Leaving Cert students have never had a wider choice of options.
Selecting the correct career progression option following your Leaving Cert or at any other stage in life is a major challenge for any of us. For the majority of those reflecting on this dilemma today the ultimate answer will be found in receiving and accepting a CAO offer in late August 2025.
But, for many others the pathway forward to the next stage of their career journey will be found through a Further Education (FE ) programme at levels 5/6 offered through the network of Education Training Boards (ETB’s ) throughout the entire country, or through a Tertiary degree programme which commences in a Further Education college and finished in one of our universities.
Apprenticeships which have grown way beyond their traditional roles in construction and the motor industry, to cover over seventy skills, touching almost all sectors of the economy, are rightly attracting a very high level of interest and engagement.
Several thousand others seeking to progress their academic studies leave the Republic of Ireland (ROI ) each year to take up programmes of study in Northern Ireland, the UK, and in growing numbers in continental European universities, which teach their programmes through the medium of English.
Currently more ROI students are registering for undergraduate degrees in continental EU colleges than do so in UK institutions.
But how does one find one’s way through the myriads of options outlined above, to be able to have the widest range of choices in August 2025?
How do we access accurate information in today’s world? Is there such a thing as objective fact? In a world where close to 40 per cent of the voting adult population of the United States of America, do not accept that an election in 2020 in which their candidate was not elected can be deemed legitimate, how can anyone determine fact from fiction in any area of interest?
For a young person in Ireland today, finding accurate, high quality, judgement free information - which is used to determine the next step in their career / educational journey after they complete their second level education - is a necessary step to empower them during the decision making process.
Below are listed a range of websites of the highest ethical and professional standards, which will inform those seeking to progress their career / educational journey.
Qualifax (www.qualifax.ie )
This is the source of the highest quality of information on all CAO, Further Educational (FE ), and Post Graduate options, available in institutions throughout the island of Ireland. It is a service of Quality Qualifications Ireland (QQI ).
Its search engines enable students to identify within seconds the full range of course options on offer within their area of interest at all levels.
Once a prospective student has identified one or more key search words, which relate to their course searches, they can enter them into the qualifax search field section.
Researchers can make their course searches as wide or as narrow as possible, for example, prospective students can search for courses at a level, i.e., from levels 5 (FE )-10 (PhD ), or within a certain CAO points range, or in a city or geographic region within Ireland.
To ensure that a researcher succeeds in identifying a course they will enjoy, they must initially ensure that they read the full prospectus details of any course they are considering listing on their CAO or FE or apprenticeship applications.
Sadly, every year many aspiring students research fully one or two courses which will be at the top of their application, but then go on to list many other programmes, after just a cursory glance at the course title.
This is a recipe for disaster, when they end up receiving an offer on one of these programmes through the CAO, accepting it, commencing the course, and discovering once their lecture programme commences that it is totally unsuitable to their aptitude and interests, and drop out in despair.
Careersportal (www.careersportal.ie )
This is a totally reliable resource for anyone researching their course / career options. It offers any potential learner up to date accurate information of the occupational opportunities on offer in the twenty first century economy both in Ireland and abroad.
It also has a range of Apps which enable any person to identify their careers interest preferences and other useful data to inform their choices. It is used by guidance counsellors in virtually every school/college in Ireland to inform student’s career explorations.
National Tertiary Office (www.nto.ie )
This is a relatively new degree route established by the Taoiseach, Simon Harris in his previous role as Minister for Higher and Further Education in the 2023 academic year.
Students who secure a place on one of these programmes start their academic journey in a Further Education campus and having successfully completed that phase of the degree, they then transfer to the appropriate University where they complete their studies and receive their qualification.
UCAS (www.ucas.com )
This is the central hub for all those interested in courses offered in the UK and Northern Ireland. Every year up to a thousand ROI residents, mostly from border counties, opt to study in Northern Ireland’s (NI ) universities.
A little over a thousand other applicants from throughout the ROI annually accept courses taught in UK universities. All prospective students can select up to five courses of equal standing and have until January 26, to submit their applications.
Those seeking places in Medicine, Dentistry, and some other paramedical programmes and those applying to Oxford or Cambridge colleges must submit their applications by mid-October.
My Future Choices (www.myfuturechoices.com )
MFC offers a highly reputable interest inventory which will provide prospective students considering course options in the UK / NI through UCAS, or in the Republic of Ireland through the CAO with a list of suggested programmes in tune with their interest profile.
These MFC tests are offered through a school’s guidance department to students at various stages of their journey through second level education.
Eunicas (www.eunicas.ie )
Eunicas is a high-quality website which has the details of over a thousand programmes taught throughout continental Europe through English.
Over 1,500 Irish residents secured places in EU universities in 2024, predominantly in Dutch universities. Entry requirements are based on what we would refer to as 'matriculation requirements' and do not require CAO points as per the Irish system. Although, some faculties demand a minimum CAO points score of 300-350.
Apprenticeships (www.apprenticeship.ie )
An apprenticeship is a training and education programme. It mixes learning in a college or training institution with work-based learning in a company.
At least half of apprenticeship learning is done on the job. As an apprentice, you earn while you learn. You have a formal employment contract, and you're paid a salary during your apprenticeship training. Apprenticeships can last between two and four years.
There are over 70 different types of apprenticeship available, in 15 different industry sectors. Apprenticeships also lead to internationally recognised qualifications. These can be from level 6 to level 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications.
Trainee apprentices in the pre-2016 trades have been paid throughout their entire programme. An annual grant of €2,000 per apprentice was introduced in 2022, payable to employers who employ apprentices on one of the 37 new apprenticeships which have been established since 2016 and which do not attract payment of off-the-job training allowances. New apprenticeships introduced from 2023, and subsequent years will be included in the grant scheme.
When must I apply for my various options?
The CAO application process has a normal closing date of February 1, although late applications can be submitted up to May 1.
The standard UCAS application process closes on January 26.
European universities have a wide variety of closing dates for application, with many closing in mid-January each year.
Further Education colleges offer places on a first come first served basis and often offer places where still available in September at the beginning of the next academic year.
Those interested in securing an apprenticeship may apply at any stage of the year.
What can students or their parents do, to avoid this pitfall?
1. If you are currently a student in a second level school or in a Further Education college, do not select courses without discussing them fully with your Guidance Counsellor.
2. Read the course literature carefully. Every year, thousands of students drop out because they do not like the subjects taught on the course, yet these subjects are clearly set out in the college prospectus.
3. Select your course based on what you genuinely want, and not based on where friends are going, or which college has the coolest image, the highest points, or the best social life. All these considerations pale into insignificance, if you end up hating your lectures and eventually dropping out of the course.
4. You may take great care in researching your top choices but become careless with lower preferences. Remember, depending on your leaving certificate or further education result and the points required for each of your course choices, it is possible that you will be offered any of your choices, so research fully all those that you intend to list.
