NRC graduate sets up his own business

Mark McNally, spent four years at the College where he completed a Level 4 qualification before progressing to a Foundation Degree in Integrative Counselling Practice at the College’s Trostan Avenue Campus in Ballymena.

Although he admits it required a lot of hard work and commitment, Mark said he is looking forward to using his knowledge and skills to help other people.

“Since completing my studies I have founded a community interest company called Bremar Training alongside my business partner. We have developed a range of programme around resilience, health and well-being and suicide awareness which we deliver to the general public in sports clubs, community organisations, businesses and schools,” he said.

Having previously benefitted from counselling himself, Mark, who has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, decided to undertake the course to give him the opportunity to pursue a new career path but found that it offered him a great deal of personal development as well.

He said: “The theoretical side was informative, but the opportunity to apply these theories to myself and later as a student counsellor helped me develop into an integrative practitioner.

Mark has thanked his lecturers for their ongoing support and encouragement.

“The dedication and support of all our tutors has been so important to my development as a student and inspired me to keep going when, at times, I doubted myself. I have sad it many times before throughout my course by they really do go above and beyond for their students,” he said.

Congratulating Mark on his successes, Course Director Minford McBride said: “Mark demonstrated a real desire to learn and I am delighted to see he is now using his knowledge to help others. I wish him the very best with his plans for the future.”