Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

PROGRESSION TO FURTHER STUDY AND TRAINING 143half when he found out that his employer had not registered him with FÁS.He also felt it was too late to start an apprenticeship and left thisemployment:I was there a year and a half but we had a falling out then because they told methat I wasn’t going to FÁS and they were paying me bad wages….I thought Iwas doing an apprenticeship…and one day I went down there and said whyaren’t I getting my FÁS papers?So you obviously left.Yeah.And were you getting much training then in that year and ahalf, a year and half’s a long time?I was up there, the main fella up there, he used to do nothing, he’d sit down witha newspaper all day, I was doing all the body work, spray painting,everything…I had an argument, myself and the foreman down there … [I said]this is my last day.Shocking.And they didn’t pay my last week’s wages either. (Derek, 21, completedLCA, employed)Since then Derek has been working on and off for his brother andtrying to find whatever work he can:Okay, so how did you pick yourself up from that then?Oh I was in a bad mood for a long time … was plumbing for a while with mybrother …I was doing a few jobs here and there and at the same time I was panelbeating myself … coming and going.Were you thinking at that stage, I’m not going to start anotherapprenticeship or anything?Yeah, I said listen I’m too far gone, I’m too, I’ve, I’m too far gone, I’m out toolong now to be starting apprenticeships.So what did you do?Was plumbing for a while, going in and out of different jobs. (Derek, 21,completed LCA, employed)8.5ConclusionsAnalysis of School Leavers’ Survey data shows that young people leavingschool following completion of the LCA programme have the highest levelof participation in PLC courses. Females outnumber their malecounterparts in their level of entry into PLC courses which largely reflectsthe gendered nature of courses in the PLC sector. Taking account ofprogression to Higher Education, PLCs and other post-school educationopportunities allows us to provide a fuller comparison of the experiencesof LCA leavers with other leaver groups. Reflecting the entry requirementsof many Higher Education courses, young people leaving school withrelatively high performance levels in the LCE/LCVP emerge with muchhigher levels of post-school educational progression. School leaverscompleting the LCA programme do not differ from either early schoolleavers or lower performing LCE/LCVP groups in their progressionpatterns. It is clear that the main cut-off in accessing post-school (higher)education opportunities is moderately high performance in the LCE/LCVPexamination.