Over half a century ago, Ireland underwent a significant societal transformation with the advent of free second-level education. This shift allowed youngsters to carve out professions based on intellectual prowess rather than manual labour. However, it also created a disproportionate emphasis on the route to third-level education via the CAO application system, considered by most parents as the ideal trajectory for their offspring.
This preference for third-level education for those who have traversed this path or were unable to, remains a potent influence on the configuration of post-secondary-level education. Consequently, many parents currently aspire that their children move straight on to undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral study levels.
The prevailing notion in Ireland, that academic achievement directly equates to a successful career, means that acquiring a place at a third-level institution via the CAO is viewed as the only acceptable choice by many.
Despite the striking initial statistics, in reality, over 90% of children complete full-time education up to the Leaving Cert stage. From this group, 80% aspire to secure a university spot via the CAO annually, and over 65% of each year’s cohort do progress to third-level colleges through this scheme, putting Ireland amongst the top participant countries at the tertiary level in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
On the downside, many students who secured minimum Leaving Cert points (300 or less) and gained entry to university courses via the CAO, often prematurely leave their courses. Many, as demonstrated by their Leaving Cert results, may not have been a good match for the secondary school academic environment and thus, might have found the general academic discipline of the tertiary level incompatible with their preferred learning methods.
Ireland’s tertiary level education is designed to reward linguistic skills. Students with a knack for using words effectively are incentivised, and they frequently develop sharp auditory skills, enjoy reading, partake in word games, and crafting poetry or narratives. Tertiary level education also rewards those with logical-mathematical reasoning capacities, individuals capable of grasping abstract and conceptual ideas, identifying and examining patterns and relationships, and those who develop an overarching concept before diving into the details.
This begs the question of what happens to those students who have found linguistic and mathematical subjects challenging within our academic focussed secondary-level Leaving Cert system?
Wouldn’t it be more beneficial for their educational advancement to take place in an atmosphere where diverse teaching methods are promoted, rather than a single approach?
What about other paths?
At this point, our advanced education scheme (FET) and the augmented apprenticeship programmes (where the jobs themselves incorporate ongoing training and part-time studies), come to the fore.
These programmes provide an array of pathways, from school to adulthood, for the multitude of young learners who are looking to further hone their abilities and talents in a way that is most fitting to them.
For a considerable number of pupils transitioning from secondary schools each year, the choice to pursue a QQI level five or six certification at their local FET institution or to commence an apprenticeship programme — balancing work responsibilities with studying — is indeed the most fitting option, irrespective of whether a CAO spot is open to them.
Niall Collins, the Minister for Further Education, is pushing for a much larger array of options via the apprenticeship scheme. However, for this proposition to be successful, there requires a significant shift in the Irish societal perception relating to the correlation between education, training, and social class standing.
Contrary to Germany, Ireland does not traditionally boast a workforce with a high skill set, rooted in apprenticeship that holds equivalent value to those who have advanced their careers via conventional universities.
Advanced education.
In the past, Ireland’s advanced education sector was largely viewed as a refuge for students who did not succeed in obtaining the points required for their first choice CAO course during the Leaving Certificate, and they often opted for this option in the subsequent year.
While this may have been true before, it is an outdated viewpoint. Statistics from our tertiary education institutions reveal retention rates have noticeably increased among FET graduates.
The small lecture groups within the FET sector, coupled with project-oriented assessment methods, and the frequent internships with local businesses, are particularly relevant to a significant proportion of our youth. Many of these programmes are developed in collaboration with local businesses to align with their needs, ensuring the skills acquired during these courses are pertinent to both the local and broader job markets.
Advanced education subjects are offered in colleges throughout the nation via a network of education and training boards.
Courses are provided which aim to strengthen the knowledge of students excelling in fields like art, science, and business. These courses can provide them with a crucial year to refine their skills before they delve into a more structured degree programme at a university or IT. Every year, a maximum of 20% of seats in several of the most sought-after CAO points score courses in the nation are filled by FET course graduates. This allows students who don’t initially meet the required entry score to secure a place and prosper in these courses.
Not only serving as a secondary entrance to college, many further education courses are geared towards preparing students for high-calibre employment right away after the finishing their degree, which may last for one or two years. The connections between further education programmes and CAO courses, where students receive reserved positions based on the merit of their award, can be found on careersportal.ie. All details about every offered further education programme in Ireland can be found on qualifax.ie.
In 2022, Solas and the HEA initiated a new office named the National Apprenticeship Office, which operates as the nation’s main supervising body for apprenticeships. Over the past couple of years, efforts have been directed towards restoring our classic apprenticeships and creating a wide variety of new courses spanning all economy sectors. This office is implementing an Action Plan for Apprenticeships covering 2021 to 2025, a plan aiming to undergo a comprehensive modernisation and expansion of the system.
Historically, apprenticeships have had an association with male-dominated industries such as construction and motor, offering top-tier training and job opportunities to numerous generations of learners. From 2009-2016, following the 2008 recession, both of these industries, particularly construction, collapsed and apprenticeships were almost non-existent for school leavers.
Fortunately, the construction industry is now fully operational. Considering the current severe shortage of housing obstructing many young employees’ dream of owning a property, those considering a career in construction are almost guaranteed work opportunities for many upcoming years.
Our current apprenticeship programmes enjoy a global reputation for excellence. While the merits of the Swiss and German systems are often lauded, which is entirely fitting, our own Irish apprentices also enjoy favourable recognition overseas. In fact, Ireland often performs impressively in global skills contests such as WorldSkills competitions, frequently referred to as the Skills Olympics.
In addition to the established apprenticeship pathways, projections forecast an annual influx of 10,000 apprenticeship enrolments, under a five-year government scheme designed to amplify “work while you learn” avenues for school graduates.
Growing industries now offer 70 apprenticeship courses ranging from green skills like wind turbine maintenance, to white-collar skills such as software, international financial services, biopharma and supply chain management. The past year has seen the introduction of up to 10 fresh apprenticeships, spanning disciplines such as farming, horticulture, quantity surveying and civil engineering
According to the Minister, the new plan opens up a substantial opportunity for a shift in perceptions regarding the standing of apprenticeships. “They shouldn’t merely be seen as college alternatives,” he explained. “In many cases, they offer an alternative method of tertiary education, culminating in a degree. The field goes beyond the likes of construction and plumbing; options such as quantity surveying or engineering are available for those interested.”
Apprenticeships for roles such as retail supervisors, sales and accounting technicians are growing in popularity. The agricultural and horticulture related apprenticeships, covering farm management, farm technician jobs, sports turf management and applied horticulture, are anticipated to be increasingly sought after.
In line with the government’s strategy, there’s a summons for public sector institutions to significantly amplify the intake of apprentices within local authorities, Civil Service, and other state-funded organisations.
It’s critical to appreciate the diversity of opportunities currently available, and move beyond our fixation with the singular model offered by traditional university education.
Enquiries into degree programmes in English in conventional Western European universities and applied science universities, especially in the Netherlands, have risen notably over recent years.
Less recognised, however, is the willingness of these applied sciences universities to allocate places to Irish FE students with level-five and six qualifications. I came across numerous Irish students making successful progress through physiotherapy degrees across various Dutch universities of applied sciences.
The benefits of EU programmes, conducted in English and open to FE awards holders, can be accessed on eunicas.ie.