Formal Adult Education

Adult Learning Centres (CFA) and Adult Education

In Spain adult education comprises all the learning activities, included in the lifelong learning frame, that allow adults develop their abilities, attain new knowledge and improve their technical skills, and it is co-funded by state and European Social Funds or in some places locally funded.

In general adult education is for people who are at least 18, or will be 18 within the year their initiate their studies. However, in some specific cases, students who are at least 16 can also attend adult learning centres.

Adult Learning Centres (CFA) offer a wide range of free education:

• Courses for learning to read and to write (literacy)

• Basic skills.

• Courses for obtaining a certificate of successful completion of secondary education.

• Access to intermediate vocational training.

• Preparation for the entry exam to advanced vocational training.

• University access for over 25s.

• Workshops on languages (Spanish as a foreign language, English, Catalan as a foreign language and French), IT along with a variety of cultural activities.

Along with adult education centres, there are various associations offering different not so academic courses in every town or city. There are also Official Language Schools for those aged 16 or over, that offer foreign languages at higher levels. Additionally, The Consortium for Linguistic Normalisation offers a complete range of options for learning Catalan, which is the native language in Catalonia.

CFA NOU Girona

CFA NOU Girona is an Adult Learning Centre in Girona, Catalonia, which is, so far, a region in the north east of Spain.

Since we are located in an area with a strong presence of immigrant population, one of our main objectives is to offer them the possibility to learn Catalan and become integrated citizens and, at the same time, be able to get into our schooling system whose instruction language is Catalan.

The aim of the school is to ensure a fair treatment and equal opportunities for students in academic life, and to raise awareness among other members.

We have a staff of nine teachers (3 primary education teachers and 6 secondary education ones) and a part time administrator. We have about 400 students and we offer:

• Courses for obtaining a certificate of successful completion of secondary education.

• Access to intermediate and advanced vocational training.

• Workshops on languages (English and Catalan as a foreign language), IT along with a variety of cultural activities.

We have an all-daylong schedule, thus we offer morning, afternoon and evening classes, from Monday to Friday.

Our students must be 18 unless they come from the local occupational training service (SMO) or from a CRAE (child residential homes, which offer custody and education to minors while their parents cannot take care of them).

We are also a support centre of the Open Institute of Catalonia, IOC; thus, our students can also undertake distance studies.

We are currently co-funded by the European Social Fund, whose main aim is to ensure that disadvantaged groups, immigrants and minorities get involved in lifelong-learning opportunities to keep their skills and qualifications.

History

During the year 2013-2014, the educational administration planned the partition of the CFA Girona, the only existing adult school at that moment in Girona, in two centres. On the one hand,  to redistribute geographically the educational supply in the city of Girona in order to better serve students, and on the other hand, to create a new centre with a professionalizing and labour integration vocation. This new centre is the current CFA New Girona, with an allocation of nine teachers, six from secondary education and three from primary. We also have a part time administrator.

Our school is located in Narcís Xifra i Masmitjà Street, 43, in a building opened in 1952, when the vocational training school, Sant Narcís, was created. This school operated until 1997. Then the buildings became the property of the City Council, which toppled some buildings and rehabilitated the rest, and established the DIE (Economic Integration Device, Dispositiu d’Inserció Econòmica in Catalan). A few years later, it was replaced by the current SMO (Local Occupational Training Service, Servei Municipal d’Ocupació). Later, in 2014, the city of Girona and the Department of Education of the Government signed an agreement according to which the City Council gave a part of the building to create the CFA NOU Girona while the Catalan Government paid for the cost of the works.

The building is spacious and pleasant for the educational function and adapted for people with disabilities.

Our centre occupies a part of the west wing of the building. It is reached through the same entry point as SMO, with whom we share the reception and toilets. We have five classrooms, four conventional ones and a computer room; however, we can only use one of these classrooms and the computer lab in the afternoon. Apart from this, there is also a staff room.

Methodology

We are a Catalan school, so the language of instruction is Catalan as it is granted by law in Catalonia.

We encourage lifelong learning as a way to achieve a fully professional and personal development.

Even though we have a wide range of students, from 18-year-old teenagers to retired people, since we share a building with the SMO, our main objective is to prepare our students to get into the labour market.

We encourage the use of the Moodle platform, so that our students can develop ICT skills and become more autonomous.

Apart from the classic academic programme, we also offer a wide range of cultural activities and outings, from drama plays to concerts or cultural visits to nearby places of interest in order to enrich their education and guide them into the world of culture.

Non-Formal Adult Education

We do not cater for Non-Formal Adult Education; however, various institutions offer Non-Formal Adult Education:

• Private occupational training centres:

        They provide training courses for the unemployed and continuous training for active workers.

• Training in work places

• Local Occupational Training Service (SMO):

It depends on the local labour administration. In the last few years, there has been an increase in the rate of unemployment of youth people and of people over 45, so SMO targets these two population sectors.

It provides vocational training courses to help improve the professional skills and employment capacity of people. It also provides courses to facilitate the access of young people to the labour market. These courses offer a two-level training; above all, they offer vocational training and afterwards work experience in enterprises. It also offers vocational and professional guidance.

Informal Adult Education

Informal Adult Education in Catalonia is offered by:

• Civic centres
• Neighbourhood associations
• Athenaeums
• Libraries
• Museums
• Non-profit Organisations
• Universities for people over 50
• Cultural centres