The HEA Key Facts and Figures 2010/2011 makes both informative and interesting reading for those of us interested in what and where people study. This… Read More »Education Trends Report, Key Findings

In the last two years, in Ireland, there has been a 19% increase in the number of applicants applying as mature students. Returning to education is no longer that luxury which became possible with life-long learning thinking and initiatives; a hallmark of a developed and rich economy. Life-long learning has now become a survival mechanism to negate against the number of people on the live register and to make unemployable people employable again. A record numbers of adults will continue to return to education for two distinct reasons according to the Higher Education Authority Chief Executive, Tom Boland. He said: ‘the latest figures reflect two trends: firstly there are those already in the workplace who need to raise skills to new levels and secondly there are those who have become unemployed and recognise the value of retraining to secure employment. In 2003, 5,934 mature students applied to go into higher level compared to over 12,000 in 2011.Read More »Education an Ageless Pursuit