{"id":33315,"date":"2026-04-30T16:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/?p=33315"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:42:09","slug":"kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/en\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB) hosted a FET Learner Voice Forum on 29 April 2026 in the Ormonde Hotel, bringing together 35 learners from a range of FET centres across Carlow and Kilkenny, alongside KCETB staff. The forum was formally opened by Dr Lindsay Malone, who welcomed learners and staff and emphasised the importance of learner voice in shaping inclusive and responsive Further Education and Training (FET) provision.<\/p>\n<p>The Learner Voice Forum provided learners with an opportunity to share their lived experiences of FET and to contribute directly to the development of learner supports and services. The focus of the forum included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Learner supports<\/li>\n<li>The FET learner handbook<\/li>\n<li>What learners value most in their learning experience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The event created a safe, inclusive, and supportive space where learners could speak openly, share ideas, and offer constructive feedback.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33317\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33317\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-33317\" src=\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-1024x647.jpg\" alt=\"FET learners and staff\" width=\"750\" height=\"474\" data-wp-editing=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-1024x647.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-1536x970.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-2048x1293.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08-0A7A8977-1568x990.jpg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33317\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photograph: Patrick Browne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Director of Further Education and Training, Martha Bolger said, <em>\u201cThe KCETB Learner Forum is a Learner Voice initiative designed to bring together adult learners from across Kilkenny and Carlow FET provision to ask their views on their FET experience. The purpose of the Forum is to ensure that FET is responsive to the needs of the region&#8217;s learners today and that we are able to respond to changing dynamics.\u00a0I am grateful for the coordination of the Learner Voice under Ms Bernadette O&#8217;Rourke, Adult Education Officer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Learners took part in facilitated round\u2011table discussions, encouraging open dialogue, shared experiences, and collaborative thinking. Small group discussions supported meaningful participation and ensured that all learners had an opportunity to be heard.<\/p>\n<p>The forum forms part of KCETB\u2019s ongoing commitment to learner\u2011centred practice and meaningful learner engagement within FET. Feedback gathered during the Learner Voice Forum will help inform ongoing service and programme development, ensuring that learners remain at the heart of KCETB\u2019s Further Education and Training provision.<\/p>\n<p>The forum was closed by Bernadette O\u2019Rourke, Adult Education Officer, who thanked staff for their work in supporting the event. She paid particular tribute to the learners present, acknowledging their openness, willingness to participate, and generosity in sharing their experiences, insights, and ideas throughout the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB) hosted a FET Learner Voice Forum on 29 April 2026 in the Ormonde Hotel, bringing together 35 learners from a range of FET centres across Carlow and Kilkenny, alongside KCETB staff. The forum was formally opened by Dr Lindsay Malone, who welcomed&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/en\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":33316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum - Kilkenny and Carlow ETB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB) hosted a FET Learner Voice Forum on 29 April 2026 in the Ormonde\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/en\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum - Kilkenny and Carlow ETB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB) hosted a FET Learner Voice Forum on 29 April 2026 in the Ormonde\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/en\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kilkenny and Carlow ETB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-30T15:42:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/06-0A7A8972-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1697\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jilly McDonough\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jilly McDonough\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jilly McDonough\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/aeb7df2cead4042004957d7dfcc1a1e8\"},\"headline\":\"KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-30T15:42:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/\"},\"wordCount\":373,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/06-0A7A8972-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kcetb.ie\/kcetb-fet-learner-voice-forum\/\",\"name\":\"KCETB FET Learner Voice Forum - 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