Megan Lee was pretty sure she wanted to pursue study and a career in the area of design but decided against going down the CAO route initially.
Many school-leavers, and others, use the PLC route to get into a degree programme for which, perhaps, they would not have been offered a place based on their Leaving Cert results. In some cases, third-level colleges reserve places for PLC graduates. Other students, like Megan, use the PLC to build a portfolio or to get a taste of whether they want to commit to a particular area of study.
She has just finished third year and recently won the built environment category of Universal Design Grand Challenge Awards in the Science Gallery, Dublin. The PLC is often seen just as a course for school leavers. In fact, adult participants are also welcome.
The Citizens Information Board has published a booklet called Information for school leavers pdf that covers many of the practical questions about education and employment that you may have when you leave school. Post Leaving Certificate PLC courses are full-time programmes for young people who have completed their Leaving Certificate and adults returning to education.
The courses develop technical and practical skills for an industry recognised qualification. They also offer an alternative route to higher education and can give you the opportunity to try out a subject of interest to you. PLC courses take place in schools, colleges and community education centres. The courses offer a mixture of practical work, academic work and work experience. They are designed as a step towards skilled employment and, as such, they are closely linked to industry and its needs.
Post Leaving Certificate courses adopt an integrated approach, focusing on technical knowledge, core skills and work experience. Almost half of the time spent on these courses is devoted to knowledge and skill training related to employment, with a further quarter spent on relevant work-based experience.
A wide range of disciplines are covered including:. See 'How to apply' below for a link to Qualifax, the national learners' database, where you can search for PLC courses. The qualification you receive at the end of your training will depend on the type of course you have chosen. Other qualifications such as City and Guilds are also available. Generally, those who achieve a merit or distinction in the two-year certificate course can progress to a diploma.
Alternatively, you can pass the certificate, then complete one year of relevant work experience, and so proceed to a national diploma and from there to a degree. There is no central applications body for PLC courses. However, many of them are very popular and have filled up already, so you should check straightaway with your local provider. For those who missed it, the second-round offers will be issued on Tuesday. They will be available on www. Unlike the first round, only those getting an offer will receive something in the post.
If you are not, you will hear nothing from the CAO. For the curious, the cut-off points can be seen on the CAO's website from 6 a. They will also be available on www. A lot of students think because they have been offered a place all their troubles have ended, and study is no longer required.
However, figures released earlier this year by the Higher Education Authority should cause them to think again. The students surveyed for the report entered university in and graduated mainly in or These figures are the most recent. If you want to know how students before you survived or did not the course you have selected, try looking up the details on the website.
For example, at UCD a fifth of students failed to graduate in science or architecture. At NUI Galway, science courses also performed badly. About 40 per cent of students failed to finish the university's chemistry course, while its computer science course had a 28 per cent dropout rate. Almost a third of computer science students at Trinity failed to finish, while over half of those doing theoretical physics dropped out. One of the most staggering figures was at NUI Maynooth where over 40 per cent dropped out of science.
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