LAST YEAR 17,985 students were enrolled in the Post Leaving Certificate sector. This sector, sitting somewhere between second and third level, offers some of the most exciting and jobs-focused courses on offer to school-leavers. There are courses available in delicatessen management, care of the elderly, outdoor education, rock music, green keeping, sound technology, journalism, teleservices and so on.
The majority of PLC courses lead to awards from the National Council for Vocational Awards. Last year there were 15,000 NCVA level 2 candidates. All NCVA awards are modular in nature and students must reach the required standard in eight modules to be eligible for the NCVA level 2 award. The modules must include five vocational, two general studies (one of which must be communications) and one preparation for work or work experience.
It's now five years since the NCVA was established and a total of 200 NCVA modules have been developed in consultation with industry and course providers. A further 1,100 locally devised modules have been approved by the council. It's estimated that there are about 300 centres in the Republic offering NCVA level 2 awards. The ESRI school-leavers' survey (1993-1995) found that 83 per cent of those entering the labour market with a vocational qualification, after Leaving Cert, are employed one year later.
Although the primary aim of PLCs is to provide preparation for work, it is intended that these courses will also act as a rung on a ladder to third-level qualifications. At present, there is a pilot scheme in operation which enables holders of NCVA level 2 certificates to progress to third-level. There are 1,000 reserved places in 149 certificate and diploma courses in the regional technical colleges and the Dublin Institute of Technology.
The NCVA has compiled a list of DIT and RTC courses and the NCVA level 2 awards.
Not all students with these qualifications are guaranteed places and colleges may choose on the basis of grades obtained. Some PLC colleges also have transfer arrangements with British colleges.
Although most PLC colleges offer a one-year NCVA level 2 course, a number of the larger PLC colleges have developed courses which are of two, three and four years duration and which are certified by a variety of British and Irish colleges and institutions. For instance, the College of Commerce in Cork offers a four-year Marketing Institute of Ireland programme and Ballyfermot Senior College, Dublin, offers nine BTFC higher national diplomas which equate to the national certificate.
No course fees are charged for PLC courses but the lack of maintenance grants for PLC students is an issue of major concern. Many students commute to college or have to find accommodation away from home. For instance, there are up to 600 students in the College of Commerce, Cork, staying in digs and apartments in Cork city, according to college principal Gerard O'Dwyer. These are 18 and 19 year-olds with the same needs and aims as other students, he points out.
Jerome Morrissey, principal of Ballyfermot Senior College, Dublin, says that maintenance grants are absolutely essential. "The PLC courses fit better than many other courses into the ESF criteria for vocational education and training," he says. "PLC students are being seriously discriminated against."