Advice please... what are my options?

nrmcc

Hi, I need some help because I am totaly lost about my education. I completed my junior certificate and left school early (ie. I have no leaving certificate). I went to London and did an NVQ level 3 course in hairdressing but I have realised I am not interested in it at all, its just not me. I want to come home to Cork and get involved in social working.

I have searched all the websites and found some courses but do I have to have my leaving certificate to enter in a fetac course? I am 18 years old.

Could someone please give me some advice on what courses I could do without my leaving certificate that would lead me into social working?

Thanks.

johanz

Someone reply, I am interested in this too as I am in really similar situation. I don't have a leaving cert either.
To reply to your question, Leaving cert is not required to attend fetac courses. I subscribed to IT fetac course that said that leaving cert is required, then I rung them up and they told me it's optimal. So ring up the providers you are interested in and ask them.

looksee

Some providers require lc, maybe 5 passes at any level, others do not require lc. After 23 no lc is required as the student is a mature student. You will have to check out individual colleges that provide the course you want to do and see what the requirement is.

johanz

looksee wrote: »

Some providers require lc, maybe 5 passes at any level, others do not require lc. After 23 no lc is required as the student is a mature student. You will have to check out individual colleges that provide the course you want to do and see what the requirement is.

Isn't maturity 21?

Also, could someone tell why mature students don't need lc while younger ones do? I've been thinking a bit and I can't think of a reason, so please help me.

spinandscribble

Its just the cut off age thats been set.

OP I know girls under 23 without the leaving who did a fetac but they were creative courses so they might have been more lenient. Get straight onto the fetac courses to see where will still be holding interviews.

looksee

johanz wrote: »

Isn't maturity 21?

Also, could someone tell why mature students don't need lc while younger ones do? I've been thinking a bit and I can't think of a reason, so please help me.

The accepted mature student cut off in Ireland is that you have to be 23 on the 1st January of the year you apply.

There is no very specific reasoning for the mature student qualification/lack of them but the feeling is more or less as follows. 'Mature student' covers people of all ages and many of them in the older age group could easily have not had chance or facilities to do a l.c. It was far less common in the past for people to stay at school than it is now. Also after a few years working there is considered to be 'life experience' which can be as valuable as paper qualifications. And it is true that, overall, mature students are able to cope with college, they may not have an academic background but they have lots of other things going for them, mainly commitment. FETAC teachers generally are glad to see mature students in a class, it makes a considerable difference to the atmosphere and work ethic.

There has to be a lower cut off, and I think the idea is that within 5 years of leaving school you could still do lc, and it would be too easy to fail lc with the idea that you can just go on and do FETAC.

You could dispute these points, but as I say, there is no actual argument given anywhere (afaik) and its just something you have to live with.

cynder

try doing the leaving cert applied its a 2 year course.

http://lca.slss.ie/school/proglist?place_id=22

yermanoffthetv

OP heres a good link for you:http://www.corkvec.ie/youth_services/youthreach.shtml

Theres plenty of info and contact numbers there so you should find what you need. If you are looking to get into social work I would strongly advise getting involved in volunteering also. Maybe a youth cafe or a community scheme, the experience will an excellent addition to your cv. Best of luck!