Huge demand brings 500 new places

The demand for engineering technicians is so overwhelming that the Government has created an additional 500 third-level places this year. A brochure produced by Forfas in recent months extols the career of technician in the electronics industry as "very exciting . . . the job involves working on new designs, detecting errors and correcting microchips, installing and servicing new and complex equipment."

With a recognised certificate or diploma, electronics technicians can expect to earn between £11,000 and £14,000 in their first year of employment, according to the brochure. But, the message is not getting through to school-leavers.

A glance at this year's CAO offers shows five electronics courses with vacancies. The cut-off points required for many electronics certificates and diplomas is also quite low. For instance, it was possible to secure a place on Dundalk RTC's electronics course this year with 110 points. This cut-off is not an indication of the quality of the course but of demand for the course. School-leavers, especially girls, do not seem to be attracted by the idea of a career as an electronic technician.

Peter Lillis, manager of corporate development with the IDA, says that we need to attract a wider range of entrants to engineering education and there is a particular need to attract women, who are currently very underrepresented and who are eminently suitable for many engineering jobs. "The reality is that technicians' jobs are now very clean, very interesting, very challenging and very suitable for women as well as for men," he says. "But this perception does not seem to have gotten through."

For those interested, the regional technical colleges and the institutes of technology offer a range of certificate and diploma courses. There is the possibility of progressing from certificate to diploma to degree or the possibility of transfer to degree programmes elsewhere. For instance, you could start with a two-year certificate in electronics in Dundalk RTC and proceed to a one-year add-on diploma in electronic manufacturing and service. And, from there, you could move into the degree programme in product design engineering.

Progression is not automatic and is dependent on exam results. To progress to diploma, students need a merit in certificate exams or a pass and one year's work experience. Some colleges are more flexible and will accept a pass alone. Students must gain a merit in the diploma to progress to degree. Not all students will wish to progress to degree - a certificate or diploma is a valid qualification in its own right.

Meanwhile, there are moves afoot to persuade school-leavers of the value of a career in electronics. A task force on the supply of technicians to the Irish economy is expected to recommend a number of measures to increase the number of people applying and to increase the throughput. The National Council for Educational Awards today launched a new educational package promoting engineering as a career.