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He re a re som e qu e st i on s t h a t y ou c a n a sk y ou r l oc a l c a n di da t e s:
Wh at w ill you r p art y do ... · T o en sure t hat info rmat io n and acc ess t o learnin g is av ailab le t o peo ple lo c ally, inc lud ing o ld er peo ple?
· T o en sure c o mmunit y ed uc at io n is suppo rt ed t o d eliv er pro grammes which alleviat e d isad vant age and a d d res s so cial inclusio n?
· T o pro t ect exist ing init iat ives such as VT OS (V o cat io nal T raining and Oppo rt unit ies S cheme) a n d pro v id e
To rote(T c t he exi stiBng i ni ti attiov es a s io V TOS ( V oc a tiive) ona l Tra ni ng h B Tp EI ack Edsuc uch at n I nit iat – i whic aseco nd Op pnortuni ti es S c heme) a nd BTEI ( The Ba c k to Educ a ti on d chance ed ucat io n fo r peo ple? I ni ti a ti v e ) – whi c h prov i de sec ond c ha nc e educ a ti on for people?
· T o en sure t he viab ilit y o f t he c o mmunit y and vo lu n t a ry sect o r, as well as init iat ives such as t he Nat io na l Wo men’s S t rat egy?
· T o ad d ress t he co ncerns o f ad ult learners at lo c a l, n at io n al o r Euro pean level?
A bout A ON TA S A ONTA S is t he Nat ional A d ul t L e arning Org anis at ion. M e mb e rs hip of A ONTA S inc l ud e s e d uc at ion providers , c ommunit y org anis at ions and ind ivid ual adult learners . A ONTA S e xis t s t o p romot e t he d e ve l op me nt of a l earning s oc iet y t hroug h t he p rovis ion of a q ual it y and c omp re he ns ive s ys t em of adult l e arning and e d uc at ion w hic h is ac c e s s ib l e t o and inc lus ive of all. F or more inf ormat ion vis it www. a on t a s . com or t e l e p hon e 01 406 8 2 2 0
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A dult E ducat i on – T he C ur r e nt C hal le nge s
Why is a dult l ear ning im porta nt?
S inc e J uly 2 0 0 8, t he d e mand f or e d uc at ion and t raining has inc re as e d in l ine w it h
Whi le adu lt l ear n ing wil l co nt r ibu te to wards o ur fut u re econ om ic
unemployme nt .
dev elopment , i t al so has a val uable r ol e to pl ay i n t he cur r en t cl im at e
• In Marc h 2 0 0 9, t he numb e r of p e op l e w ho are une mp l oy e d s t and s at 3 7,12 71 – an
through com bati n g soci al i solati on and k ee pi n g brain and bod y act iv e.
inc reas e of 11% . • A c c ording t o t he E S R I , une mp l oy me nt w il l re ac h 17% b y t he e nd of 2 0 10 .
Tak i ng part in some fo rm o f adul t learni n g i s v it al t o he lpin g p eo ple co pe through t he re cessi on .
• The numb e rs of p e op l e c ont ac t ing A d ul t G uid anc e in 2 0 0 9 have inc re as e d b y 2 5% f rom 2 0 0 8. • 3 3 % of pe op l e c ont ac t ing A ONTA S in t he f irs t q uart e r of t his y e ar w e re ne w l y
Local and Europ ea n El ectio ns 2009
unemploye d .
Wha t should c andidate s k now abo ut t he c ur r en t sit uat io n for a dult le arn er s?
Ho w will t h e S u pplem en t ary B u d g et im pac t o n ad u lt lea rn in g ? The g ov ernment has promis ed 691 0 pl aces in further education under an ‘ activ ation’ meas ure. Thes e incl ude • 2, 980 ful l time pl aces in ful l time third l evel education, incl uding 700 pl aces on the Redundant Apprentice S cheme • 2, 43 0 pl aces in part time third l evel education • 1 , 500 additional PLC pl aces I n addition the g overnment has promis ed • 1 4, 000 additional pl aces for s hort time FÁS cours es • 27 7 pl aces on a new Pil ot Training S cheme for w ork ers in vul nerable empl oyment • Chang es to the criteria for the B ack to Education Al l ow ance.
• Commitmen ts made in the S upplementary Bu dg et do n ot g o far en oug h . Adult learning organ isatio ns in both th e forma l an d n on forma l sector are strugg ling to meet the demand for edu cati on and traini ng as un employmen t grows. Edu cation providers must be reso urced to meet th e g rowi ng deman d for furth er learni ng.
• The recruitmen t embargo in VECs shou ld n ot apply to ri ngf en ced in itiatives, su ch as the AEGI.
• S ystems for the delivery of inf ormatio n abo ut adult lea rn in g requ ire better co-ordination . S tron g er links must be formed between key agenc ies such as FÁS, the Departmen t of S oc ial Commu n ity and Family Affairs and th e Adu lt Education Guidance Ini tiati ve. Th e loc al auth ority also ha s a role to play in promoti ng information abo ut loc al lea rn in g option s for adults.
• Community educ atio n plays a stro ng ro le in su pporting people to actively participate in their c ommu n ities. Co mmuni ty edu cati on and c ommu n ity developmen t in itiatives mu st c on tin u e to be reso urced to enable th em to provide this support.
The S uppl ementary B udg et al s o outl ines other cutback s w hich w ill affect the del iv ery of adul t education, incl uding :
• Cutbacks to the Nation al Women’s Stra tegy an d the Equ ali ty for Women Measu re
• Cutback s to the Department of Community, Rural and Gael tacht Affairs. • A recruitment embarg o on s taff w ithin l ocal VECs . • Cutback s to the Department of Jus tice, Equal ity and Law Reform.
• Adult learni ng ini tiati ves wh ic h ta rg et edu cati on al disadvan tag e, su ch as VTOS,
will prevent women from ac cessin g fu rther train in g an d educ atio n.
BTEI, and adult g uida nc e, mu st c on tin u e to be fu nded and stren gth en ed. T ur n ov er f o r ques t ion s t ha t you ca n as k c a ndi dat es s t andi ng in the loc al an d Eur opean elect io ns .