Knowing the correct path to take can be hard and, as with most things in life, one size definitely doesn’t fit all.
So, we spoke to some young people who chose a variety of routes after school to hear about their experiences – and got some expert insights into next-stage options.
PLC
Emma Ward was part of the predicted grades Leaving Cert cohort of 2020. She didn’t achieve the grades she’d hoped to get, and set about undertaking an access route course at the University of Galway. She didn’t complete the course but, instead, in 2022, decided to undertake a PLC (post-Leaving Cert course) in business studies.
“At that point I was not aware of the support disabled people get,” Ward, who has Hurler syndrome and scoliosis, explains. She didn’t like the business course, but received a level 5 qualification. “I found out in a community college in Galway, that I could do a level 5 ... in online journalism.”
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And so she decided to study for a second level 5 qualification.
“I am the only person in my family to go to college, to progress from second level ... I’m an Irish Traveller,” Ward says. In school, she hadn’t a clue what she wanted to do. “My SNA asked me a few questions. And I always loved reading and chatting to people. You would never see me without a book, or a notebook when I was growing up, and I told her this. She put that into Google and journalism came up.
“When I read that, something in my head clicked. I was like, ‘this is what I’m going to do. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. But in some way I’m going to go into that.’ And when I went and did the journalism course, I fell in love with it even more. I didn’t struggle to understand everything that was being taught, like I did in secondary school. I actually enjoyed learning. I enjoyed attending all the lectures and it really gave me a thirst for more.”
Studying for her journalism PLC helped Ward grow in confidence, she explains. “As an Irish Traveller, you never see Irish Travellers in the media in the way that I want to be. So I didn’t know if I was the right kind of person to do it.”
She’s hoping to undertake a level 6 qualification in another community college. “I’m hoping that I can progress into a level 6, and then hopefully go into the University of Galway.”
Apprenticeship
Darragh Dwyer had his “heart set on doing an apprenticeship” after the Leaving Cert, he says. But before beginning his plumbing apprenticeship, he took a gap year. “In terms of a gap year, I was doing different sorts of jobs, finding different ways of making money. I wasn’t off doing mad trips or anything.”
Dwyer originally decided he’d like to do an apprenticeship following his transition-year work experience. His work experience was with the company he’s working for at the moment. “I came out of school, and when I had done my work experience my boss now said ‘if you get a Leaving Cert – just make sure at least you get a Leaving Cert – and hopefully we can offer you an apprenticeship when you’re finished.”
An apprenticeship with the company wasn’t available immediately, Dwyer explains, so he tried a few different things in the interim. “I just said I’ll try a few different bits, to keep the money going and see if I’m interested in anything else. There were a few ideas hopping around during that year. I thought about going to college. But, ultimately, I landed back here and I’m happy.
“One of the main reasons I was attracted to it was because the idea of coming out of school and learning something, and being paid while you’re doing it seems a lot better of a system to me. My first year was coming in to see how things are done. There’s four years in the actual course ... but within the apprenticeship layout, there’s six phases.”
It’s a mixture of time spent in college and on-the-job learning, he explains. He really enjoyed the college part. “I actually found it enjoyable to go into the place, even if it was an educational setting ... I’m interested in what I want to learn. So, I’m clued in.”
College
Sophie King is a final-year communications student at DCU. “I finished sixth year and got my place in my course and just went straight in,” she explains.
Before the Leaving Cert, Sophie says she was a bit confused about what she should do next. “When I was a kid I always thought that college was the only thing to do. And then the closer you get to the Leaving Cert, the more you talk to people and I realised, ‘Oh, it’s not the only thing I can do.’ And then I faced a big thing of, ‘if I do go to college what course do I do? For years I wanted to be a primary schoolteacher. And then I wanted to be a drama teacher.
“And then I went up for an open day in DCU and just happened across communications by accident, and just realised there and then that that was it for me.”
King says while she’s largely glad she took the CAO route and went straight to college, there are days she wonders if she should have followed the example of some of her DCU friends who took some time out, or experienced other options before beginning their DCU studies.
“I’m thinking maybe I should have done that. If I was a bit older I could have had a different experience. But I have to say I love college, and there’s nothing I can think of that I would rather do. I actually looking for more ways to stay. It’s the best time of my life.
“I have all the different societies. I’ve met so many new people. And there’s so much crossover with new people, that I didn’t realise I’d have. I’ve friends from different campuses.”
King has newfound confidence since starting college. “I’m doing things that would have scared me so much before, but I have the confidence to just go and do it. And it’s opened me up in so many ways to new experiences”.
College is completely different from school, she says.
