The reductions fall on provision that adult learners and newcomers rely on most. Belfast Met has been forced to reduce English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, essential skills classes in English, Maths and IT, evening A-level classes targeted at adult learners, and some community education programmes. Alongside this, ApprenticeshipsNI training providers have been given one month’s notice that funding for a significant number of places will be withdrawn, affecting both new entrants and existing employees seeking to retrain. 

This contraction comes at a time when participation in lifelong learning is in decline in the region. In Northern Ireland, the 2025 participation rate was 35%, well below the UK average of 42% (Phipps et al., 2025). The OECD has found that broad and continuous participation in adult learning is essential for economic resilience and social inclusion (OECD, 2025). Cutting the entry-level and second-chance provision that brings adults back into learning runs directly counter to this. 

AONTAS is calling for: 

1. The UK Government to respond to the Executive’s request for additional funding. 
2. The NI Executive to agree a budget without further delay, and to protect FE provision that supports adult learners, including ESOL, essential skills and community education. 
3. Government of Ireland to consider the impact of these cuts on the all island education and skills ecosystem. 

AONTAS will share these concerns with officials at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) to raise the cross-border implications of declining investment in learning and skills in Northern Ireland. 

Our intention is to ensure that those facing the most significant barriers to education, many of whom live, learn or work across border regions, are not further disadvantaged by this funding crisis. AONTAS works across the island of Ireland, carries out research and capacity building projects in Northern Ireland, and is a founding member of the Alliance for Lifelong Learning in NI.  

Read our Northern Ireland Community Education Census and our previous statements on funding cuts to the sector in Northern Ireland.