The Regional Educational Guidance Service for Adults (REGSA), funded under the Integra Employment Strand of the European Social Fund, was set up in July 1998 to address the need for a comprehensive, accessible Adult Guidance Service in the South East of Ireland.  The service is especially targeted at those at risk of social exclusion and provides the opportunity to research, pilot and test a model of provision which could subsequently be applied elsewhere in the country and abroad.  Additionally, REGSA is involved with transnational partners in Denmark, Germany and the UK, to facilitate the exchange of information and experience and the development of best practice in relation to guidance and social disadvantage.

Lifelong Learning

Cutting edge technology, industrial re-organisation and changing patterns in family and community life bring many changes and transitions, and create a continuous need to learn, to re-train, to adapt, in order to cope with the demands of everyday living.  Support and guidance during each transition helps in the making of informed decisions, in creating the confidence and self-belief to explore new options and commit to them. For this purpose the Regional Educational Guidance Service for Adults provides a comprehensive information library on careers and educational and training opportunities. It stocks information on courses at local and national level and every type of provision, i.e. distance and flexible learning, part-time, community and full-time courses. Individual guidance counselling consists of hourly sessions, where interest profiles are compiled, skills and personal assessments are carried out, and the needs and meanings important to the individual are explored in the context of lifelong learning.

However, those individuals whose experience of life and education to date, for whatever reason, has placed them on the margins, especially need to be included, encouraged and supported.  The service is therefore proactive in targeting provision at those who may be reluctant to access information or guidance for themselves. People who have missed out on education the first time around need to acquire both information and skills, the actual currency that allows them to negotiate and ultimately participate fully in education. Guidance is a way of bridging this gap.  Equality of opportunity and access is not enough to create a level playing field for everyone. Structures and support systems of guidance, childcare provision and flexible modes of provision must be in place to allow full and not differential participation rates for those who take a second chance at education. It is estimated that there are at present about 130,000 adult learners in Ireland, about a tenth of the working population, for whom no guidance is currently available.

Networks

To help counter this problem, the Regional Educational Guidance Service for Adults is accessible to all, by providing a service that is free of charge and located in one central and three rural outreach areas in South-East Ireland, covering a radius of 50 miles. The central office has a street entrance but is also part of Waterford Institute of Technology. The outreach locations are connected to a Local Employment Service, a Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme and a Community Centre.  In this way the guidance service mediates both the world of the potential student/employee and the world of the educational provider. This link allows a more fluid awareness of the issues relevant to both worlds, and enables the service to take on an advocacy role and initiate change. Close networking with other organisations facilitates interagency co-operation and benefits the individual client.