AONTAS urges Kildare adults to consider return to learning

AONTAS, Ireland’s national adult learning organisation, has urged adults across Ireland, including in Kildare, urges to consider a return to learning.

The appeal follows after the organisation received the 2022 International Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) Hall of Fame award.

It is the first time the award, presented by the IACE Hall of Fame based in the University of Oklahoma, has been won by an organisation.

Newly appointed CEO of AONTAS, Dearbháil Lawless, and her predecessor, Dr Niamh O’Reilly, accepted the award in a special presentation at the ASEM Lifelong Learning Conference in Cork. 

On receiving the award, AONTAS urged adults across Ireland to consider their options to return to learning with the support and information available through their One Step Up Service.

Ms Lawless paid tribute to the tireless work of her colleagues in adult education across Ireland and to her predecessor Niamh O’Reilly, who also received an individual award for her contribution to the adult education sector.

She said: "AONTAS believes that all adults deserve the right to quality lifelong learning opportunities that are both empowering and transformative.

"Having worked closely with our former CEO Niamh O’Reilly, I am delighted to see her great work in the sector recognised today as well.

"She has been an incredible advocate and changemaker for adult learners in Kildare, and across Ireland and along with my colleagues in AONTAS, we are continuing to carry on that important work and raising the voices of people returning to education."

Dr O' Reilly also said: "We are so honoured to receive this award and it is a testament not just to our work in AONTAS, but to the work of every single partner organisation we work with across Ireland to support people in their local communities. 

"Often, those who work in adult education aren’t solely tutors or teachers, they are pillars of support for individuals embarking on something new and possibly very challenging.

"Their impact has an incredible domino effect for wider society," she added.

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ONE STEP UP SERVICE

Ms Lawless also pointed to AONTAS’ One Step Up information service, website and freephone helpline which helps thousands of adults to return to learning each year: "Returning to education can be a daunting step, especially for those who have only negative experiences of school or who have been out of formal education for a long time.

"Whatever the reason someone wants to return to education – whether it is to get a qualification or to help them get a new job, to help their kids with their homework, to make friends or to learn something new – AONTAS can support learners in Kildare to find the right path."

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'THAT'S WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED FOR THE BETTER'

AONTAS also shared a story of one adult that availed of its services.

Adult learner Kayla Dibble left school before completing her Leaving Certificate after being diagnosed with a rare neurological condition.

Kayla said that at the time, she thought the Leaving Cert was her only route into third level education: "I had gone from being a straight A or B student to missing multiple days from school due to medical appointments and managing my symptoms – there were days when migraines or vertigo meant I couldn’t even sit up in bed and the condition effected my eyesight.

"I had fallen so far behind with the work that it became a vicious, exhausting cycle trying to catch up. It all became too much and it became clear to me and my parents that I simply wouldn’t be able to sit the Leaving Cert as I’d hoped."

Kayla took a year away from her studies to focus on her health, before enrolling with a distance learning college to attempt the Leaving Cert from home.

This came with its own challenges, and as such, Kayla’s parents suggested another option: "My parents both had experience of the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme and even though I knew how much they had gained from it, I couldn’t see it as a viable option for me but by God was I wrong! I attended an open day in VTOS Roscommon and that’s when everything changed for the better."

With the support and advice of staff at the VTOS in Roscommon, Kayla undertook courses at Levels 4 and 5, and gained work experience at a local newspaper, easing back into education while managing her condition.

She has since started a Digital Marketing degree at TUS Athlone.

Kayla said: "This wouldn’t have been possible without VTOS Roscommon."

Further information about the One Step Up website www.onstepup.ie 

In addition, the AONTAS free phone helpline on 1800-303-669 is available to all adult learners looking to return to education.