AONTAS National FET Learner Forum 2023
Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board’s Learner Voice Initiative 2022/23 commenced in December 2022 with the circulation of the annual Learner Survey. All registered Further Education and Training (FET) learners were invited to complete the survey and when the survey closed in late January, 760 responses had been received. The overall results from the survey have been very positive and are in line with the results from previous years. The results can be accessed by CMETB FET centres via the interactive database which houses the results of the learner surveys since 2019/20.
Following on from the survey, AONTAS facilitated a Learner Forum as part of their National FET Learner Forum work. 52 learners from across CMETB FET centres participated in the forum which took place in the Errigal Country House Hotel on Wednesday 8th February.
At the forum, learners participated in facilitated discussions on their experiences as FET learners. Key discussion points included examples of what was working well, what was not working well and what improvements were required. Overall, the feedback was very positive with learners highlighting the “great support from students and tutors” while the learners also felt that face-to-face instruction was “so much better.”
In terms of what was not working well, learners highlighted areas such as outdated course content and the need for student cards. Learners also highlighted the high cost of transportation to and from their respective centres.
In terms of areas of improvement, learners suggested more advertisement of courses on radio as well as requests for learning supports to provided outside of lunch breaks.
AONTAS will be producing a report from the findings of the Learner Forum and CMETB looks forward to its publication and to addressing the issues highlighted by learners.
For more information on the Learner Voice Initiative, please contact the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Service (QAES)
