This chapter deals with policies, programmes and qualifications targeted at adult learners over the age of 19 outside of higher education. It includes apprenticeships and traineeships, which are available from the age of 16.

It focuses on provision which is partly or fully publicly subsidised, and covers aspects of both vocational education for the workplace, and second chance education to enable individuals to gain the fundamental skills required for life and work.

At the time of writing, November 2019, the Northern Ireland Assembly is dissolved and there are no executive ministers. Efforts to form an Executive continue. Updates on the situation will be posted to the UK Government’s Northern Ireland political stability document collection.

The article 'Distribution of Responsibilities' covers the main stakeholder organisations and representative bodies as well as government departments. Some of these cover Northern Ireland only, while others have a remit for other parts of the UK.

The article 'Developments and Current Policy Priorities' covers the main policy documents and strategies in adult education and training from 2002 onwards, to show how policy making has evolved in this area in recent years. The section on current policy priorities focuses on the 2016 further education strategy, Further Education Means Success.

Further education (FE) colleges are the focus of the article 'Main Providers', as they are at the centre of the sector, but it also covers other providers in brief.

The article 'Main Types of Provision' provides an overview of how qualification frameworks apply to adult education. It also provides links to statistics on learner participation, where available. Its subsections cover:

• provision to raise achievement in basic skills, which focuses mainly on English and maths qualifications for adults
• provision to achieve a recognised qualification during adulthood, which covers general qualifications including GCSEs and A Levels and the Access to Higher Education Diploma. This subsection also provides a brief overview of vocational qualifications. (For further information on vocational education, readers are advised to consult the website for UK ReferNet)
• provision targeting the transition to the labour market, that is, programmes which aim to encourage the hardest-to-reach adults back into the world of learning
• provision of liberal (popular) adult education and community learning, although this is not an area of strategic importance in Northern Ireland
• other types of publicly subsidised provision for adult learners, which focuses on apprenticeships.

The article 'Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning' highlights that there is no agreed legal national approach or position to recognising non-formal and informal learning in Northern Ireland. It outlines some approaches used.

Article last reviewed November 2019.