Bobby Buckley (b. 1931), former CEO of Cork County VEC (part 2)

In 1973, Bobby Buckley was appointed CEO of the Cork County Vocational Education Committee, and in this recording he recalls his initial challenge – a report was requested on each vocational school in County Cork. His predecessor in the post had not used the financial resources on the school buildings, which now required urgent attention, and Bobby Buckley is proud to be able to assert that he became part of the building and design team which put in place many fine centres of vocational education. He recalls many of the challenges he faced in his long career and he mentions the need to remove the stigma which often attached to vocational school students, and the huge competition for students which existed in rural areas. He oversaw the creation of community colleges in County Cork, with the co-operation of Fr Denis O’Callaghan. He was also the instigator of the creation of an independent board of management for each school in the county, and during this time, he faced a challenge in the High Court relating to boards of management. The challenge was unsuccessful and he feels that this outcome strengthened the position of the boards into the future.