Education

‘This got my life back on track’: How adult learners are upskilling themselves through Nala

Deirdre Ryan (44) has completed 20 online courses with the National Adult Literacy Agency

Deirdre Ryan at the launch of the National Adult Literacy Agency's report. Photography: Conor Healy/Picture It Photography

Simran Kathuria
Fri Jun 28 2024 - 14:31

At 44, Deirdre Ryan remains driven to learn new things, a desire she believes is rare among adults these days. Having completed computer courses in the past, she’s using her IT knowledge to gain education online.

“It is a good confidence thing. I have been in adult education programmes since 2019. I started at the Tallaght Adult Education Service and was with them until this January,” Ms Ryan said.

Deirdre joined the National Adult Literacy Agency (Nala) about six months ago, becoming a part of the Learn with Nala programme. The charity launched its virtual learning environment in March 2020 specifically for adult learners in Ireland, focusing on literacy, along with numeracy and digital learning, giving mature learners a chance to improve their skills and earn a qualification.

“I decided to join the Nala programme to explore my options,” Ms Ryan said. “So far, I have completed about 20 courses with Nala online education. I have been doing the courses independently while working on the side. Learning new skills has definitely helped me in gaining confidence.

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“I work as an afternoon receptionist, something I never thought I would do. I got off track when things didn’t go my way, but the work and new learnings got my life back on track.”

At the moment, Nala has 42 free online courses available, aligned with the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) levels one, two and three.

“I was drawn to Nala mainly because of the course. I have always been interested in doing maths. With Nala I did a course in finance, and I enjoyed it,” Ms Ryan said.

Since the launch of virtual learning, more than 10,000 people have enrolled with Nala. The highest proportion were within the 35-45 age category, with more men than women enrolled. Some 31 per cent of were migrants, the body’s report states.

Colleen Dube, chief executive of Nala, says the board decided to launch an online programme during Covid-19 to give adult learners something to engage with at that time.

“The programme was designed keeping in mind the Covid time and challenges faced by adult learners,” she said. “People got addicted to learning, finishing one after another programme. We wanted to give them something at that time so they can learn while being at home. Over the years the number of enrolments has gone up.”

Learners at Nala often have various personal and family reasons prevented continued education in their early years: 47 per cent are early school leavers, with 34 per cent of them feeling embarrassed in restarting educational learning.

Nala has identified vulnerable groups who were majorly affected by lack of education, including migrants, people with disabilities and lone parents among others. These groups are now attaining qualification for personal development and careers development.

“Those like Deirdre who do courses independently are roughly about 50 per cent, others are centre learners enrolled in a class or education board and being guided by a tutor. They enrol with Nala for blended learning. In any of the two cases these people know they have brushed up their skills and attained a qualification giving them a big confidence boost,” said Ms Dube.

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