Nominate an adult education organisation for an AONTAS STAR Award
7 Oct 2010 11:26 AM
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Thursday, 7th October 2010
Nominate an adult education organisation for an AONTAS STAR Award
AONTAS is currently inviting nominations for the STAR Awards Initiative for adult learning projects. The STAR Awards Initiative, now in its fifth year, recognises the value of adult and community education throughout the country.
Last year's winners included the Skillsnets/Craft Butchers National Certificate in Butchering Skills, 'A Song for All' (Traveller Musical Education Project in Co. Carlow), and the Downtown Centre, which aims to improve greater access at third level for adults living in Limerick.
439 projects have been nominated for awards over the past four years, increasing from 46 in the first year to 110 last year. According to AONTAS Director, Berni Brady, the initiatives showcase how adult education is responding to the recession. 'Local VECs and community groups are often the first port of call for people recently unemployed' she explained.
'A recent review by the Department of Education and Skills identified that 30% of the labour force has only their Junior Certificate or less', she continued. 'The task ahead is to move 500,000 people up a level on the skills ladder by 2020.' Over the past six months the government has invested €32 million in a range of new measures, through the Labour Market Activation Fund. These training initiatives target people on the live register with low skills, but also those affected by structural unemployment such as the decline in employment in the construction, retail and manufacturing sectors. 'This investment is welcome, but we are still seeing a number of education providers stretched to meet the demand for courses,' said Ms Brady.
This STAR Awards will recognise the role of adult education in helping people cope with the consequences of recession - by offering opportunities for learning and skills development, but also recognising the social dimension of unemployment.
'It may not be immediately obvious, but there are huge social consequences to the current economic crisis' said Ms Brady. 'Isolation, depression and loss of confidence - particularly that experienced by a substantial cohort of young men formerly employed in construction - will create real problems for us down the road. What we're saying to people is that a course will not solve the immediate unemployment problem, but it does help people brush up with their skills or open up new opportunities or networks that they may not have considered previously.'
AONTAS has established a panel of fifteen judges with a variety of experience with adult and community education, who will review the nominations and decide on thirteen different winners. The award winners will be announced at a ceremony on February 21st at Dublin Castle. More details are available on the website www.adultlearnersfestival.com. Nominations can be submitted directly through the website or sent to AONTAS. The closing date for nominations is Friday November 26th.
ENDS
For more information contact
Niamh Farren, Communications Officer 01 406 80220/ 087 911 0569
Note to Editor
1. For a full list of last year's winners, visit www.adultlearnersfestival.com.
2. For more information about the Labour Market Activation Measures, visit www.qualifax.ie or http://www.aontas.com/information/accessmeasuresm.html
3. Full details on how to nominate a project for an award, along with a sample completed nomination form are available from www.adultlearnersfestival.com
