NCGE National Centre for Guidance in Education

Further Education News

The image to the right links to a report published by SOLAS June ’17 the report title is: ‘Specific Aspects of Further Educations and Training (FET) Provision and Barriers to Participation in FET Programmes ’ by Amárach Research, reporting on a national research project commissioned by SOLAS.

This further highlights the clear message regarding the need for a coherent FET Information & Guidance strategy. The report reflects the experience and challenges noted by AEGI Staff and Clients over the years – issues of childcare, travel,course fees, organisational barriers, funding accessibility and eligibility requirements etc.

Four main themes are explored:

• Motivational/Dispositional      
• Economic/Social welfare
• Organisational
• Information and Guidance barriers

Of significant note is the commentary regarding the need for coherent Information and Guidance services to better serve the needs of the FET learner, organisations and  providers. As FET Guidance Programme Coordinator, NCGE look forward to engaging and progressing toward the development of an effective, cooperative and collaborative FET Information and guidance strategy over the coming months.

Mary Stokes, FET Guidance Programme Coordinator, has collated some quotes from the report that may be of interest:

'The staff moratorium was also seen as a key challenge which has impacted course offerings, quality and support. Guidance services were also seen to suffer from the reduction in funding and the recruitment embargo. Stakeholders felt needs assessments for incoming students were inconsistent, while guidance levels were not allowing for an alignment of learners to courses. Stakeholders also felt that guidance needed to be increased for incoming or prospective learners considering FET via the Intreo service, since not all case officers seemed to be aware of the scope of courses or the suitability of individuals for courses. This was also reflected in discussions regarding the challenge of the complexity and diversity of different courses offered through FET; from Youthreach and VTOS to literacy programmes or apprenticeships. Overall, stakeholders felt that there was not enough clarity or guidance to navigate the system.' (Pg 66)

'A cross-organisational approach was advised by numerous stakeholders: it was proposed that SOLAS could work more closely in collaboration with other government departments and special interest groups. By working with government departments, such as DES for funding, DSP for funding and referrals and DPER for childcare, SOLAS could develop an interdepartmental discourse and framework for FET. Stakeholders felt that strategic aims and organisational planning should be tied in with expertise and input from existing systems and special interest groups.'(pg. 74)

'Stakeholders outlined the lack of information and guidance as a key challenge for prospective learners, even by service providers, due to the challenge of communicating and disseminating information.’… ‘Stakeholders’ perspectives diverged regarding the quality of information available. Some felt that there was no shortage of information available but that it can be overwhelming and hard to navigate. The challenge is “to make people aware of where to look for information” (stakeholder 8). Prospective learners can encounter problems finding and interpreting official information, which results in learners sourcing word-of-mouth information, a lot of which can be inaccurate; especially regarding entitlements.  (Pg. 69)’

'Stakeholders agreed that the information that is available can be quite inaccessible to learners’: “what’s really been effective for us is learners’ stories…hot and cold knowledge…cold is leaflets, databases and people who are most educationally disadvantaged and don’t understand the system generally don’t get their information from there they get it from hot knowledge which is word of mouth” (stakeholder 6)(pg. 70)

'People can enter FET from school, through self-referral and referral from Intreo case officers; and for each entry point guidance offers a valuable benefit:  “information by itself is too bare, people need to interpret it and the principle of guidance is to help interpret it. There’s no shortage of information out there - databases upon databases -  and then there’s the providers themselves bThere are too many FET choices, meaning people need guidance yet the adult education guidance service is relatively invisible; people are “falling through the crack' (stakeholder 36).  (pg 71)

'pre-guidance is vital…that’s where the connection between the guidance service, the department of social protection is really, really important to explain about what education options are there, what facilities are available whether its full-time or part time, whether there’s grants…and a chance to meet with a guidance counsellor to figure that out' (stakeholder 10)(pg 72)

'it’s the staff at DSP who will determine a person’s suitability for a course, they’re totally unqualified, they’re not trained in career guidance, they’ve no knowledge of the range of industrial sectors and their different demands and requirements' (stakeholder 17)

'Others are less damning of the Intreo referral system but remark that there is too much variability and reliance on the quality of the individual Intreo officer. One stakeholder remarked that learners felt that DSP and/or Intreo services and staff are not adequately equipped with information about FET; while some course providers felt that Intreo are more likely to send prospective learners to JobPath programmes over the ETBs, and are only referred to FET when JobPath is unsuccessful. Furthermore, some learners noted negative experiences when accessing FET as an unemployed person. The “customer service” experience for DSP “clients” was largely negative as learners often described that they felt pressure to participate in certain courses. Changes to the organisation of DSP, Intreo and FÁS have also impacted on the engagement case officers have with their clients and the general public. Intreo removes accessibility of information for many people since Intreo services are appointment-dependent… Guidance is needed prior to, during, and following courses.’ (pg 72)

'A stakeholder suggested that the “FET Sector needs to develop guidance sector and structure” (stakeholder 3) where the AEGI is developed into guidance service which supply accessible information across programmes including to people walking in. The NCGE is a department-funded guidance agency which can help in the development of the FET guidance system. However, a lack of cross-organisational communication arose when drafting recent guidance strategies since SOLAS approved ETBs to create a strategy with DSP without the NCGE’s input resulting in an ill-informed strategy.’(pg.75)