We currently have nearly 84,000 school leavers and adults seeking places in third level colleges in September 2021, along with a growing number of applicants from other European countries opting to seek to continue studying in an English-speaking country within the European Union.
Both applicants and their wider family are concerned relating to the constraints on the capacity of our universities and ITs to facilitate all of those seeking to progress their education/training.
It is absolutely clear that the CAO process on its own cannot facilitate all those who want to progress their ongoing educational and training needs, nor should it.
We in Ireland have seemed in the recent decades to have become completely obsessed with getting all of our children through college, by securing a CAO offer. Any CAO offer was seen as preferable to any other option. Thankfully, this perspective among the general population is beginning to change.
People learn differently
There are a substantial number of learners who blossom in an academic environment and successfully progress through our universities and ITs directly from our second level schools.
There are many others whose learning strengths lie elsewhere, who will progress much more successfully if they choose options other than the CAO process directly from school.
Our further education (FE ) sector provides an amazing range of courses across a wide range of disciplines for learners of all ages who are seeking to develop their skills. Every year tens of thousands of learners start FE courses of one-year (Level 5 ) or two-year (Level 6 ) duration.
Upon completion of their FE courses many graduates progress directly into employment in careers across the economy from sectors as diverse as “fire and ambulance” and “beauty and nails” technology.
Others successfully apply for the reserved places put aside by our universities and ITs for graduates of post Leaving Cert (PLC ) courses who secure those places through the CAO process, one or two years after completing their Leaving Cert. Their initial CAO points are not the determinant factor in determining whether they secure a place. Rather it is their performance in the PLC programme.
How does one identify the appropriate courses to navigate this route into my targeted course?
Go to www.careersportal.ie and use the CourseFinder tool. You can explore the huge range of links between QQI\FET and CAO courses (denoted by a link symbol ).
· Select the CAO course you are interested in and click on the QQI/FET links tab where you will see the courses that are accepted for entry. Very often this can be ‘any Level 5 or 6 Major Award’; however, for some high demand courses, it may be that only specific courses can be used for progression, nursing being a good example, where only three nursing related PLC courses are recognised.
· A ‘View Essential Module Requirements’ tab will then reveal any essential modules or the number of distinctions that are needed and the number of CAO places reserved for FET/QQI (quota ) entry.
· As you scroll down the list of possible courses use the “star” symbol to save your shortlist and print all your “MyFavourites” for further research.
· Alternatively, QQI/FET students can work the tool in reverse to see the CAO courses they can progress onto from their further education course.
· To do this, in the CourseFinder use the filters to locate your course, click on your course, and then on the ‘Progression to CAO courses’ tab. The CAO courses you can progress onto can then be found by clicking on the course code.
Apprenticeships provide excellent career progression options
The Minister for Higher and Further Education Simon Harris has highlighted since his appointment last year the growing importance of apprenticeships as a route forward in the learning pathway for potential learners.
Solas is the lead agency in this process and is currently leading a major expansion of Ireland's apprenticeship system, across all economic sectors, with excellent career progression prospects, often involving degree qualifications on completion, up to and including PhD awards.
The key to the apprenticeship model is that learning is a dual process of the acquisition of skills and their application in a learning environment. For many learners this process is far more successful than the academic route of the more traditional university programme.
It also has the added advantage that in most cases the student/apprentice gets paid during the placement parts of the programme. Details on all apprenticeships currently available can be found on the Solas website at www.solas.ie
Traineeships
Also, under Solas’s remit is the traineeship system. A traineeship combines learning in the classroom and experience in the workplace to improve employment outcomes for participants and increase retention and productivity in the sector.
Partner employers provide work-based learning opportunities and collaborate with Education and Training Boards (ETBs ) on existing and new programmes to identify skills gaps in different sectors and industries.
More than 75 programmes are available nationally in a range of industries with new traineeships being developed on an ongoing basis by ETBs.
Traineeships:
· Lead to an award at NFQ Levels 4-6, or equivalent.
· Are between six and 20 months in duration.
· Include at least 30 per cent of learning on-the-job.
· Combine transversal and technical skills development.
· Are designed for flexible delivery – online, face-to-face, blended learning.
· Provide open access to prospective trainees, unemployed people may be eligible for income support.
· Respond to an identified industry skills need.
Details on all traineeships currently available can be found on the Solas website at www.solas.ie
Europe offers great opportunities outside the CAO points system
Outside of the Irish third level system, thousands of our young people are now accessing the identical courses/qualifications they desire, in continental European universities, taught exclusively through English, many ranked far higher in the recognised international rankings than their Irish equivalents, where high CAO points scores are not required.
Fees in many of these continental European universities are low to non-existent, entry is trouble free as an EU citizen, and under reciprocal recognition arrangements within the EU, graduates can return home and have their qualifications accepted by the appropriate regulatory body. Details of all such programmes are on www.eunicas.ie
