Adult Education and Training

Adult Education or Further Education covers education and training that occurs after second level schooling but is not part of the third level system. There are number of providers of Further and Adult Education and Training and a wide variety of schools, organisations and Institutions, are involved in the delivery of continuing education and training for young school leavers and adults.

In Ireland, Further Education and Training (FET) is principally publicly funded by the Department of Education and Skills, through SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority and delivered locally through the Education and Training Boards. SOLAS prepared a FET Strategy 2014-2019 which aims to deliver a higher quality learning experience leading to better outcomes for all who engage in FET.  The focus is on skills, on active inclusion and on improving the quality of FET provision by expanding the evidence base of the central pillars of the Strategy as well as inclusion of related inter-dependent parts of a quality FET framework.

A key aspect of the FET Strategy is the provision of quality education and training solutions that respond to employers' existing and evolving needs while creating high quality portable skills for learners, valued by learners and by employers both nationally and internationally. Therefore, the early identification of evolving skill needs is crucial to the success of the Strategy.