AQW 44441/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 21/04/2026
Answered On Date: 29/04/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail any assurances she has sought from local further education colleges that courses are available for adults who are illiterate.

Answer:

The Department does not seek separate stand-alone assurances from Further Education (FE) colleges specifically on the availability of courses for adults who are illiterate.

However, FE colleges have a dual mandate to support employability and wider social inclusion and so every college offers a range of Essential Skills provision, including Literacy, which is funded by the Department and therefore free to the learner. This provision includes entry level courses specifically aimed at adults with low or no literacy skills.

The overall availability and assessment of the quality of the Essential Skills literacy provision in colleges is subject to inspection by the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), as part of the Department’s commissioned cycle of inspection and evaluation activity.