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“All Learning begins when our comfortable ideas turn out to be inadequate.� - John Dewey
Overview
Since its launch in 2002, the Back to Education Initiative has made a major contribution to building the capacity of the formal education sector to meet the changing needs of individuals, communities and society.
The Back to Education Initiative (B.T.E.I) provides opportunities to Return to Education (Fás) for young people and adults who may have left formal education at an early age.
This programme is designed to develop skills in line with emerging needs.
Part-time programmes under the BTEI provide:
- Young people and adults with an opportunity to Return to Education (Fás).
- A re-entry route for those in the workplace who wish to upgrade their skills in line with emerging needs.
- A chance to combine education and training with family, work and other responsibilities.
A priority is to target individuals and groups that experience particular and acute barriers to participation. The overall aim of the BTEI is to increase the participation of young people and adults with less than upper second level education in a range of flexible learning opportunities.
All courses are offered on a part time basis and allow for national certification (FETAC).
Target Groups:
Part-time programmes under the B.T.E.I. are intended to make further education more accessible generally. A high priority is to target the individuals and groups that experience particular and acute barriers to participation and are more difficult to engage in the formal learning process. These include:
- Adults and young people aged over 16 who left school with low or no formal qualifications or low literacy levels
- The long-term unemployed and those at risk of becoming long-term unemployed, especially those in the older age groups
- Those not in work but not eligible to be on the Live Register
- Those in the workplace with basic skills needs
- Disadvantaged women who have particular experience of barriers to participation
- Disadvantaged men, including those experiencing rural isolation
- Lone Parents and others with caring responsibilities that may prohibit their participation in full time courses
- Travellers
- Homeless People
- Substance Misusers
- Ex-offenders
- People with Disabilities
- People for whom English is not the mother tongue, who require literacy and language supports
Outreach Facilities:
B.T.E.I. programmes operate at various locations throughout the County as part of an area based approach.
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