Your education questions answered by Brian Mooney.

Can you please give me any information on adult education courses? I am sorry I cannot be more specific as I am currently unemployed after a 24-year work history, covering areas as diverse as sales and marketing to pub landlady and I am unsure what direction to go in now.

Unemployment after 24 years is a deeply traumatic experience and one that shakes your confidence to the core. You may feel that nobody would want to employ someone in their 40s. You may also not have the level of qualifications that young people in the labour market have today and may need to return to education to improve your chances of securing employment.

You should also be mindful that over the last 24 years, you have acquired a range of skills, which are applicable to a variety of jobs. Our employability at any given time is dependent on the relevance of our skill base. From the range of jobs you have held, I suspect that you are far more skilled than you may realise. You may need to apply those skills to a new area of activity to secure employment, but help is at hand.

Under the National Development plan, the Department of Education and Science, through the National Centre for Guidance in Education, has established 26 centres around the State where adults can seek information on adult learning opportunities.

Adults attending the centres also have access to a national website of learning opportunities, updated locally. There are a range of skilled personnel, including qualified guidance counsellors, at the centres. Information from the National Centre for Guidance in Education, 42-43 Prussia Street, Dublin 7. Tel: (01) 869 0715/6. www.ncge.ie. E-mail: info@ncge.ie

I am currently living in Scotland, but I will be moving to Dublin this summer. I am interested in applying to study nutrition, but am finding it difficult to get information.

All people interested in studying at higher-education institutes here must apply to the colleges concerned through our Central Applications Office in Galway. The initial date for applications for 2003 has now passed, but late applications, with the payment of the appropriate fee, will be accepted up until the May 1st.

There are two, four-year degree programmes in nutritional science available here. They are the BSc in University College Cork and a BAgrSc Food Science in University College Dublin. Details on www.ucc.ie and www.ucd.ie

I recently answered a question on the entry requirements for children entering primary school. I received the following e-mail from Kate Morris

Dear Brian, I am writing in response to the Q&A section of Education & Parenting on Tuesday, February 4th. Just to mention that Educate Together schools operate on a purely first-come-first- served basis in relation to access. Currently, there are 28 Educate Together schools in Ireland and six more applications have been submitted to the Department of Education and Science.

For further information anyone can contact us at www.educatetogether.ie

Best wishes, Kate Morris, Foundation Development Officer, Educate Together, H8a Oak Drive, Centrepoint, Dublin 12.

• Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. You can e-mail him your questions to bmooney@irish-times.ie