A wealth of great choices

As you tour around the Higher Options Conference at the RDS this week, it's worth your while checking into the opportunities which exist outside the CAO system. With all the talk about choosing a course and getting a college place, the fact that there are other options for young people is often overlooked. PLC programmes, CERT or Teagasc courses, entry into the Defence Forces or the Garda and FAS apprenticeships are among the options open to school-leavers.

These days, an increasing number of youngsters are opting for PLC programmes. Usually of one or two years' duration, these courses are designed to lead directly into employment. However, some programmes are proving an excellent indirect route into third-level. In some instances, too, they offer courses and opportunities which are unavailable in the university/IT sector.

If you're interested in a career in horticulture or agriculture, it's worth investigating Teagasc. This organisation offers 1,100 places in agriculture and 150 places in horticulture in 11 different colleges throughout the State. The courses are designed to provide young people with the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the needs of the industry and include a one-year certificate course followed by a two-year diploma course.

Despite the gloom and doom talked about farming, employment opportunities are good, according to Teagasc. Two-thirds of agriculture graduates become farmers, while others go into the agri-business.

According to Thomas Scanlan, a student at Clonakilty Agricultural College, anyone who has done the Leaving Certificate would have no problems with Teagasc's programmes. These days, horticulture is a thriving area offering opportunities in garden centres, landscape gardening and nursery production. Tourism, too, is booming and as a result there are increased opportunities in the hotel, catering and hospitality industry. Last year, CERT increased the number of places in order to meet the need. CERT courses, which are offered in 14 colleges throughout the country, are usually of one or two years' duration.

The range of courses on offer is extensive and includes professional cookery, restaurant service, hospitality, tourism, bar and reception. This year, a new programme in travel agency skills is being piloted in both Tallaght and Galway/ Mayo ITs.

If you're accepted on a CERT course, you can expect to be offered an excellent package, which covers tuition fees, uniforms, some books and other specialist equipment, a weekly training grant and a main meal provided in the college. This year, the Defence Forces aim to recruit up to 550 enlisted personnel into the Army and the Naval Service. Candidates must be aged between 17 and 22 years and be able to satisfy the recruiting officer that they possess a sufficient standard of education for service in the Defence Forces. All applicants undergo a medical examination and physical fitness assessments. Direct entry into the Army apprenticeship scheme has been discontinued and apprentices are now selected from among the soldiers.

The Defence Forces also recruit 60 officer cadets annually. Minimum education requirements include grade C in three higher level papers and grade D in three ordinary level papers in a single Leaving Certificate. If you're interested in joining the Garda, you may have to wait some time. Its most recent recruitment campaign has just been completed. The Garda has recruited on three occasions between 1988 and 1997. Unless the Minister for Justice decides that we need more gardai quickly, it's likely that you will have to wait until 2002 before you get another chance to apply.

The current shortage of tradespeople means that anyone who successfully completes a FAS apprenticeship course is almost guaranteed a job. There are just under 19,000 apprentices currently registered in Ireland and working in 25 different trades, according to FAS.

The most popular trade is that of electrician (4,832), followed by carpenter/joiner (3,269), plumber (1,826), motor mechanic (1,248) and fitter (1,100). Of the 18,767 registered apprentices, almost 9,000 have Leaving Certificate qualifications. The minimum entry requirement, however, is five Ds at Junior Cert.

It's a good time for apprentices and they are currently being taken on at the rate of 100 per week - mostly into the construction industry, FAS says. It's worth remembering that a FAS qualification does not necessarily mean that you will be confined to the same job for life. People who have served FAS apprenticeships now dominate the management and supervisory positions in small and medium-sized businesses. Many vocational teachers and lecturers in the institute of technology sector also started out as apprentices.

Everyone successfully completing an apprenticeship gains a National Craft Certificate (NCC), which boasts international recognition and, importantly, is recognised in the EU.

Applications for nursing are handled by the Nursing Careers Centre (General and Psychiatric Nursing) and the National Application Centre (Mental Handicap Nursing). You can choose between general nursing (RGN), psychiatric nursing (RPN) and mental handicap nursing (RMHN), all of which are three-year registration/diploma programmes.

In order to be admitted to the programmes, you must be 17 years of age on June 1st of the year of application and have obtained a minimum of grade three in two Leaving Certificate higher papers and a minimum of grade D3 in four ordinary or higher level papers in English or Irish, maths, a laboratory science subject and three other subjects.

Contacts: Nursing Careers Centre (General and Psychiatric Nursing), PO Box 6703, Dublin 2. National Applications Centre (Mental Handicap Nursing), PO Box 3017, Dublin 15. CERT admissions department: 01 884 7700. Teagasc: 01 6688188 or the individual colleges. Defence Forces: 1890 426 555. Garda: 01 666 2036. FAS: your local FAS centre.