Mr. Shane Rooney:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute. I am an adult education guidance counsellor and I am chairman of AEGAI to advocate on behalf of clients of our service and the members who deliver that service.

I work as a guidance co-ordinator for the adult educational guidance and information, AEGI, service in Carlow town and I am an employee of Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board, KCETB. KCETB supports the needs of vulnerable adult learners on a daily basis though its course and programme provision. As an adult guidance service, the AEGI service is free to those who are unemployed and underemployed and to all those out of work from the age of 16 years to post-retirement age in the community. The service is professional, impartial, confidential and person-centred. We facilitate service users to achieve their career and learning goals as well as facilitating lifelong career management and resilience techniques. We develop people's awareness of possibilities and match them with appropriate progression routes which enable them to construct their own career journeys and achieve their desired career outcomes. Funded through SOLAS and located within the 16 ETBs, there are 39 AEGI services nationally employing approximately 100 staff. We work with 52,000 beneficiaries annually. The adult guidance counsellors in the AEGI are all professionally qualified to postgraduate level.

Many of our service beneficiaries find themselves in a vulnerable position for myriad reasons, as has been mentioned. Primarily, we assist people to upskill by identifying suitable options and by sourcing the relevant up-to-date impartial information to help them overcome barriers. These barriers could include underlying learning difficulties, gaps in previous educational experience, financial constraints, family responsibilities, disability, mental health issues such as anxiety or depression, homelessness, drug or alcohol dependency and lack of self-confidence or self-belief. Service users may have been referred to AEGI by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Intreo case officers, ETB centre programme co-ordinators, managers and tutors, HSE occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, educational psychologists, homeless hostel key workers, direct provision centres, psychotherapists or through word of mouth by a friend or self-referral.

Our clients may be long-term unemployed and have multifaceted needs. No individual is singular in their identity and that should be taken on board in policymaking. They may have dropped out of education between 16 and 18 years of age or they may be adults who lost their job and find that their current zero-hour contract roles do not fulfil their needs. Men and women who may have cared for young children or those who looked after elderly relatives and are seeking to upskill and reintegrate into the world of work may also use our service. We assist people to be actively involved in developing a career, to reacquaint themselves with the recent changes in the world of work and to develop career resilience and career management skills that last. We provide guidance counselling and support and facilitate applications for education, training, apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities. We help people to find appropriate work experience and internship placements and provide psychometric testing, curriculum vitae, CV, preparation and information on rights and entitlements.

The 39 AEGI services are run on a budget of just €6.55 million annually, which is good value for money. Recently, AEGI service workloads have increased due to Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Intreo service referral protocols, and AEGI operational guidelines necessitate increased levels of service provision. The amalgamation of the ETBs also resulted in expansion of guidance roles. Anecdotal evidence from AEGAI membership nationally highlights enormous strain being experienced by AEGI services and indicates that any increase in workload would necessitate increased resources. In the ongoing career guidance review, we sincerely hope that an interdepartmental approach will be taken and that our service can be appropriately resourced. The reality of the impact we make where we assist progression up the National Framework of Qualifications, NFQ, can be seen not just in economic terms but in the ripple effect for communities, where one person going to college can influence their family and the wider community to pursue education and personal development as a means of exiting poverty and making an effective contribution to society.

We appreciate the opportunity to showcase the valuable contribution we make to vulnerable communities in helping them to take their place in society.