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What is your next educational move?

Ace your career options after school by finding out about the many Further Education and Training routes to working life

There are many paths to the career of your dreams. When Anna Ryan didn’t get the points she had hoped she started keying in search words such as ‘marketing, innovation, and technology’. Some PLC courses came up. “I’d never even considered a PLC before,” she explains
Wed Sept 13 2023 - 05:00

If you’ve just finished the Leaving Certificate taking the Further Education and Training route by way of a Post Leaving Cert (plc) course could be a smart move.

Whether to try out a subject before committing to a degree programme, or to get stuck into employment as soon as possible, a plc can get you where you want to go.

It certainly delivered for Anna Ryan.

This time last year the Kildare school leaver was “distraught” when the college offers came out. This year, she’s “delighted”.

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There are so many ways go get where you want to go. Blackrock Further Education Institute helped map out Ryan’s future

Ryan, 20, is from Donadea in Co Kildare, and went to school in Celbridge.

“I definitely wasn’t one of those kids who knew what they wanted to do all through school but by sixth year I had decided,” says Ryan, who did her Leaving Cert in 2022.

“Business and economics were my two favourite subjects, so I knew I wanted to do something business-y but not accountancy, more on the marketing side,” she explains.

Dublin City University’s degree programme Marketing, Innovation and Technology – known as MINT – “ticked all the right boxes,” she says. “It’s very creative with a focus on digital marketing and was everything I wanted from a course.”

She put it top of her CAO list but ended up 50 points short.

My advice to others is that if you get the points you need, brilliant. But if you don’t, don’t be disheartened. There are so many ways go get where you want to go. I wish I had known that last year

“I did a good Leaving Cert but deep down I knew I hadn’t got the points required. I was living in hope but when the offers came out I was devastated,” she recalls.

“I was panicking. All my friends got what they wanted. On results night I remember going out and they were all delighted and I was just going ‘What will I do?’”

Somewhat forlornly she remembers searching through careers websites and just typing and just typing in the words ‘marketing, innovation, and technology’. “And some plc courses came up. I’d never even considered a plc before,” she explains.

PLC courses include education, agriculture and veterinary, information and communications technologies, engineering and construction, science and maths, business and law, social sciences and arts

Taking the plc path

Whether Leaving Cert students are looking for a route to higher education, want to try out a subject before committing to a degree programme, or want direct entry into employment, a Further Education and Training plc course can take them where they want to go.

PLCs are provided in every county in Ireland, delivered by the network of 16 Education and Training Boards, as well as other local providers.

The plc course in marketing, innovation and technology Anna Ryan discovered offered her a pathway into the MINT degree course in DCU.

“I didn’t know I could get in that way. I just thought that if you didn’t get the points, you couldn’t go,” she explains.

She applied to the marketing, innovation and design plc at Blackrock Further Education Institute, a college of further education, and was accepted, beginning last October. “It had a lovely vibe, everyone was really friendly and the course coordinator was just so helpful,” she says.

Plc courses span a range of categories including education, agriculture and veterinary, information and communications technologies, engineering and construction, science and maths, business and law, social sciences and arts.

They lead to a level 5 or 6 Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) accreditation which can lead you directly into the workforce, or on to a pathway to studying at degree level.

They can also provide a foundation for students in specific sectors before they commit to completing a higher education course such as a university degree, including Pre-University Law, Pre-University Science and Pre-University Teaching.

That’s because universities keep a certain number of places on such courses each year for students applying through the plc route.

It’s on that basis that Ryan applied to do MINT at DCU this year, again through the CAO.

Plc CAO offers come in Round Zero, in early August. This time around, she secured that much wanted place. “I’m just delighted,” says Ryan.

“My advice to others, including my brother who did his Leaving Cert this year, is that if you get the points you need, brilliant. But if you don’t, don’t be disheartened. There are so many ways go get where you want to go. I just wish I had known that last year.”

Currently there are almost 1500 PLC courses on offer throughout the country

More options than ever

Earlier this year the National Tertiary Office, a joint initiative between Solas and the Higher Education Authority (HEA), announced the launch of 23 new tertiary degree programmes for the academic year 2023/2024.

It’s the single biggest transformation to education access in decades, allowing school leavers and other adult learners to spend the first year of their course in a college of further education, before moving on to university for the final years of their degree – all outside the points system.

The 23 tertiary degree courses take place in 11 locations in subjects such as business, technology, arts, engineering, manufacturing and health, with more planned.

Another option is eCollege, the national online learning service for further education and training. It provides a range of high quality, interactive online learning courses, available on demand, for those who want to learn at their own pace. All are certified and free.

Awareness of the many benefits that further education and training brings is growing, says Maria Walshe of Solas, the state agency that oversees the FET sector in Ireland, which includes PLCs, as well as apprenticeships and traineeships.

Currently there are almost 1500 PLC courses on offer throughout the country.

“For some students the idea of packing up and heading off to college can be daunting and the transition from school to third level education can be hard. With PLCs you get smaller classes,” she explains.

Budget 2022 saw the €200 course fee for PLCs abolished and because PLCs are spread all over the country, students of them are more likely to be able to live locally too, making it an even more cost-effective option.

Research also suggests that studying a plc course first can prepare students better for going into university, giving them a greater chance of ultimately completing their degree.

“Students don’t always know what it is they want to do. A plc course is an opportunity to make a more informed choice,” adds Walshe.

“Further education and training is all about broadening access so that it’s not all about the points race. So if you didn’t get the points you wanted this year, don’t panic. There are more options open to you now than ever before.”

Choose the path that’s right for you. Find out how Further Education and Training can put you on the right track here