Mullingar Career Coach Believes Snobbery Influences College Course Decisions
Written 4 weeks ago by Angel Croitor
Angela Maher, Career Coaching Matters in Mullingar, spoke to Will Faulkner on Midlands Today about the perceived snobbery towards PLC or further education courses often citing that the student “needs to go to college” or else they won’t get a job and they won’t be successful.
“Well the immediate reaction is ‘Im not doing that – that’s not proper'”
She has met countless parents and students that seem to recline from the idea of following up with a further education course or taking a year out and getting a feel for what they may want to make a career out of.
Angela remembers a particular client who told her once that the vibe in secondary school is that of an engineering degree from a University, level 8 honours, is better than an engineering degree from an I.T. which she assures us it’s not true. The difference between the two would be the “learning style”.
Most employers want people who come into the company who are able to work and learn and Angela tells us that having an academic qualification indicates that you have an ability to learn where as having work experience tells them you actually know how to work.
“Most employers nowadays they want a little bit of both – when you come out of the leaving cert and you do not know what you want to do there is no point in you heading into an honours degree in a college just cause you think you should”.
Angela advises those who don’t know what to do after they’ve completed their leaving certificate to do a level 5 or level 6 course to see if they’d like to work within that career for a prolonged period of time. She says it is better to have realised you didn’t like a particular career prospect in a more affordable course.
But why do people not consider PLC courses? Why is it that universities are sought after as the more prestigious paths in some families?
“That’s not been picked off of the side of the road Will – that’s coming a lot of years through either educators or parents.”
Angela believes that because we’re pushing young people to be the best they can be, and in doing so insinuate that the best is a level 8 degree, this perceived snobbery is perpetuated furthermore. Her solution is to ask young people what it is they’re interested in and see how they can turn hobbies or interests into fulfilling careers.
“The first thing you have to do is know your own teenager – to be able to say to them there is a myriad of choices out there and for us to stop looking down on PLC and using the language ‘its a waste of a year'”.
