There are over 1,000 courses, more than 200 centres and last year there were almost 24,000 students in the PLC sector.

And the interest and take-up of PLC places continues apace in colleges around the country. The vast majority of students were first years - almost 19,000 first years, with over 3,000 second years and 261 in third year. Some carried on in education, others found employment. Last year's census of 1996-1997 leavers shows that 64 per cent of those who completed a PLC course gained employment while 36 per cent went to further training or education.

The Post Leaving Certificate programme, which was introduced in 1985, aims to bridge the gap between work and school. Each course is designed to provide appropriate vocational training for young people. Students gain an appreciation of working life through work experience.

Up to 75 per cent of students are in the 18 to 20 years age bracket. National certification is available from the National Council for Vocational Awards.

Various colleges have experienced an increased level of interest in recent years. The number of applicants to Waterford's Central Technical Institute has doubled since last year, when there were 440 applicants for its 19 courses. This year the figure had shot up to 900. There are a number of reasons for this growth in interest, says Paudie Geary, principal of CTI. "The PLC maintenance grant (which was introduced last year) is one reason. It has had a very significant impact. But there are a couple of other things," he adds.

"There has been an increase in the number of mature students coming back to get a specific qualification. They now realise what they have to do if they want to get a career. They have a very clear focus." In particular they are interested in IT and business study courses. "They've spent a couple of years working and now they come back to do a one-year PLC. Another reason is the whole interest generally in IT." The college is well equipped to deal with this growing interest in information technology. There are five computer laboratories with a total of up to 140 computers.

Maureen Conway, acting deputy principal of Ballyfermot Senior College, Dublin, says: "More people are aware that there's an alternative route to third level through the PLC sector".

Through the Higher Education Links Scheme, PLC courses can also provide access to the institutes of education. Under this scheme places on selected courses in the ITs are allocated on the basis of attainment achieved by the candidates in the NCVA Level 2 awards.

Some students use PLCs as a back-up (in case they don't get the points for a third-level place), says Conway. For example, she explains, "we have 30 students who did a higher national diploma in social care at Queen's at the moment." Other students use the PLC sector as their first choice - with a view to gaining employment immediately afterwards.

The level of awareness is also helped by the fact that guidance counsellors "would be very aware" of the opportunities. The links between Ballyfermot Senior College and third-level institutes such as Tallaght IT in Dublin and Queen's in Belfast are there, she says, because "we would have forged the links ourselves".