Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES 125interview. Some of this group had been employed after leaving LCA and insome cases had participated in part-time courses. Alice secured a full-timejob as a receptionist in a department store when she left school but becamepregnant and was let go:I got a job then in reception like after it [LCA], in [name of department store],only I hadn’t got pregnant I’d still be there like…to be honest, I think they let mego the minute they found out I was pregnant and there was another girl there whowas more in there like so, I think … just gave me the excuse there’s no work, so,I couldn’t really do anything about it.How long had you been working there then?A year and three months…and I was getting on grand like, you know, doing iton my own, because I, I took the job because I was taking over from a girl onmaternity leave and she came back but they kept me on for a year after that, so,kind of.So you possibly you would have stayed on?Yeah, I’d say so now. (Alice, 22, completed LCA, home duties)Rebecca also became pregnant when she left school but had had anumber of jobs in cleaning and as a shop assistant:My sister and I were doing cleaning like, there was a new shop, it wasn’t likecleaning, it was a new shop only opening like so we just had to get all the dustand all off and everything like that like, it was good money like, five hundredeuro a week, you knowWhat did you do then after that?Then I was working in a [name of small chain] shop, across from me Mam’shouse, I worked there for a couple of months as well and then.And where did you go after [name of shop] then, what did youdo?Nowhere, I was out of work then, I haven’t had a job since [working in name ofshop]. (Rebecca, 21, dropped out of LCA, home duties)At the same time Rebecca did a number of courses in subject areaswhich interested her:I went to school and I did interior design and beauty and skincare for a year, itwas only two days a week. (Rebecca, 21, dropped out of LCA, homeduties)Although Linda was a full-time student at the time of interview, she hadworked in a large department for two years after LCA until she had a baby.She had worked in this job part-time while in school:I was still working at the weekend as a cashier, I just went full-time then.And then what did you do after that? You did that for a fewmonths?What did I do after that, oh I worked in [department store] for two years.So you would have built up quite a bit of experience there then?Then I had a little girl. (Linda, 21, completed LCA, student)Sandra was working in a department store after she left school but leftas she became pregnant. When asked about what she would like to do in