Grundtvig 1 Programme- Attract and Retain

 Athlone VTOS visits Lithuania

 

Members of Athlone VTOS visited Kaunas in Lithuania in February 2008 as part of a Grundtvig 1 programme. Athlone VTOS had been involved in a very successful Grundtvig 2 Learning Partnership with Spain, Sweden, Lithuania and the Netherlands. Many interesting ideas arose from the project, which was entitled “Integration through Education”. Indeed one of the central ideas of students acting as ambassadors to attract other students to adult education became the main idea of the new project, which is entitled “Attract and Retain”.

 

The Grundtvig programme seeks to respond to the challenges raised by the necessity to update knowledge and to provide adults with pathways to improve their know-how and competences, as they progress through life so that they can adapt to changes in the labour market and society. Grundtvig is organised by Léargas, which is Ireland’s national agency for the management of European and International co-operation programmes, and has a special interest in vocational education and training. It is funded by Léargas on behalf of the European Commission. The name Grundtvig itself comes from  a  Danish philosopher, theologian, teacher, historian and poet regarded as the ‘father’ of the Folk High School and was a staunch supporter of educating adults for active participation in society.

 

The team that visited Lithuania was: Rina McKenna (AEO of Westmeath VEC), Maria Ryan ( VTOS Co –Ordinator) and Vanessa Finlow ( Communications and Work Placement Tutor). The visit was to an adult Education Centre in Jonava and the Swedish and Dutch partners also participated. The project is about attracting adults who have educational disadvantages to return to education, and to help them become successful learners by implementing measures aimed at retaining them in adult education programs. By using adult education students as ambassadors, the project will provide an alternative and successful means to reach out to adults with educational disadvantages, to help them access educational programs and feel connected with their community.

Athlone VTOS had a very successful year in 2007, which was reflected in the award ceremony in December in the Prince of Wales during which 64 students received certificates! The ambassadorial aspect of the project was very much in evidence on the night when three students spoke in reflection on their experiences of adult education. Katherine Curley represented the first year students, Mark McManus the second year students and Helen Doyle the students that have progressed to third level at the local Athlone Institute of Technology. All three speakers were extremely positive in their attitude and urged anyone who was thinking about going back to education to give it a go! The new skills that they learned helped boost their confidence and will give them the impetus to join college life or return to the work force. In conjunction with the celebration of Adult Learning Week organised by Aontas from the 4th – 8th February, Mr Mark McManus did a live interview on Midlands Radio and spoke about his personal experiences. He felt that it was time for him to gain new skills, he joined VTOS and is now studying for a full FETAC Level 5 certificate in Information Technology. He is going on to study IT in Athlone Institute of Technology in September this year. He advised anyone who was interested in joining adult education to contact the Adult Education Centre in Pearse Street, Athlone.

This kind of first hand information is very encouraging for prospective students when they can see that ordinary people can make great changes for their own lives through the power of education. The new project is hoping to harness this as an invaluable tool to recruit others to adult education.  These ambassadors are people whose life histories adults can relate to and with which they can identify. Sharing their background and interests, ambassadors are far more appealing to potential adult education students and therefore much more effective when used as a marketing tool than traditional methods.The project also aims to create and test a model for ambassadors that can be used in adult education centres throughout Europe and which may be transferred to other settings, for instance - workplace learning.

 

The Lithuanian people warmly welcomed the trio from Athlone. Lithuania has currently undergone great changes in the last few years since being freed from communist rule. The Lithuanians are keen to develop their country and are delighted to show visitors their charming old cities as well as their modern amenities. The group was taken on an interesting tour of the town of Kaunas as well as an open-air folk museum in Rumsiskes. 

The Grundtvig 1 project will continue until late 2009.  The group will meet in Sweden in October 2008, Ireland in Spring 2009 with the final meeting in the Netherlands in November 2009. It is hoped that the work carried out during the two years of the project will have far-reaching, long-term effects for adult learners in the years ahead.

 

Anyone seeking information about new courses can ring Athlone Adult Education Centre on 09064 74080.

For information on the Grundtvig 2 Partnership- Integration Through Education click here