Points for culinary arts drop, but rise for agriculture courses

While demand for honours degrees in agricultural science decreased unexpectedly this year, points increased almost across the board for Level 6 and 7 ordinary degrees and certificates.

Agriculture at Cork IT rose 10 points to 360, by 45 to 375 at Dundalk IT and by 20 to 405 at Waterford IT. The only slight decrease was at IT Tralee: down by five to 300.

The culinary arts industry made headlines recently, with the Restaurants Association calling on the Government to tackle the shortage of chefs. Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan has announced new areas for apprenticeships under a new scheme aimed at offering a viable alternative to third-level education.

This year it is easier to get a place on a culinary arts course. Points decreased at Athlone IT, by 22 points to 233; Cork IT by 10 points to 300; Dundalk IT by 44 points to 195; IT Tallaght by 30 points to 225; IT Tralee by five points to 130 and by 35 points to 215, and at Limerick IT by a huge 110 points to 220. Culinary arts at GMIT held steady at 200 points.

Whether the decrease is due to a lack of demand or an increase in places is not clear as the number of places on those courses is unknown.

In other level 6/7 courses, points were also down for subjects related to other booming industries, including tourism. At IT Tralee, hotel management went down a whopping 186 points to 265. At IT Tallaght, international hospitality and tourism management decreased 20 points to 160, and at Griffith College international hospitality management in Limerick dropped 15 points to 105.

Level 6/7 certificate/ordinary degree courses that saw points increase include architectural technology at GMIT, Montessori education at Portobello Institute, civil engineering at several colleges, and applied bio science in Dundalk IT and Cork IT. Points for construction generally increased.

At GMIT’s Letterfrack campus, furniture and wood technology dropped 75 points to 230, and furniture design and manufacture dipped 45 points to 260. Points for dental nursing decreased generally.