IT'S not a phrase which trips easily off the tongue, but four of the largest RTCs say office information systems is one of their most popular and expanding courses. According to staff at RTCs in Cork, Athlone, Tralee and Sligo, who all offer a national certificate in office information systems, it is one of the most dynamic and all-encompassing courses currently offered.

The increase in student numbers illustrates this. For example, Cork RTC admitted 50 students to its certificate course in 95/96 but it has taken in over 70 students this year. The other colleges say that they have doubled the numbers on the course in the past three years.

The need for office information systems courses is obvious to anyone who works in a modern office where the environment is computerised, responsibilities are shared, methods of internal and external communication are complex and everything seems to happen very rapidly. Employees unable to cope with the pace find it difficult to hold down a job.

Due to the changing nature of the work, especially secretarial work, colleges have looked at ways to prepare people to work in this new environment. As recently as five years ago secretarial work meant answering the phone and typing up letters - it was hard at times but not overly demanding.

Now the whole work specification for a secretary has changed and the word itself has become redundant in many ways. The various office information systems courses are designed to cope with the new demands.

Traditional office skills are still included - the four certificate courses have modules devoted to what is called `text and information processing'. Effectively this means and word processing - shorthand is another option.

THE courses take account of the computerised office where familiarity with word processing packages, spreadsheets and databases is essential. Pat McGarty, head of the department of business studies at Athlone RTC, says: "A modern-day secretary's job will involve considerable decision-making and involvement in a wide range of business activities". This is why all the courses now include subjects such marketing, accounting, languages, communications and business administration.

The types of employment secured after completion of an office information systems course tend to depend on the level of qualification. Students who qualify with the certificate generally get jobs as secretaries, though not exclusively. Those who take either the diploma or the degree - available only in Tralee - may secure employment as administrators, personal assistants or in information technology. Some of these can be management positions.

Cork RTC estimates that 70 per cent of its certificate course secured employment last year, the rest going on to further study. These figures are about the same for the other RTCs which report between 70 and 80 per cent employment for their own certificate courses.

John Kelleher, course director at Sligo RTC, says that telesales is a popular final destination for graduates. "The courses have language and computer modules, so graduates are popular with telesales companies which are looking for both."

Despite the wide-ranging nature of the course, a problem remains in attracting males in all the colleges. Some of the courses report ratios of females to males as high as 90 to 10 and sometimes higher.

Oliver Murphy, head of the business department at Tralee, says that, as the range of office information courses expands including more computer orientated subjects, "it should become easier to attract males into the course".

Points for the courses are not too demanding. Athlone closed on 140 points last year, Cork on 300, Sligo on 200 and Tralee's certificate closed at 230 points.

McGarty says the increasing computerisation of his college's course "just takes account of the reality that most office work is now done on PC". The courses at diploma level normally include subjects such as desktop publishing, but the BA offered in Tralee also offers interactive multimedia and software development.

Many of these subjects are optional. Many colleges have computer laboratories and Tralee has just finished building a £100,000 AppleMac facility. Sligo is hoping to open its new fibre-optic laboratory in the next few weeks.

"The emphasis is on using computers in a work environment, not programming them," says Kelleher. He reports that students who take on the computer sections of the course and combine them with a language get the best jobs.

ALL four colleges offer a French or German option. This gives graduates "real marketability" in Europe, according to Tom Rigney, head of Cork RTC's business department.

Many students are attracted by the range of subjects. Sinead O'Leary, in the second year of Cork's certificate course, likes the options in computers and languages. "I hope to get into marketing," she said, "but I know this course will give me other options too." There are only a few males in her class but she believes more would do the course if they knew how much of it involves computers and desktop publishing.

Miriam Rooney is on the diploma course in Sligo. She is confident of getting the job she wants when the course ends. "I've already had a couple of months' work experience - so things are looking good." Her work experience, organised by the college, was done with the North Western Health Board. "It was secretarial work, but there was a lot of work on computers and I felt the course had prepared me for that," she says.