In recent years, the PLC sector has become an increasingly popular option for more and more school-leavers. No longer is a PLC course considered by students as a contingency plan in case they do not do well in the CAO points race. A PLC course is now a recognised preparatory route to employment or further education.

There are 24,500 students doing PLC courses in 240 centres throughout the State. In general, these courses are one to two years in length and lead to a qualification awarded by the National Council for Vocational Awards.

Some courses also offer an alternative route into third-level education. As there is no central applications system for PLCs, students should apply to each institution individually.

While a Leaving Certificate is required for entry to a PLC, there is no points rating on performance and interviews are usually carried out to assess the suitability of a student to the course.

Jim Martin, a member of staff at Colaiste Dhulaigh, which has 22 courses, and is one of the largest PLC colleges, says: "There is a large number of students now going the PLC route.

"They are not just for getting jobs but also for those who did not get enough points and can go on from a PLC and get a degree."

Liz Phibbs is a student on the communication and media production course at Colaiste Dhulaigh. She really enjoys it, and says: "It gave me a chance to do something practical, without having to get high results, and still gives me the chance to get a qualification."

PLC courses first came into being in 1985 as a way of bridging the gap between employment and school by preparing students directly for employment in their chosen area. They fit somewhere in between second- and third-level education. With the current economic boom, graduates from PLC courses are becoming increasingly attractive to employers who are snapping them up, often even before they have completed their courses.

In a survey carried out by the Department of Education in 1998 of 1996-97 PLC students, it was estimated that 64 per cent went directly into employment and 36 per cent went on to further education or training. This is an education sector which has continued to grow and there are now over 60 disciplines, including building construction, tourism and travel, drama and music, and teleservices - perhaps something to suit everyone.

All of these courses have been designed and introduced over the last 15 years, so, often, they are more in line with what is needed by the employment sector than many courses offered by third-level institutions.

"Most of these courses are vocational so students are learning things which the employment market wants and they are therefore better skilled in the workforce," Jim Martin says.

More and more students are also finding that often they can study, at PLC level, a discipline which is not on offer in the university or IT sector.

For those who did not achieve the points required for a third-level place, or perhaps are not particularly academic, PLC courses gives them the opportunity to proceed to third level.

Liz, a PLC student, says: "These courses are very beneficial for someone who would not otherwise have a chance to go to college." Through the Higher Education Links Scheme, some PLC courses provide students with access to the institutes of technology. Under this scheme more than 2,000 first-places are reserved on selected courses in ITs for students with the NCVA level 2 qualification.

Once in a third-level institute, students then have the opportunity to work their way up using the ladder scheme to achieve a certificate or degree.

Some PLC colleges also offer courses which lead to degree-awarding programmes in universities in Ireland or abroad.

Quite often students find they can complete a third-level qualification in almost the same time it would have taken if they had gone directly to third level.

PLC courses are particularly beneficial for students who complete the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme. Approximately 8,000 students pursue this two-year programme in 244 schools and it is proving to be increasingly successful. PLC courses can provide these students with an opportunity to continue their vocational training.

This is also an important route for LCA students whose aim is to achieve a third-level qualification. Students in this programme can not go directly into third-level education, so the Higher Education Links Scheme would have to be the route for them. Work experience is usually considered to be an integral part of a Post Leaving Cert course and in some colleges students are even graded on it.

Jim Martin considers work experience to be "a good stepping stone to employ ment" as students are often offered a position with the company and go back to work with them when they have completed their course.

In fact in some instances, students are "poached" by employers and drop out of their course to take up a full-time position.

Currently the drop-out rate from PLCs is as high as 23 per cent. One factor contributing to this high number is believed to be the amount of students leaving college to go into a job.

This is not recommended, however, by colleges who advise students to complete their courses before they take up employment as, even though the enticements look nice, having a qualification will stand to them later.

There are still a number of places left on courses in many colleges so, if you were disappointed with that little yellow slip of paper you received two weeks ago or you are still weighing up your options, this could be the right choice for you.