Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES 123At the time of interview, Deirdre had applied to do a course inhairdressing. She had applied for this same course when she left school butdecided to work for a year to get some money. She got a job in a largedepartment store which she found difficult due to the long hours:I left school and I applied for the course I’m doing now, hairdressing one, and Ithought, I pulled out of it because I said, no I’m going to work for a year, I’m notgoing to have no money, so I was working in [store] then for a year and after ayear I just said I need to get out of here, I was like the hours would be, on aSunday you’d have to go in at half seven in the morning, you wouldn’t finishuntil, no, eight to half seven on a Sunday, and you’d only finish on the Saturdayevening before at nine, and then you’d be in the Monday from seven to four andthen the next day twelve to nine, the hours were just, you couldn’t do any more,exhausted, you know. (Deirdre, 22, completed LCA, unemployed)As part of her work experience Niamh had been working in a taxicompany and when she finished the LCA she went full-time for three and ahalf years. At the same time, she attended a tax technician course at theweekends which was paid for by her employer:So then, what did you do immediately after leaving school?Well you see I, because I’d been doing my work experience they offered me thatjob so I went straight out of school to that job so, that’s where I went fromthere…It was kind of through my job…that I done that tax course, because, welooked after their tax returns, because they’re self employed people, so I done theirtax returns so therefore, I liked doing it, dealing with income tax, so that’s whenI went off to do the tax course and I learnt all different other areas, I do me owntax returns and me families too. (Niamh, 21, completed LCA, employed)Niamh also did a beauty course:I also done, I done nail technician course, spray tan course, I do nails, I do spraytan…through a college it was just a course that I paid for myself like, so…theywere just a beauty thing. (Niamh, 21, completed LCA, employed)At the time of interview Niamh was still working as a taxi-driver.7.3Home DutiesandEconomicInactivityAcross the four most recent school leavers’ surveys, fewer than 4 percent are economically inactive one year after leaving school; includingindividuals who are engaged in home duties, those who are ill or disabledand other individuals who are not in the labour market. As shown in Figure7.14, inactivity is considerably higher among young people who left schoolearly, particularly those who left prior to sitting the Junior Certificateexamination (14 per cent of whom are inactive). Among those whocomplete senior cycle, levels of inactivity are highest among thoseperforming less well in the LCE/LCVP (6.5 per cent) and LCA leavers (5per cent).Table 7.4 displays a multivariate model of the probability of beingeconomically inactive one year after leaving school. The model estimatesthe relative influence of gender, parental social class and second-levelattainment on the likelihood that a school leaver is economically inactive.Model 1 shows males much less likely to be inactive, along with clear social