Advice on offer for adult study

THE annual AONTAS adult learning exhibition will be held at the RDS from September 5th-7th inclusive and it will provide advice and information about gaining further qualifications, acquiring new skills and improving job prospects.

Almost 50 different groups will have stands at the exhibition and there will be representatives from specialist colleges, language institutes and distance learning programmes. The Department of Social Welfare will be on hand to give advice about returning to study while retaining welfare benefits, FAS will be there to offer assistance with training opportunities and City & Guilds, London, will also be represented.

The exhibition takes place in the Concert Hall of the RDS in Dublin and the opening hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on September 5th and 6th and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on September 7th of September. Admission is £2 with free entry for the unwaged.

During the three days there will also be a number of seminars including a talk by Prof Joe Lee of UCC on Lifelong Learning (7 p.m., Thursday) and on Saturday at noon there will be a seminar on college life as a mature student.

To coincide with the exhibition, AONTAS is launching a new book called A Degree at Last which is a collection of 12 stories - by mature students who have overcome many hurdles to achieve their degrees. The book is published by AONTAS at £4.95 and is available from Easons and other book shops.

A few places remain on the Fine Arts Appreciation Course run by the Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute. The course begins on September 10th and consists of 10 evening lectures at the institute's headquarters in Merrion Square, Dublin.

Topics to be covered include period furniture, silver and jewellery, books, pottery and porcelain and 19th and 20th century art. The cost of the course is £125 and information is available from Vivienne McSherry at (01) 661 1794.

. Those interested in beginning courses with the Open University should note that the closing date for undergraduate programme applications and the MBA is September 30th while applications for the certificate or diploma in management need to be in by September 13th. The Open University can be contacted at telephone (01) 678 5399 or fax (01) 6785 442.