Northern Ireland

Budget cuts damaging people's education skills

Speakers who celebrated the achievements of adult learners
Speakers who celebrated the achievements of adult learners Speakers who celebrated the achievements of adult learners

Public sector cuts have damaged the chances of people seeking to improve their employability and education skills, it has been claimed.

Ken Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of the Local Economic Development Company (LEDCOM) said the shelving of programmes including Learner Access and Engagement (LAE) could greatly undermine efforts to help disadvantaged individuals and groups find employment.

Mr Nelson was speaking at a special reception organised by LEDCOM to celebrate the achievements of 830 adults who greatly improved their employment prospects by participating in the LAE or Exploring Enterprise 2 (EEP 2) programmes.

The event marked the end of the LAE programme, which had been funded by the Department for Employment and Learning, and the EEP 2 programme, organised by Enterprise NI, which is due to be replaced by EEP 3.

LAE, a joint programme delivered by LEDCOM and the Northern Regional College, had engaged 619 adults from September 2013 to January 2015, providing them with Essential Skills and access to FE courses.

Of those, 279 were from Larne, 117 from Carrickfergus, 163 from Moyle (Ballycastle, Bushmills and Cushendall) and 60 from rural Newtownabbey (Ballyclare, Ballynure and Doagh).

A total of 55 per cent of those who took part have achieved a recognised qualification with others still awaiting results.

"Our work on the LAE Programme over the past two years has shown the great demand and need for such initiatives. We hope that it will be re-instated in the near future if and when economic conditions become more favourable," Mr Nelson said.

LEDCOM project manager Patricia Brennan added: "Returning to education can be a daunting step but through the LAE we were able to support and encourage more than 600 adults along this journey. Our team were hugely successful in reaching out to local people and encouraging them to take this first step in re-entering mainstream education."

Carmel McKinney, chair of Northern Regional College, praised the hard work of all of the adult learners.

"The LAE programme was a shining success in delivering education and skills to hundreds of `hard to reach' adults and offering them the chance of a bright new future. It is disappointing that due to funding cuts, the Department for Employment and Learning has been unable to renew the programme, which provided an invaluable service to the community," she said.

"We are in a period of financial austerity but I think it is important to express disappointment that due to funding cuts LAE has stopped for now. However, the demand for such programmes is very high and it is very clear that we need to go further."

Among those who spoke at the celebration event were married couple, Rishi Kunwar, who took part in the LAE course in counselling and Jane Prendy who participated in an EEP 2 Course in Larne.

Mr Kunwar has now completed his Level 4 in counselling and applied for a foundation degree course at Belfast Metropolitan College, while Ms Prendy has used her new skills to set up her own business.

Rishi from Nepal and Jane from Larne are spearheading a fund-raising campaign to build homes for Nepal earthquake victims.

The Hats off for Nepal campaign aims has already raised more than £4,000 to build ten new homes in the region, which was struck by a devastating earthquake on April 25, killing more than 6,000 and destroying 130,000 homes.

"The social media workshops on the programme have helped us to network with people around the world.," Mr Kunwar said.

"We are already raised £4,060 to build ten homes and our goal is now to build 25 homes. We are going to Nepal in August and will be working directly with people on the ground to put this money to good use."