Overview: options for education and training

Information

You may want to continue your education or take part in a training course in order to develop your skills while you are unemployed. You can do this either within the formal school and college system or outside of it.

Training

There are a number of continuing education and training programmes funded by FÁS, the vocational educational committees (VECs), and other Government departments and agencies. FÁS training courses offer you an opportunity to develop or upgrade your skills in the commercial and industrial sectors if you are unemployed or redundant.

Education

You don't need formal qualifications in order to take part in many of the full-time and part-time courses that are on offer in the adult education and community education sectors.

Adult education courses can include further and third-level education or continuing education and training. The range of courses available includes both part-time and full-time courses. Courses may be held in the daytime or in the evening.

Community education refers to adult education and learning, generally outside the formal education sector. It promotes personalised learning and flexibility within the learning group. Participants are involved as equal partners in identifying needs, designing and implementing programmes, and adapting them on an ongoing basis.

If you are interested in further study or training, there are a number of sources of information on returning to education which can tell you more about the courses which may be available to you.

Funding

Different sources of funding for education are available. These include grants, FÁS training allowances and social welfare payments such as the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA). The BTEA has a number of conditions attached, including that you have been unemployed for a certain length of time.

The Community Employment (CE) programme is designed to help people who are long-term unemployed, among others, to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities. There are a limited number of Community Employment places available. There are also conditions, related to age and to the type of social welfare payment you are receiving.