By the time Chelsea Lyons (21) was heading into her Leaving Cert, four years ago, she was so sure she was finished with education that she didn’t even fill out her CAO.
She just wanted out. “I said I’m just going to live my life and go straight into work, so that’s what I did,” says Chelsea, who is from Finglas, Dublin 11.
It’s not as if academics were her passion. “I wasn’t a messer at school, but I wasn’t the first to put my hand up either,” she recalls.
The desire to earn her own money was strong. She got a job with one of the country’s best known supermarket chains and loved it.
“I worked full time, 40-plus hours, and loved getting my wages every week. I seldom had money growing up so it was great to have it and to be able to give my Mam my keep and have that independence for the first time,” says Chelsea.
After a year she went to work in a betting shop, and quickly became a deputy manager. “It was on a better wage, and I enjoyed it,” she explains.
But after about two years there, she started to revisit her choices, wondering what life might be like if she had continued her education. Aware of her keen intelligence, she worried she might have sold herself short.
Eventually, in 2023, she went to her local youth centre, which referred her to someone with experience getting youngsters back into formal education.
They explained all the further education and training options open to her, including the possibility of a Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) course.
Taking the PLC path
These are provided in every county in Ireland, delivered by the network of 16 Education and Training Boards, as well as other local providers.
They are perfect for anyone looking for a route into higher education outside of the points system, or to try out a subject before committing to a degree programme. With courses at one to two years in duration they can also prepare learners for direct entry into employment.
Chelsea signed up for a PLC course in Office Administration and Reception Skills at Coláiste Íde College of Further Education, just up the road in Finglas.
Because students attending a PLC course can apply for a SUSI grant, she was able to secure financial support for the year as well.
Right from the beginning the relief that her life was back on its rightful course was enormous. “I really felt like I was ready. I had the mindset for it now. I knew this was what I wanted to do,” says Chelsea.
It also unleashed in her a sense of potential she hadn’t felt since she was a child.
“I just knew I was going to sit down and get my education and that after it I was going to charge on and be a businesswoman. In fact, I always used to tell my family that I was going to be the President of Ireland one day, and I really believe I can do it,” she says.
This time around, her approach to studying was informed by all the experiences she had had since leaving school.
“I appreciated education more because I had stopped it. I’d been out in the big bad world and knew that what I wanted and needed was to be in an educational setting where I could soar,” she adds.
She did just that, not alone gaining distinctions for seven out of her eight PLC exam modules, but she was elected first class rep and then as student representative on the college’s board of management.
She was invited to represent Coláiste Íde at events run by the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, and the National Association of Principles and Deputy Principles, which included public speaking. She also won an Erasmus Scholarship to intern in Perpignan, France, for three weeks, as part of her PLC.
PLC courses typically offer small class sizes and personal attention. The lecturers couldn’t have been more supportive, she says. “There was one, I won’t name, who took so much time out to help me that when I go on to make one hundred million dollars, I’m going back to give him one million,” she smiles, only half in jest.
More options than ever
PLCs, which reach level five and six on the QQI framework and last one or two years, are just one of a range of options now open to those looking to return to education.
Last year the National Tertiary Office, a joint initiative between Solas and the Higher Education Authority, launched a range of new tertiary degree programmes.
These allow learners to spend the first year of their course in a college of further education, before moving to university for the final years of their degree – again, all outside of the points system.
The tertiary degree courses take place in locations across the country, in subjects such as business, technology, arts, engineering, manufacturing and health.
As well as apprenticeships and traineeships, Solas also supports eCollege, the national online learning service for further education and training. It provides a range of high quality, interactive, online learning courses, available on demand, for those who want to learn at their own pace, for free.
If the PLC route is the one that appeals to you, the good news is that there are currently over 1500 courses on offer across the country. Research suggests that students who undertake them first are better prepared for university, giving them a greater chance of completing their degree.
All systems go
Chelsea graduated from her PLC at Coláiste Íde in May and, this time around, did apply to the CAO to go on to third level. Her dream was to study law and she secured an offer from DCU, her first choice.
“Hearing I got the offer felt electric. I was ecstatic. I knew from the start of the PLC that I was going to go full steam ahead and I just felt I’d nailed it,” she says.
“It’s joint honours law so I get to choose law plus another subject such as history, French or Spanish. I think I’ll do politics because I love it. Some people my age sit down to watch a show on Netflix. I like to sit down and watch Oireachtas TV.”
She may even go into politics herself and, indeed, acknowledges she might have to in order to achieve her ultimate goal of becoming Uachtarán na hÉireann.
In the meantime, her sense that education is the key to unlocking a better future is something she is both evangelical about – and persuasive. So much so that her own father, who previously worked in hospitality, is following in her footsteps, having just signed up to a PLC in order to train as a chef.
“I’m telling everyone that, no matter what age you are, there is no age limit on going and doing a PLC. So dip your foot back in the water and do it. I can tell you, you’ll enjoy every last minute,” says Chelsea.
Let Further Education and Training help you get the rest of your life off to a great start – find out more at thisisfet.ie or by contacting Coláiste Íde directly.