A good first step to the office

If employment in an office is your goal, then the computerised business studies course in the Ballsbridge College of Business Studies, Dublin, would be a good first step. According to vice-principal Rory O'Sullivan, the college has links with more than 500 companies which participate in the work placement programme. Employment rates for graduates are in excess of 90 per cent, he says.

Of the college's 450 Post Leaving Cert students, 200 are engaged in the computerised business studies course. "This course is designed to train people to work in any office environment in any type of business," says O'Sullivan. Students learn typing skills, how to use a computer, word processing, how to write business letters, even how to answer the phone correctly.

These core skills account for 16 hours of the 24 contact hours each week. The rest of the time is spent on one of five options: accounting, financial services, computer systems, European studies (French and German) or office systems.

The students taking the computer systems module are intent upon their screens. John Cassidy takes a break from exploring a simulation of the Internet to explain he did computer programming last year but changed his mind and came to Ballsbridge because of the college's reputation for getting jobs.

He has enjoyed the first month of the course, including learning how to type, and is looking forward to the installation of ISDN over mid-term - this will allow students to access "the real Internet." There are four lads in the group, he says, and 17 girls but bodies are a little thin on the ground as they had their class social last night, he explains with a grin.

Barry Dalton spent a year working after school. He came to Ballsbridge because "friends came here and got jobs." Orlagh Sheridan also took some time out from study after school, working in a newsagent's for three years. She returned to her school last year for advice and her guidance counsellor alerted her to the computerised business studies course.

"It's a lot easier than I thought," she says. "I miss the money but I'm working part-time, about 10 hours a week."

There are no tuition fees for PLC courses but students must pay about £45 for exams etc. PLC students are eligible to apply for means-tested maintenance grants.

Una Kane is taking a break from her degree in economics and history in UCD to do the computerised business studies course. "I'm completely hopeless at computers," she says, "and decided to get to grips with the situation." She will return to UCD to do her finals next year.

Jasmin Cantwell began a travel and tourism PLC last year but didn't finish it. She is enjoying the computing and wants to take her studies further next year.

Teacher Gay O'Callaghan, who devised the computing module, explains that it includes an introduction to graphics and multi-media as well as the Internet for business.

As well as attending college, all students do a work placement: one week in January and then one day a week from January to the end of April. Many of the employers offer full-time work, says O'Sullivan. Students begin to leave the course from January on although the college's view would be that it would be better, in the long term, to complete the qualification.

The course content is continually revised and updated in the light of employers' needs. The college gets direct feedback from companies who participate in the work experience programme. "The 1998/99 courses are based on the information we received from employers during 1997/98," says O'Sullivan.

Students who successfully complete the course are awarded an NCVA level 2 qualification. While the majority of those leaving the course will go directly into employment, there is a route from NCVA level 2 into certain certificate and diploma courses offered by the institutes of technology.

For those entering the labour market directly, the good news is that wages have increased significantly, according to O'Sullivan, reflecting the supply and demand situation.

If you are interested in a PLC course, there is no centralised application body, so you must apply to each college separately. Rory O'Sullivan says that the college accepts applications on an ongoing basis. There is no application fee.

An enrolment day is held in May and students pay a £20 deposit. The basic educational requirement is a pass in the Leaving Cert or equivalent and students meet staff for a chat on the day . . . PLC-speak for an informal interview.