Apprenticeship or leaving cert

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122799793#Comment_122799793

Exactly. We are talking about someone who is motivated to get a L6 qualification. Which makes a L5 utterly irrelevant.

This is just plain false, it has been explained in a lot if detail why this is not the case, so posting something like this on a thread where genuine advice is being sought is not really helpful to anyone.

sekond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122799464#Comment_122799464

Apprenticeships aren't detailed on the chart specifically but they come under the Level 6 categorization.

Craft apprenticeships come under the L6 categorisation. There are apprenticeships that go all the way up to L9. (https://apprenticeship.ie/) It's a really good way of learning, and a really good option for studying a whole range of things.

littlefeet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122799686#Comment_122799686

Your saying he has server dyslexia, he did well in his Junior cert, yet somehow he would struggle with his leaving cert? What about the LCA.

Not liking school is not the same as struggling with schools.

griffin100

You shouldn't look at the LC as a particular level on the national framework of qualifications, you should look at it as what it is which is the default minimum level of education sought by a lot of employers. You don't necessarily need it to do all jobs or for entry to College at a later stage, especially if you are a mature entrant, but it is nice to have.

I can only speak from my own experience. I would have been the first person from my family to go to university, and I wanted / want my kids to have that same opportunity. It opened a lot of doors for me, and at the most basic level is a nice way to spend a few years before you have to start working for real, and school leavers today will probably work until they're 75.

My son has some issues with dyslexia and was never planning on going to college. He struggled for a lot of his time in secondary school with subsects like maths and got an exemption from Irish. He had a plan mapped out that involved doing his leaving cert, then a Level 6 course / PLC, and finally a professional course that would lead him into a good career with good job options in an area he found interesting. He worked really hard for his Leaving Cert and surprised everyone including himself with his results and instead of doing the Level 6 took a place at university and is loving it and so far is doing ok.

My mates son who is the same age as my son never enjoyed school, he hated going in, missed lots of days, and his behaviour at home began to become extremely aggressive. He hated school. He just wanted to leave. His parents finally allowed to leave before he did his leaving cert, and without a junior cert as his was cancelled due to covid. That was 2-3 years ago. He got a manual unskilled job straight away and has never looked back. His behaviour improved, he's never been late for or missed a day's work, he's bought his own car and he's saving for a house (rural Ireland). He's now considering an offer of an apprenticeship but at this stage he can't row back from earning good money. Leaving school worked for him.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that you have to do what works best for your kid. The longer you stay in school the more choices you have in the short term, but if school is not for you then leaving can be the right decision.

elydas

Believe me it is not just a case of not liking school. He is far from a snowflake! It is/ was a daily grind/ struggle for the 3 years of JC and the reason he did " relatively" well in the JC ( merits, not higher merits or distinctions) is because his parents tutored and encouraged him almost daily which was a huge demand on the family and not easily sustainable. However if the subject area is if interest to him( the craft trade) this should be more feasible to manage for him, hopefully.

mulbot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122803697#Comment_122803697

Does he like or have an interest in craft? It might be a good idea to see can he get a bit of part time work somewhere before committing to an apprenticeship. I'd also like to add in, if he does like it and decides to follow an apprenticeship, then he could be qualified by 20/21, and has basically open doors awaiting in Canada, America or Australia should he want.

elydas

Thanks. Yes he is already working part time with a carpenter for ty experience and is really liking it.

Just on the leaving cert, the only time i've been asked for those results is was when applying straight out of college with a 2:1 degree. I was never ever asked for my leaving cert results again.

Looking at PLC courses there's plenty around that you don't need a leaving cert and can apply to colleges after completing it.

If he wan'ts to do the apprenticeship I'd say go for it.

Saul Goodman 91

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122798993#Comment_122798993

I agree. It was quite a patronising and belittling comment about people with dyslexia.

Iguarantee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122794547#Comment_122794547

To put these rates in context, and I know I'm comparing apples with oranges here, but someone working in childcare, with a level 7 qualification wouldn't get as much as €17/hr.

So a 3rd year apprentice (whop is qualified to do **** all) is getting a decent wage and it's the thin end of the wedge with respect to their future prospects.

I think apprenticeships are great and I say that as someone who hated school, did their LC twice and has 3rd level and postgraduate qualifications.

littlefeet

3rd year apprentices make a fortune from nixers they are not qualified to do f all.

For historical reasons female dominated profession are poorly paid.

You are comparing apples and oranges.

Iguarantee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122816273#Comment_122816273

No, they are qualified to do **** all. If you get an apprentice to do work in your house as a fixer/nixer, does their professional indemnity insurance cover them if the work is defective?

My point was not to say apprentices can’t do anything, rather they are technically qualified to do nothing but continue being an apprentice.

If I do a 4 year degree and I quit at the end of 3rd year thenI don’t get 75% of a degree…

CivilCybil

I did my leaving cert in 2000. Lots of lads in our year left school without a leaving cert to go working as the Celtic tiger was roaring and they were making a fortune in trades.

I remember many of them mocking us broke students while flashing the cash.

But as we all know, the building trade collapsed a few years later. Many went from earning huge money to unemployment. Of that group there were a high number of marital breakdowns, a few houses repossessed. Loads left for Australia and Canada and are working in manual labour jobs now in their 40s (mining, excavating, roofing - jobs that won't get any easier as they age). One I know had a fairly serious injury and went back to do his leaving cert and is now working entry level civil service. So it's not impossible to go back and do it but it's surely easier to do it when he's still in the school system.

An apprenticeship opens doors which is great but not having a leaving cert closes so many if things don't work out with the apprenticeship.

And yes, getting a child through exams is tough. Even a child without additional needs (my child doesn't have dyslexia but has another disability which does impact their way of learning). I aged about 20 years during my child's leaving cert. And then college exams and practical placements have been super stressful in the household too. But it's literally two years for LC. It's doable.

I'd be afraid of limiting them by them not doing the LC.