A new guidance service designed to assist adult learners with their education, training and employment needs has been set up with a budget of £35 million.
The first eight centres to act as providers of the guidance were yesterday allocated more than £1 million between them, by the Minister of State with responsibility for Adult Education, Mr Willie O'Dea.
The centres will pilot the development of the service which is expected eventually to cover the whole State. The centres will begin offering their services in the new year, initially to people participating in adult literacy programmes and in the Vocational Training Opportunity Scheme, which is aimed at the unemployed.
Mr O'Dea said the funding of the eight centres represented the first phase of the service and the rest of the money would be used for further expansion and staff development. The funds were becoming available under the National Development Plan.
The Green Paper published earlier this year said there was not just a need to expand adult education programmes, but also support services such as guidance. This is part of the Government's drive to greatly increase the take-up of places in further education which is comparatively low by European standards.
Mr O'Dea said the new service would range from dealing with literacy and basic education to handling employment queries. Linkages will also be built with FAS, the State's training agency. A detailed database of education and training options will also be maintained by the centres which form the service.
At present there is no central system of educational guidance to support adult learners. The new services will concentrate initially on serving those undertaking study in the VEC sector, but it may be expanded beyond this later.
The reason for confining the service at this stage to the VEC sector is to avoid overlaps with existing guidance services in other areas of third-level and adult education.
Under guidelines in the National Development Plan, the south and east will receive £27 million of the funding with the remainder allocated to the border, midlands and the western regions.
Mr O'Dea has established a working group in association with the National Centre for Guidance in Education to oversee the development of the service.
The eight centre are: Co Dublin VEC; City of Dublin VEC; Co Westmeath VEC; Waterford Institute of Technology; Co Clare VEC; Co Louth VEC; Co Kildare VEC and Cumas Teo, Ionad Fiontar, Co Galway.
Emmet Oliver is contactable at eoliver@irish-times.ie