The screech of high-speed lathes, saws, drills, mortisers and sanders will reach deafening proportions as a carpentry class gets into full swing over the coming weeks. Wearing protective masks and ear muffs, Post-Leaving Cert students at Ormonde College, Kilkenny, will learn how to handle a range of dangerous machines. By the end of the year their skills will be at a premium and in great demand on the employment scene.
One of the most popular PLC courses at Ormonde College is its carpentry and joinery programme. "We have great links with employers," says Fiona O'Sullivan, principal of schools in the Kilkenny City VEC. "They ring the college directly for students. We can't supply the demand. It's because they know what they are getting. All the students from last year have employment or apprenticeships at this stage."
Last year Ormond College had a student population of 150. This year it is offering students a choice of seven PLC courses. The college services a wide catchment area, covering areas around Johnstown, Callan, Graiguenamanagh, Knocktopher as well as the city itself.
Entry requirements for the course do not focus on academic achievement. Students are not expected to have completed the Leaving Cert. If the college recognises they are mature and of a certain standard, they are deemed eligible. Sean Lynch, PLC co-ordinator at the college, explains that the emphasis is on a student's interest in the course. Students who have completed the Junior Cert are accepted onto the course "if they are good enough," as course co-ordinator Ivor McGoff explains.
"The course is for somebody who wants to serve his time at woodwork or at other trades," says McGoff. Sometimes it is for those who want to go ahead to third level if they are good enough. Up to 20 students enrol for this particular course each year to prepare for the world of work.
The students are generally taken on as apprentices or are offered employment on completion of the course, which has been in existence for the past 10 years. "That is why it is so popular," says McGoff. Students who complete the course are taken on by a range of employers such as local builders, contractors and kitchen unit fabricators. He sees the course's ideal student as "somebody who can carry out an operation, who can work out what he has to do and go and do it."
McGoff spends up to eight hours each week with the class. It works by continuous assessment and, on completion of eight modules, students are awarded the NCVA Level 2 Award. As the year concludes students also have the option of sitting the Junior Trade Exams, which is the first apprenticeship exam in carpentry and joinery.
Lynch explains that the carpentry and joinery course started as a pre-employment course in the mid-Eighties. As numbers grew this evolved into a number of different pre-employment courses. "Then we started specialising with some courses going towards the building trades and others going the other way towards the metal trades - metal fabrication, welding, etc."
William O'Dwyer (17), from Dunmore, Co Kilkenny, completed the Junior Cert last year and enrolled for the course. He got his NCVA Level 2 award earlier this summer. "It's fantastic," he says about the course. "It's popular because it isn't like school. You were more left on your own but you were watched at the same time."
He is now busy working with Dunmore Joinery, a local company. He also did his work experience with this company. His future employment prospects look good.
"Definitely," he says enthusiastically, "it did a huge amount for me. The teachers were fantastic. I always wanted to do a trade. I was always doing something at home. I went for woodwork in the end.
"Yeah, the course was hard enough at times. You have to be careful. You always have to be on the ball. There are a lot of saws around."
The most important thing for a student is to have an interest, says PLC co-ordinator Lynch. "Some think it's great to be working with a car but if they're not prepared to put on an overall and spend maybe four hours on their back under a car in oil up to their elbows, it's no good. They have to have an interest."
An aspect of the course which attracts employers is that "we have them in school for four days a week and the employers have them for one day. They can see their potential. They can see how they improve over the weeks as they learn and by Christmas they can see what they can do."
Ormond College has strong links with a team of employers in the area, who have traditionally helped out by providing work placements. However, students are generally asked to make their own arrangements if they know somebody in the building trade. This demands an element of co-operation, Lynch explains, as employers must fill out forms and keep a record of the student's attendance record, punctuality and job suitability.
