Consumer skills for all: a research study carried out for the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland

Abstract

The General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (GCCNI) is one of the four Consumer Councils operating within the United Kingdom (the others are the Welsh, the Scottish and the National Consumer Council, which covers England and links with the other Consumer Councils). The GCCNI has a long standing interest in consumer education, and has produced a quantity of well-regarded consumer education material aimed at both schools and adults over recent years. It has also organised regular consumer education events for schools and conferences on this subject., However, the GCCNI is aware that many people in Northern Ireland suffer difficulties in relation to consumer issues and is looking for a clear policy on dealing with those difficulties. They contracted researchers at Queen's University, Belfast to investigate the extent of the problem, with the aim of identifying the key aspects of a new consumer education and skills development strategy and the gaps and deficiencies in current provision that need to be addressed. While the GCCNI acknowledges that these problems are not exclusive to Northern Ireland, and that the nature of the problems is relatively well-known, they felt that conditions in Northern Ireland were unique and deserving of a specific and targeted solution. Policy and decision makers in other countries will find the Northern Ireland experience of interest, both from the way in which the problem was approached and the solution which evolved.