NAEGA response to

'Success for All, Reforming Further Education and Training'

The full text of the document 'Success for All' is available electronically on the DfES website at www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/sfa/

The NAEGA response to the Department for Education and Skills proposals for a new strategy for learning and skills was sent in at the end of September 2002.

NAEGA welcomes this strategy to 'build success for all our learners, our communities and the economy'. Since 1982, NAEGA has been championing the needs of adult learners. Our main role is to support our members in the delivery of guidance to adults for both learning and work.

NAEGA is therefore, very concerned about the lack of any reference to the need for guidance in the document. There are a number of references to the need for such support (e.g. page 5 'workforce skills and career development has often been neglected') butno recommendations about how to reduce that neglect.

Interestingly, the first goal given is 'Meeting Needs, Improving Choice'. Part of that need is clearly to encourage adults to make effective choices in learning, yet there is no reference to this type of support elsewhere in the section. It should also be noted that guidance not only ensures that adults make appropriate choices but will aid retention and increase demand for learning.

Much of the delivery of guidance to adults is based in the community, which means that guidance workers are in a position to identify and encourage those adults with basic skills needs to become involved in learning.

Goal 3 (Developing the Teachers and Leaders of the Future) does again not mention the need to encourage and train people to deliver guidance to adults. There is a massive shortfall in qualified and experienced staff to take on the expansion that is needed to help in achieving Government targets for basic skills, HE and workforce development. At
present there are no schemes to support this training.

It is also noted that the major Government initiative in guidance for adults, the Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) Partnerships are not mentioned anywhere in the document. The IAG Partnerships have done a great deal of work since April 2000 to encourage the delivery of quality
services to adults. The IAG Parnerships are, however, limited to financially supporting only the delivery of information and basic advice. For guidance, a 'cocktail' of short-term funding from ESF, LLSC LIF, local authority and lottery grants is used. This means great amounts of time devoted to bid writing and also does not allow the career structures to be put in place to attract staff.

NAEGA September 2002

Digest 1

DIGEST of recent communications and publications received by NAEGA

Through membership of sister organisations and materials sent to us by members, NAEGA receives regular information from far and wide. This first Digest is an attempt to make some of this information more widely available for members.

Third Age Employment Network (TAEN) NAEGA is a member of TAEN. The summer 2002 Newsletter gives a quick analysis of response to the DTI consultation. Some of the main points emerging are:

• definitions of direct and indirect discrimination seem respondents to less significant than at first thought
• most respondents feel that age should not be a factor in recruitment, retention or promotion of staff
• the abolition of the normal retirement age would be both possible and beneficial
• age discrimination in the sale of goods and services must be included in the legislation (e.g. differential insurance costs).

TAEN's Annual Conference will be held in London on Thursday 10 October on the theme of Returners and Retention. Details from

The Quest for Quality Educational Guidance for Refugees
is a report by Ayten Sinkil for RETAS (Refugee Education and Training Advisory Service)/WUS (World University Service, UK). Copies are available from

Newscheck is now published by Connexions National Unit and is still available free of charge. To go on the mailing list e-mail

The Sept/Oct issue (Vol 13 No 1) has useful articles on the consultation on the National Specification for Careers Education and Guidance 11-19 and on EQUAL — New EU Initiative set to fund innovations in careers guidance and counselling (for details see www.equal.ecotec.co.uk)

IAEVG [International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance] held its General Assembly in Warsaw in May. IAEVG has launched The International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance. (Contact via General Secretary )

The Guidance Council's Policy Bulletin No 29 (Sept 2002) is published electronically. No 29 has short reports on:

1. Adult Learning Inspectorate, Annual Report of the Chief Inspector 2001-02

2. Post-16 Education and Training

3. HE

4. Union Learning Fund

5. Career Counselling in the Emerging Post-Industrial Society

6. The Economic Benefits of Guidance

Of these the sixth item is well worth noting as it is on an issue constantly raised by Government:

A new report from the Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby 'The Economic Benefits of Guidance' (Hughes, Bosley, Bowes & Bysshe, 2002) presents the results of a literature review and offers an initial assessment of available evidence in relation to the economic benefits of guidance. The research report builds on a range of activities designed to examine traditional and new methods of measuring the economic benefits of guidance, and aims to inform current and future debate on approaches that can be effectively used to capture the processes and outcomes of these and the wider benefits of guidance.

Further information on this report can be obtained from the Centre for Guidance Studies — e-mail

Getting started with the Internet in Adult Guidance

Marcus Offer writes:

'I have produced a (free) booklet as a result of the European project I wrote to you about earlier — it is entitled “Getting started with the Internet in Adult Guidance” and is 12 pages long and intended for beginners. I'd like to distribute it widely. Further copies may be downloaded in pdf from www.guidanceforum.net'

Digest prepared by Jonathan Brown.
Sept 2002

New Contact Details for Multi-Lingual Resource Centre

The latest issue of News and Views carries reports from conference workshops. Pages 17/18 gives useful contacts for Refugees, Asylum Seekers & Migrants organisations. The name and contact details of the Multi-Lingual Resource Centre have since changed to:

The Multi-lingual Resource and Training Centre
Email:
Website: www.lambethlearning.net

See NAEGA Publications for more details of
News and Views