More apprenticeships for Kilkenny school leavers

Enhancements to the CAO website will include further education and apprenticeship opportunities for school leavers in Kilkenny, a local TD has said.

The CAO website, which went live on Friday, for the first time include options across higher education, further education and training and apprenticeships for school leavers and other applicants.

Welcoming the new options, Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan  said: “Students across Kilkenny and Carlow will now have access to over 400 Post Leaving Cert (PLC) courses and 62 apprenticeship programmes, as well as university options, on the enhanced CAO portal.

“Access to education for all is a key priority for Fine Gael in Government and this is just one more step in breaking down the barriers to third level. As part of last month’s Budget 2022, Minister Harris announced the abolition of the €200 course levy, which will apply to all PLC courses in the Kilkenny and Carlow ETB from next September.

“The inclusion of apprenticeships on the CAO website speaks to the societal shift that has occurred over the past few years. Students, teachers and parents recognise there is so much more than university to consider when thinking about life post Leaving Cert.”

The Ferrybank-based Fine Gael TD (pictured below) said this is “a significant step in making our third level sector a more inclusive environment which caters to the needs and skills of all school-leavers in Kilkenny and Carlow”.

And he added: “Across the country over the next few months, Leaving Cert students will be considering their next steps in life. We have so many industries offering diverse and interesting careers and there are so many ways to get there. If full time education isn’t for you, then we have options that are.”