Emma Madigan and Darragh Murphy from the Training, Employment & Social Skills (TESS) Training Centre in St Joseph’s Foundation, Charleville received their Level 2 Quality and Qualifications Ireland awards in Waterford’s Medieval Museum on 26th March, at a ceremony organised by the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA).
The event celebrated the achievements of over 50 adult learners from 12 counties who improved their literacy, numeracy or digital literacy skills using the UNESCO award-winning Learn with NALA eLearning website.
On the day, NALA’s Chief Executive Officer, Colleen Dube welcomed all the learners, family member and supporters to the Medieval Museum. She facilitated a panel discussion with tutors and learners and introduced the guest speaker, Edel McSorley, Operations Director at Mr. Price Branded Bargains. Edel and her team have been described as “re-writing the employer’s handbook on inclusive hiring practices” and are proud winners of the Advancing Disability Equality (NDIA) 2023 and Advancing Social Inclusion (NDIA) 2024 awards.
Edel presented learners with NALA certificates and national Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) certificates to the learners and had this inspirational message for attendees: “This event celebrates the remarkable achievements of learners and highlights the lasting impact of adult and community education. It is inspiring to see how dedication and learning open doors to new opportunities and strengthen communities.”
Brid Murphy, a tutor working in the Training, Employment & Social Skills (TESS) Training Centre in St Joseph’s Foundation said that the learning encourages continued learning.
“NALA’s Learn with NALA service is an important literacy and numeracy programme that all learners in TESS enjoy engaging in. Receiving certification motivates them to continue their learning.”
FREE ONLINE COURSES
The Learn with NALA eLearning website has 44 free online courses for adults in subjects including reading, writing, maths, computers and communications. NALA is one of Ireland’s largest providers of programmes leading to QQI awards and in 2025, 1,191 learners achieved 3,216 QQI awards on Learn with NALA. 621 of these learners were working directly with NALA and 570 learners were based in one of 79 Learn with NALA registered centres across the country.
Additionally, 1,090 learners achieved 3,389 NALA certificates on Learn with NALA in 2025. 752 of these learners were working directly with NALA and 338 learners were based in one of 87 Learn with NALA registered centres across the country.
Each year, NALA supports over 3,000 adults to improve their literacy skills over the phone and/or online. NALA also manages a national Freephone service that refers callers to Education and Training Boards and community education providers around Ireland.
For information on free courses nationwide call Freephone NALA at 1 800 20 20 65 or go to www.nala.ie. For information on Learn with NALA go to www.learnwithnala.ie
