EGSA down to the wire on funding

From its beginning the Educational Guidance Service for Adults (EGSA) has shown passionate interest in the development, impact and quality of adult guidance, and through the years has attracted like-minded staff. Its independence and location within the voluntary sector has facilitated collaborative working.

EGSA is unique to Northern Ireland and has survived because of this; it has a distinctive combination of tailored approaches to guidance services:

• Focusing on adult users and their motivations, the enablers and barriers to their making effective choices for learning and work.
• Recognising, accommodating and supporting the challenges many adults have when contemplating formal learning or vocational change.
• Appreciating that the breadth and range of adult learning is necessary.
• Valuing the wide range of relationships with others to best reach and engage adults at some distance from learning.

Future guidance services to adults out to tender

This year EGSA is celebrating its 40^th birthday at a time of some optimism about the future of Northern Ireland and opportunities for people to develop and prosper. Government is placing great emphasis on the importance of skills: at EGSA’s anniversary conference in October ‘Guidance Force for Change’, excellent speakers underlined the importance of appropriate guidance for adults and its contribution to workforce skills development.

But present rapid change includes the mechanisms for funding our work. As we celebrate achievements we are also aware of the potential impact of the intended move by DEL to tender for future guidance services to adults on a very tight time scale.

History of EGSA

The service established in 1967 by Dr Dorothy Eagleson was the first of its kind in these islands. Funded by the Clement Wilson Foundation and later supplemented by a grant from the Gulbenkian Foundation, it operated under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Council of Social Service, the predecessor of NICVA. The major reason for establishing a separate service for adults stemmed from Dr Eagleson’s experience in delivering vocational guidance in a service for young people, where some adults found their way to seek help.

She recognised that to be effective for adults the service has to be different: none of us is the same at 36 or 56 as we were at 16. Assumptions which might be made about our experience, knowledge, skills, feelings and attitudes are very different between 16 and 56. This principle of adult focused, client centred guidance was very influential in the following years as EGSA contributed to the development of educational guidance for adults throughout the UK.

In 1970 the service received core funding from the Department of Education and for that EGSA is grateful as it provided the stability which enabled the service to work flexibly, responsively, in a range of informal partnerships and most importantly, to innovate.

EGSA's evolving work

As EGSA’s work evolved, some ‘specialisms’ emerged eg:

• 1975, a dedicated phone line encouraged adults to discuss their skills with the written word by BBC On the Move broadcasts; such support continues still, in modern form of course;
• 1999, establishment of the EGSA network offices to make services locally accessible;
• 2005, development of a customised guidance package to engage people with low qualifications in their workplace – Institute of Careers Guidance Award winner 2007.

EGSA is a resource for other advisers/advocates who contact our learning advisers or use our website. In a formal partnership with NUS/USI EGSA provides up to date advice on funding implications of adult learning to individuals and advisers.

In 2006–2007 we had 1,500 phone queries from advocates, 2,281 fact sheets downloaded and 8,500 website course searches.

Guidance for adults is now mainstream, rightly so as N Ireland must engage many more of the existing workforce in learning. We very much hope the new guidance strategy will not diminish services for adults, particularly for those who are not at a point where they would seek it for themselves.

Timeframe

One particular concern for EGSA is the emerging timeframe. We are informed that from April 2008 adult services will have been tendered. At the time of writing what is to be tendered is not known; a review of adult guidance is in progress and due to report to DEL at the end of November.

While we do not fear fair tendering, should DEL stick to its timing on ending EGSA core funding in March 2008, we fear that the process will not be in place in time to allow us to compete. The negative impact on EGSA, our clients (10,000 in 2006–07) and all those who use EGSA services will then be severe.

The guidance strategy went out for consultation on 22 October; see www.deni.gov.uk or www.delni.gov.uk. For more information see www.egsa.org.uk.