ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses, the largest component of full-time FE provision in Ireland. To analyse the programme, we draw on two large-scale studies of FE in Ireland which used administrative data, in-depth interviews with key policy informants and surveys of both principals and learners. PLC courses attempt to meet multiple objectives, providing vocational skills relevant to labour market demand, offering a gateway into higher education and promoting social inclusion through provision for groups who otherwise would not have accessed education and training. While principals of PLC colleges do not appear to see these multiple goals as competing or contradictory, there are a number of constraints posed by the broader institutional context in addressing these multiple goals. Firstly, late industrialisation has resulted in a relatively under-developed and fragmented vocational education and training system in the Irish context, with few formal structures to ensure a stronger link between employers and education/training provision. This legacy constrains the extent to which PLC courses provide vocational skills relevant to labour market demand and the speed at which the sector responds to changing economic conditions. Secondly, higher education provision in Ireland has expanded to the point where the majority of school leavers go on to tertiary education. As a result, many learners view FE as a ‘second best’ option if they do not receive the grades to enter higher education directly. Somewhat paradoxically, the role of FE as a route into higher education potentially further reinforces this view of the sector as of lesser status.
