David Drury is a guidance counsellor and head of the guidance and counselling department at Blackrock College.
A belief that students must study for a degree is the “predominant mindset” among parents and students, he says. “The CAO dominates the guidance counsellor-student/parent conversation from the end of transition year,” he says. “Then it leads to the alignment and the order of preferencing and they get very caught up in that. They kind of ignore level 7 and level 6. It doesn’t get very much attention.”
Drury says “unfortunately”, when it comes to planning what students will do after the Leaving Cert, “the majority would rather follow the high pointer [course] rather than the course that they’re genuinely interested in, or their interests are aligned to. That is the mindset. And it is the mindset of parents. The way they deem it is, the higher the points, the better the course, and the better the opportunities.
“It’s not just a south Dublin thing. It’s national. Parents are tuned into the CAO and the points. They’re not tuned into the wonderful level 6 and 7 that can bring you to the very same level 8.”
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He believes there’s a huge element of degree snobbery at the moment. “I think we’re overly educated, but perhaps not skilled enough.”
“Today, apprenticeships can bring you to a level 10,” Drury continues, explaining how some of his past students have taken up apprenticeships in aircraft maintenance, and finance. “Apprenticeships have expanded into new sectors like ICT [information and communications technology], finance, insurance, renewable energies – massive growth there – engineering, logistics, hospitality, farming”, he says. “It’s education with a payslip.”
He believes the apprenticeship route is not being “advertised enough in schools, and in the media”.
Students and parents should consider the “wonderful routes” that are available to them, he says. Tertiary degrees are another route, he suggests. “Some remain open and will remain open until September,” he says. “It’s a different route with the same degree”, he says explaining how they differ from the CAO.
“You start out in an ETB [education and training board]. Classes are small. And from there, meeting the requirements of the course, you will graduate from your ETB in one to two years, and you will join the partner university. There you will go on to finish your degree. You will leave with a level 7 or a level 8, exactly the same as CAO students.”
Drury explains that students get “awards for every year you complete”. He makes the distinction between a post-Leaving Cert course (PLC) and a tertiary degree. PLCs offer potential “eligibility to get into a college, but it’s not guaranteed ... a tertiary degree is guaranteed as long as you progress and get the grades”.
He says parents “could really help by having that discussion, shortlisting those courses, noting the progression routes and the linked university, noting the deadlines”.
Most PLCs, Drury says, are one-year duration. “Very practical, work experience. You can achieve a level 5, a level 6, as long as you reach your grades. And then from there you apply through the QQI [Quality and Qualifications, Ireland] links to the university course that you want to go on to ... Degree offers depend on your PLC results. It will depend on the demand for the course. And it will depend on any extra requirements.”
He again cautions to keep an eye out for deadlines.
Some students go straight into work, which Drury says is a great idea, but recommends, “because you’re at such a young age, try many different roles. Job hop, or ‘jobdate’, because you’re young. And try them in different countries, if you’re brave. The gap year is not a chill and Netflix ... You need to be motivated. You need to have a goal. You need to polish up your CV – parents could help with that. You need to get on your LinkedIn.
“And you’ve got to reach out and network because no one else is going to do that for you.”
