Event celebrates achievements of adult learners

The Adult Learners Week has been described as "a highly significant period in the adult education and training calendar due to its focus on the lifelong learning agenda."

These were the words of Catherine Bell, who heads up the Further Education Division at the Department for Employment and Learning, deputising for Mrs Carmel Hanna, Minister for Employment and Learning, at an evening of celebration for adult learning at the BT Riverside Tower, Belfast.

Speaking at the event, held on Tuesday 14 May, Mrs Bell said: “It is only through everyone working together – government, colleges business and the voluntary and community sectors – that our goal to create a culture of learning to benefit all sections of society and the Northern Ireland economy will be achieved.

Underlining her Department’s commitment to encouraging adults to engage in learning, Mrs Bell said that it was "essential" that the benefits of learning were widely promoted through events such as Adult Learners’ Week.

Referring to the recently published strategy ‘Essential Skills for Living’ which addresses the low levels of literacy and numeracy throughout Northern Ireland, Mrs Bell added: “Improving the essential skills of literacy and numeracy in adults will open new doors to greater employment opportunities, and enable people to participate more fully in their local communities.

“This strategy recommends proposals to enhance the excellent provision that already exists in the further education sector and the workplace. It is this sector, currently the main provider of adult literacy courses, which will be central to the delivery of these recommendations.”

Mrs Bell presented certificates to Adult Learners nominated by each of the Further Education Colleges.

Congratulating the students on their success, Mrs Bell concluded: “As ambassadors they clearly demonstrate the great range of learning that exists in Further Education Colleges throughout Northern Ireland.”

(CL)