase of development is completed in 2018 we will have capacity for an additional 550 students. In subsequent phases to 2030 this can be doubled again.”
According to Dr Hinfelaar, each cohort of 120 graduates from Coonagh will add €6 million a year to the economy in salaries alone.
Limerick Fine Gael TD Kieran O’Donnell said it was a new dawn for LIT with the doubling of its current size and forging ahead with cutting edge courses that will be industry-led and address key skills shortages in emerging job creation areas such as robotics.
“Furthermore, it is fitting that a building at Coonagh Cross that has laid unoccupied for so long since construction will now be put to such a productive use, both in terms of education and employment creation.
Founder and chief executive of Limerick-based Takumi Precision, Gerry Reynolds described the Coonagh Campus as a great investment in the future of manufacturing in Munster and Ireland.
“The investment by LIT in new facilities and cutting edge technology, along with the development of new courses in conjunction with industry, means that the potential to attract new high-end manufacturers in areas like medical devices and aerospace to the region is significant.”
