Adult & Community Education

Mission Statement


The County Cork Adult Education Service is committed to providing a high quality service to our learners because everyone has a right to develop their knowledge, skills and competencies in order to achieve and participate in social, economic and cultural life.

Adult & Community Education Service


Our vision is to promote an integrated adult education service with each strand of that service contributing to a much needed educational resource within the Co. Cork region. We adapt our range of programmes and incorporate all aspects of Adult Learning within a unified whole. This involves the merging and integration of services between Community Education, including the Back to Education Initiative, Literacy, Traveller Training, Guidance, VTOS, Upskilling and Training. The challenge is to empower individuals and to enable them to fully participate in education and training, by equipping them with the skills and knowledge required to be an active member of the learning group and thus becoming a more active and fully functioning citizen within their communities.
The Adult Education Service provides education and training from Level 1 through to Level 6, under the National Framework of Qualifications. Our logo, which features six steps, depicts this aspiration. Participants can enter at any level and progress at their own pace. Our service is committed to developing and continuing partnerships with other agencies. We have strong working relations with partners in Co. Cork and acknowledge the value of the “partnership approach”. We believe that this approach can achieve maximum benefits for greater numbers of clients in our area.

The Service aims to:

  • Provide learning programmes that are relevant and available at times and in locations that are appropriate to the service.
  • Treat all adults with respect.
  • Provide buildings and outreach locations that are safe and of a high standard.
  • Foster an inclusive learning environment that meets the needs of people with disabilities and addresses issues of physical and curricular access.
  • Ensure that staff are well trained and responsive to learner needs.
  • Foster good relationships and create an ethos that respects multi-culturalism.
  • Operate internal and external communication systems that are open and transparent.
  • Reflect on its own performance.
  • Remain creative, innovative and collaborative in developing services and programmes.
  • Develop and maintain partnerships.