In general, applicants should have completed the Leaving Certificate to be eligible for a PLC course. However, students can also apply for courses if they have not completed the exam, have work experience relevant to the course or can demonstrate an ability in that area.
Liadhain Quaid is a first-year nursing student at UCD and secured her place by taking a Post-Leaving Cert course rather the traditional CAO points race. Photograph: Finbarr O’Rourke So, why is there such stigma? Everything from the lack of an industrial revolution in Ireland to the media and guidance counselling have been invoked as factors.
“At school and societal level, there is an over-emphasis on the Leaving Certificate. Our country is obsessed with CAO points. This has meant our young people are forced to focus about the points they need, rather than the career they desire. We have allowed a culture to develop where all too often university is perceived to be the only gateway to personal and career success.”
While numbers bounced back somewhat last year, it is reminder of the challenge of changing attitudes towards further education and training. Ethan McDonald is one of the first students in Ireland to join a new apprenticeship in wind turbine maintenance. The “earn and learn” approach combines classes at Kerry College and on-the-job training over three years. The advance certificate at the end of it, he says, will allow him to work internationally.
They argue that Ireland urgently needs a much more balanced tertiary system to provide for the wide range of skills that our society and economy needs. There are, for example, urgent skills gaps in construction and areas like retrofitting, which cannot be filled by higher education. Another says vocational routes will continue to be seen by many parents and students as second-best until employers like Google start hiring from the sector.
He says there is increasing evidence to show further education works, as a destination or a route into higher education. With the rise of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, experts agree that lifelong learning is a reality for everyone.