The underpinning ethos of Donegal ETB's Adult & Further Education Service is the provision of learner-centred, low-cost, locally based educational opportunities for adults in the county. The service delivers an extensive range of accredited programmes in a variety of academic and vocational disciplines at Levels 1-6 on the NQF as well as a range of non-accredited courses. Learner support services include childcare and adult educational guidance. A large percentage of its FET provision is delivered on an outreach basis, in its own dedicated centres and in co-operation with community education providers. The Service is managed by two Adult Education Officers and a number of programme and services' Co-ordinators and Managers and is availed of by c.12, 000 adult learners per annum. The Service is in a period of huge change with the recent establishment of SOLAS, the FET Authority, and will undergo further change in July 2014 when it amalgamates with SOLAS locally( previously FAS) and extends its brief to include the provision of training as well as education for adults in Co Donegal. The Adult and Further Education Section in Ireland is currently in a period of unprecedented change: the economic crisis with subsequent shifts in emphasis of the role of education; the establishment of SOLAS (the FET Authority); and imminent amalgamation of ETBs with FAS/SOLAS to form one FET service for the county, are all contributing to an increased need for organisational and staff development. Donegal ETB's Adult & Further Education Service would like to facilitate its managers to attend training courses which will contribute to increasing their competence in the development of new relevant FET Quality Assurance Systems; in working with employers to develop, deliver and evaluate FET programmes; in managing organisational change in a FET environment; and in validating non-formal and informal learning - all of which will help with the development of a new, high quality FET service It is envisaged that both teaching and co-ordination staff from across the service will participate in training courses in understanding adult learners better, particularly those with challenging behaviour and from different cultural backgrounds, and in identifying the strengths of their learners through appropriate educational guidance and suitable teaching methods. A total of 24 managers and staff will participate in the project, all of whom are experienced in their field to allow for more effective learning and dissemination afterwards. It is envisaged that participation will assist at management level in the development of a fit-for-purpose FET service for Co Donegal ; and at staff/tutor level in engagement in a meaningful way with new groups of adult learners who may have new and more challenging learning needs. In the longer term, it is hoped that participants will make contacts with other education & training providers which could form the basis for a more in-depth project in the future.