As students and their families tend to obsess over Central Applications Office applications, many young people graduate from secondary school without ever having considered the option of further education and training (FET).
Covering a broad range of subjects with a focus on practical career skills, FET encompasses traineeships, apprenticeships, post-Leaving Cert (PLC) courses and informal education programmes. It can provide a bridge to a higher education degree or a direct path into employment; in other cases, it can simply be an accessible form of personal development through education.
Is FET an alternative to higher education?
The belief among many Irish people is that education should follow a linear path. You complete your studies at first and second level before being ushered into a third-level institute for a higher education degree – that is a level six to 10 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
On a European scale, we are leaders in educational attainment. As of 2023, 56 per cent of people aged 25-64 in Ireland had achieved a third-level qualification versus the EU average of 35 per cent. That number is even starker among younger people, rising to 65 per cent for 25-34-year-olds.
READ MORE
As impressive as these figures are, the fact is that third-level education should not be considered an immediate, ubiquitous route for graduating secondary school students. Further education and training are more affordable and accessible, but it also might just suit you better if your skills are more suited to vocational, practical learning than broad academic programmes.
More than 400,000 FET places were taken up in Ireland last year by 229,000 unique learners. Going back to the NFQ, these are courses that meet levels one to six. Among them are programmes in business, administration and law; agriculture; health and welfare; engineering, manufacturing and construction; natural sciences and arts, humanities and creative media. In short, further education and training can certainly provide an alternative to higher education.
Is FET growing more popular?
Dr Joseph Collins is the director of FET at Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), the representative body for 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) scattered around the country that facilitate further education and training in different regions. Dr Collins says the websites for these ETBs are a good place to start for anyone looking to learn more about further education and training options available to them.
“FET is so broad,” he says. “You have youth reach community training centres, you have local training initiatives, apprenticeships, traineeships, PLC courses, outdoor education training, a lot of back to education initiatives, vocational training schemes, adult literacy, prison education – it is as broad as it is long, and it involves formal and informal [education] … From your very informal local courses being organised at community level up to upskilling for those [already] in employment. There’s a huge scope.”
Apprenticeships are one element of further education and training that tends to draw a lot of attention. Solas, the State agency that oversees the FET sector in Ireland, reported that nearly 10,000 new apprentices registered with 77 different apprenticeship offerings in 2024, marking significant progress.
It is a much-needed improvement, given the importance of apprenticeships to Irish society. Programmes are being embraced by sectors such as Information and Communications Technology (ICT), finance, tech, engineering and health. They are an investment of time and resources into individuals who go on to fill vital, bespoke roles.
“It is something that has grown considerably over the last five to seven years because of the very good national strategy around FET,” Dr Collins says. “Because of the depth and breadth of FET, apprenticeships and traineeships are only one part of it. There is still a need for more people to be involved in apprenticeships.
“When people think of FET, very often apprenticeships jump out – but that’s only one strand of it. You have your school leaver, the adult learner, people in employment and people who are unemployed. They’re all engaged in FET. It could be a very basic English language class in a local parish hall. That is a FET programme.”
Logistics of an FET course
“It can be [a shorter path],” Dr Collins says. “In the main, a higher education degree is four years. There are some three-year degrees. Therefore, that’s a longer route. FET depends on the sector or the course; you could have a level five in one year and you could choose to add on to that with a level six. Effectively, it’s from one year to two years.
“Then we know apprenticeships are a little bit longer. They’re more closely aligned in the main to the higher education timeline. [FET courses] are shorter, more specific and very strongly linked to real-world needs and working with employers. Sixteen ETBs work locally in their own regions. They all have niche programmes in response to some of those regions and to local employers.”
Regional ETBs are also designed to make further education and training courses accessible countrywide and remove the need for learners to move away from home to pursue their chosen field. Many include work placements and specific, hands-on training. When you think of skill trades, you may picture long-standing pillars of society such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters and construction workers. Those roles are central to FET, but so too are a range of new jobs tailored to Ireland’s developing economy.
“There’s a cultural bias that has to be broken down so that university isn’t the default path,” Dr Collins says. “There are also demographic shifts. When you think about it, the retirements in the skill trades are probably outpacing the number of new entrants. Then, at the same time, look at the economic growth. Construction, green energy and ICT are expanding so rapidly.
“Maybe then it’s about the need for more visibility. Young people sometimes don’t see trades as an aspirational career. It’s about changing that narrative and working through the education continuum from primary to secondary level, ensuring that there are role models there and that they’re very visible. The options for tradespeople, [like] apprenticeships, are part of the conversation from a very early stage.”
Changing the narrative around FET
The early stage, then, is crucial to disrupting any misconceptions around the value of pursuing FET. One step ETBI have taken is to introduce initial vocational education and training modules to transition years. If a group is interested in a career in construction, for example, a local ETB might run 10 days of practical skills and workshops for students across a number of months through their academic year.
Skills boxes are another addition. Distributed to every second-level school and community college in the country, they contain career charts showing what options are available in further education and training across various sectors.
“Parents, guardians and students are sometimes unaware of the breadth and quality of FET options,” Dr Collins says. “Part of our role within ETBI is to change that narrative – to work with schools, career guidance counsellors and students themselves to make them aware of the different options.
“One size doesn’t fit all. It’s really about breaking down some of the misconceptions. FET is not just a second choice for those who didn’t succeed at university level. It’s a real alternative. People who have accessed it have gone straight into apprenticeships and been very successful, but equally, FET is a pathway straight to employment.
“For some, they will choose to go on to higher education, so they will use further education to bridge that gap for themselves. It’s a destination in and of itself, but it’s also a pathway to other things.”
Part of ETBI’s mission is to remain proactive around further education and training. The progress in recent years is encouraging, but there are strides yet to be taken. “Particularly, there’s still a gap around the number of women apprentices,” Dr Collins says. “A lot has been achieved, but in bridging that gender gap, particularly with craft apprentices, there’s still a reluctance for women to engage. Again, it’s about changing the story and ensuring people are aware of the opportunities.”
There is also scope for older learners to take part in further education and training courses. Solas reported that, in the fourth quarter of last year, nearly 458,000 adults aged between 25 and 64 years had engaged in formal or informal learning activities, contributing towards lifelong learning participation goals in the National Skills Strategy. FET is a perfect home for adults looking to upskill or return to learning.
“Now more than ever, we have so many of what we call micro credentials – small, bite-sized programmes that are available across every community,” Dr Collins says. “They’re very often connected with industry, where they’re for upskilling staff or trying to drive people into employment. Once people begin to engage with education, they find that they’re aware of more opportunities. That has been a huge game-changer for older generations.
“Maybe school wasn’t the best experience for them, or they just didn’t have the opportunity at that point in time, and the circumstances have changed in their lives. FET offers real opportunities, real careers and real impact. It has that ability to change communities, individual lives and then to change broader society.
“It has an economic focus but also a societal focus. The message to learners is that it’s never too late to learn, no matter what age you are, and maybe we should all rethink what success looks like.”
