Ryan Robertson, from Lisburn, found the right pathway for his education when he visited an open evening at South Eastern Regional College (SERC).
As his GCSEs approached, Ryan, who is now 20, visited SERC Lisburn Campus with his parents and quickly felt convinced that the learning environment at SERC would suit him, rather than going back to school.
“I didn’t have a specific aim at first”, says Ryan “And I did the Skills for Life and Work course at first; with that we did essential skills IT so when I achieved that I progressed to the Level 2 Traineeship in IT at the college. It was good and just what I expected; straightforward to go through with fun things to do on the course and the tutors were nice. Our real-life work included creating a website. We had to sort out equipment too! I really enjoyed the gaming design element. It was a really good foundation for moving forward.”
As Ryan decided his eventual aim was to get a degree, following the Traineeship he enrolled on a Level 3 National Extended Diploma in IT - IT Professional at the college.
He comments, “It’s different from Level 2 – the trainee level - as we have exams, whereas my previous course was all assessed through coursework. Right now my favourite thing is CMSI – working on Microsoft –it’s the bit that comes most naturally to me. I will continue with that even if it’s not my main study area in the future. At the moment, I’m looking at either game development at Ulster University, or computer science at Queen’s University Belfast.”
Ryan has also taken the opportunity to connect with other students at the college, through his love of games:
“Outside the course I run the board gaming club which meets weekly on SERC Lisburn Campus. It started small last year and I ran a Dungeons and Dragons section, then I took over the whole club this year.
“I am glad I found the route at SERC - the college is a good starting ground whatever your course, I think.”
Enrol at SERC for FE course, traineeships and apprenticeships on 13 and 14 August 2026.
