County Wicklow Adult Guidance Service Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference! Robert Frost

Definition of Guidance (National Lifelong Guidance Framework) ‘ Guidance facilitates people throughout their lives to manage their own educational, training, occupational, personal, social and life choices so that they reach their full potential and contribute to the development of a better society’ Guidance refers to a range of activities designed to assist people to make these choices. In the context of adult education these activities include: -Information-Networking -Advising-Referral -Counselling-Providing Feedback -Assessing -Managing -Enabling-Mentoring -Advocating-Innovating

A Model of Guidance Adult Guidance is concerned with “A changing individual in a changing society”. With a changing self and changing situations the matching process is never really completed (Donald Super) Adult career development is enmeshed in a complexity of life roles and transitions, parent – child - breadwinner, homemaker, dual income couples, retirees. The Blended life pattern sees adults moving in and out of work, education and family responsibilities over their life time (NCGE Report 1998). The Adult Guidance Counsellor acts as a catalyst for change and provides a framework through which the client can be supported to deal with their personal, social, educational, work, family, community and spiritual issues.

A Model of Guidance We use an integrative, humanistic intercultural model of guidance which recognises the multi-potential of everyone and ensures that people are motivated and empowered to develop their skills and abilities throughout their lives. While adult guidance is at its heart concerned with helping individuals, it is also like education, a deeply socio-political activity because “ it operates at the interface between personal and societal needs, between individual aspirations and opportunity structures, between private and public identities”. (FAS conference T.Watts)

County Wicklow Adult Guidance Service The County Wicklow Adult Guidance Service opened to the public in September It was established by County Wicklow VEC in response to the proposal in the White Paper on Adult Education “Learning for Life 2000”. The White Paper recognised that “Adult Guidance was emerging as the lynchpin in the lifelong learning model, enabling adults to make educational, work and life transitions, in a fast moving technologically based information society”

The County Wicklow Adult Guidance Service is a countywide service with centres in: Bray Wicklow/Arklow West Wicklow (Blessington/Baltinglass/Carnew) The Service is: -Free -Friendly -Confidential -Available to everyone over 18 years

Objectives The County Wicklow Adult Guidance Service provides a comprehensive guidance, counselling and information service to all students attending adult education centres in the Co. Wicklow area, with particular emphasis on VTOS, Literacy and Adult Community students. More recently our target groups have expanded to include clients on the Back to Education Initiative Programmes (BTEI) and clients of the Education Finance Board. These clients include: Unemployed people People with disabilities Lone Parents Early school leavers Travellers Ex-offenders Homeless people Older people Persons from ethnic minority backgrounds The service is available and marketed to adults attending courses in local adult and community education centres, adults attending night courses, and any adults in the community who are unemployed, have been made redundant, are attempting to re-enter the workforce, or are seeking a career change.

Objectives We work in close cooperation with all relevant national and local agencies (SOLAS, Department of Social Protection, Wicklow County Council, Partnerships, Local Employment Services, Health/Disability Services, and all national and local voluntary organisations) to ensure that any gaps in the service for our client groups are identified, and that courses or resources can be made available to ensure the best outcome for users of the adult education service in County Wicklow. We also support improved quality through staff and programme development initiatives. The Adult Guidance Service provides guidance to adults at the pre-entry, entry, pre-exit and follow-up stage of those engaged in adult education. The service is underpinned by the following principles: »Learner/Client centredness »Confidentiality »Impartiality »Equal opportunities »Accessibility »Transparency »Empowerment

Services Provided One-to-one guidance (helping people with their educational, personal, social and career choices) Group guidance sessions to learners attending local Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB) adult education centres, and those attending local community education groups in County Wicklow Information on all local and national courses Full resource on educational and career library with access to the internet CV preparation and interview skills

Services Provided Study Skills workshops Mature students application procedure for third level colleges Information and advice on education grants, rights and entitlements Information on: »VTOS (Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme) »BTEI (Back to Education Initiative) »BTEA (Back to Education Allowance)

Guidance for literacy, VTOS and Adult and Community Education students: / Finding a path (helping with life choices i.e. education, training and work) Building confidence and self-esteem Giving good information

Initial progression routes for students: Part-time programmes through the Adult Education Basic Services in the Adult Learning Centres within Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board Intensive Tuition on Adult Basic Education (ITABE) courses Basic computers courses FETAC level 1,2,3 and 4 courses

Progression routes from the Adult Learning Centres: Courses in our Further Education Centres of KWETB through Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) and Community Education Programmes Post Leaving Certificate Centres (PLC): FETAC level 5 and 6 Third Level options: Level 6, 7 and 8 Work, FAS, Local Employment Service (LES), National Learning Network (NLN)

Ongoing work of the service Priorities for 2014: The major focus of our work in 2014 is to develop a protocol with the Department of Social Protection and our services to provide quality guidance to people in receipt of a social welfare payment. The challenge is to support the National Jobs Strategy launched by the government in February 2014, but also ensure that our model, ethos and values of guidance are not compromised within that process. Ongoing work: Attendance at all open days of Further Adult and Community Education Centres in the county. Delivery of workshops on a wide range of guidance and information issues to targets groups within the county i.e. FETAC progression routes, information on courses, rights and entitlements, CAO, study skills, CV preparation and interview skills and stress and time management. Advocating and networking with a range of local and national agencies on behalf of clients. Participation ongoing professional training and development for staff provided by KWETB, NCGE and IGC. Participation in a range of local KWETB, partnership and community initiatives to develop services for clients. See statistics for County Wicklow Adult Guidance Service

Begin by Brendan Kennelly Begin again to the summoning birds to the sight of light at the window, begin to the roar of morning traffic all along Pembroke Road. Every beginning is a promise born in light and dying in dark determination and exaltation of springtime flowering the way to work. Begin to the pageant of queuing girls the arrogant loneliness of swans in the canal bridges linking the past and future old friends passing though with us still. Begin to the loneliness that cannot end since it perhaps is what makes us begin, begin to wonder at unknown faces at crying birds in the sudden rain at branches stark in the willing sunlight at seagulls foraging for bread at couples sharing a sunny secret alone together while making good. Though we live in a world that dreams of ending that always seems about to give in something that will not acknowledge conclusion insists that we forever begin. from The Essential Brendan Kennelly: With CD Recordings (Bloodaxe Books, 2011) By kind permission of the author and Bloodaxe BooksBloodaxe Books 19