PLCs gave me the space to figure out what I actually wanted

Wicklow learner Jennifer Wood is one of a growing number of students choosing a different path after school. Through Further Education and Training (FET), she not only progressed to university but discovered a new direction that changed her career plans.

“I was very sick when I was younger,” she says. “I just wasn’t in school enough to physically be able to sit the Leaving Cert exams.”

When she felt ready to return to education, Jennifer began with a QQI Level 4 course before progressing to a Level 5 Science Post Leaving Cert (PLC) course at Bray Institute of Further Education (BIFE). Her goal was to progress to university, and she achieved it.

“I got a place in university without a Leaving Cert just from doing the PLC course.”

While studying at BIFE, Jennifer had opportunities that went far beyond the classroom. She completed a three-week Erasmus+ placement in Malaga and placed second nationally in the “Pitch My Erasmus” competition.

However, it was during her PLC course that Jennifer discovered a new passion.

After sharing an original song at an open day, she was encouraged to pursue music and decided to defer her university place.

“I think that I am happier now because I didn’t go straight into university,” she says. “I would have chosen the degree that I thought everybody else wanted me to do, not what I actually wanted to do.”

In her class, she met students from a wide range of backgrounds, including many who had achieved high Leaving Certificate points but chose PLCs to take more time to explore their options. For Jennifer, PLCs and FET gave her the space to explore different subjects and figure out what she enjoyed.

Her advice to students considering their next step is simple:

“Try what you like, or what you think you like. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to get it right first try. If you take a year or two to figure out what you actually like, you could have the rest of your life doing something that you absolutely adore.”

Read the full article in today's Irish Independent CAO Change of Mind supplement and explore a world of FET opportunities at FetchCourses.ie.