One Step Up - supporting people of all employment statuses to improve their lives by returning to and continuing their education.
The One Step Up Information and Referral Service provides information to people thinking about returning to education. As a recipient of the INOU newsletter you will be interested in the information it can provide for someone facing challenges created through a lack of employment. Anyone thinking of returning to education who may need extra support in taking that all important first step towards finding out about the various education and training options available to them can use www.OneStepUp.ie. One Step Up offers a ‘one stop shop’ for everyone to find out more about a range of useful areas such as:
- employment support services (by referring them to their local INTREO Office)
- welfare rights (by referring them to organisations such as the INOU)
- initiatives like the Part-Time Education Option and the Back to Education Allowance (by referring them to their local Social Welfare Office)
- tax relief regarding certain approved courses (by referring people to the Revenue Commission)
- Guidance services (by providing people with support in finding the course and supports that meets their wants and needs)
One Step Up signposts thousands of people every year towards their education and training options, receiving calls and emails from people who are:
- short-term and long-term unemployed
- self-employed
- working full-time but want to change career paths
- in precarious/insecure employment
While some of those using One Step Up are in employment and would like to change career paths by re-training, and others want to enhance their employability through finding a course, there are also people contacting the service who are trying to leave bad working conditions and job situations where they find themselves under-employed and unable to earn a living wage. Returning to education and training is a powerful and popular pathway for many adults to ultimately find secure, decent and sustainable work.
One Step Up is a free information and referral service run by AONTAS, the National Adult Learning Organisation as part of the ‘Increasing Pathways, Increasing Participation’ 2017-2019 project for the European Agenda for Adult Learning (EAAL).