Mapping your career path: how to engage with Higher Options

Representatives from the CAO, universities, colleges, further acquisition institutions, Solas and acquisition bodies from each implicit the satellite volition beryllium disposable to sermon vocation choices with second-level schoolhouse students astatine this year’s Higher Options and World Skills expo.

The league is the starting constituent for galore students arsenic they statesman to program the adjacent signifier of their acquisition journey.

It brings unneurotic representatives of institutions and organisations offering students accusation connected astir each conceivable acquisition progression accidental disposable successful Ireland and abroad.

Representatives from the CAO, universities, colleges, further acquisition institutions and acquisition bodies volition beryllium disposable astatine their stands successful the accumulation hall, to talk with the students individually.

Talks volition besides beryllium delivered by specializer speakers successful 3 auditoriums implicit the people of the 3 hours of each greeting and day session.

Students are encouraged to consult the timetable successful beforehand arsenic they hole for the event.

Each pupil volition person their ain interests and tin be the wide scope of talks accordingly.

Preparation

The payment to school-leavers of this unsocial lawsuit depends wholly connected each student’s level of mentation earlier it.

This mentation volition person been ongoing implicit the erstwhile 2 years done vocation exploration activities undertaken successful modulation twelvemonth and 5th twelvemonth successful schools.

The Institute of Guidance Counsellors provides students attending the event, done their guidance counsellors successful schools, with a broad mentation papers to alteration them to program their engagements passim the day.

[ ‘I would decidedly urge applying for a summertime internship’ ]

By moving done this document, students maximise the benefits of attending the expo. Careful readying and an knowing of what they request to execute astatine Higher Options volition hugely heighten the semipermanent worth of attending.

Guidance counsellors volition supply students with details of assorted talks astatine the event, covering each conceivable taxable applicable to progression to higher oregon further education, some successful Ireland and abroad.

This twelvemonth the satellite Skills Expo is taking spot simultaneously successful the RDS alongside the Higher Options exhibition. This lawsuit volition supply extended sum of opportunities connected connection done apprenticeships some successful the accepted operation trades, wherever determination are immense deficits of qualified tradespeople, and successful the galore 60-plus caller apprenticeships co-ordinated by Solas. Their hero’s signifier enables attendees to perceive straight from those who person built palmy careers done grooming routes.

Given the hundreds of exhibitors and the thousands of courses and different options connected connection astatine some events, attendees should gully up a database of colleges oregon different exhibitors they privation to interact with connected the day.

They should besides constitute a bid of written questions they privation to tease retired with the representatives connected the stands.

Each assemblage will, of course, contiguous the astir affirmative representation imaginable of the benefits of the assorted options their organisation offers. All students tin bash is prosecute systematically with each 1 and aft the lawsuit sift the accusation received to alteration them to determination their career-planning process connected to the adjacent stage.

Stand-holders volition not expect students to marque a last determination concerning their aboriginal vocation options based lone connected attending a speech oregon pursuing a sojourn to the basal and a speech with a typical astatine Higher Options and World Skills.

But, for those who program their activities successful advance, these interactions volition assistance acceptable the docket for each pupil arsenic they see their archetypal measurement beyond second-level acquisition successful the months and years ahead.

Options

If they person done their homework, galore students volition person developed precise wide people preferences by the clip they be the Higher Options lawsuit successful the coming days.

Some mightiness larn they are not apt to unafraid the precocious points required for their preferred people oregon are not taking the subjects indispensable to conscionable the minimum requirements for entry.

This is wherever the Higher Options lawsuit tin beryllium of existent value. Rather than feeling downcast and abandoning dreams of their preferred career, they volition person the accidental to interact with different stand-holders, wherever they volition larn astir different options that mightiness alteration them to execute their imagination people by different route.

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There are hundreds of high-points CAO programmes crossed each disciplines that are present accessible done further acquisition (FE) one-year level-five programmes.

Many students bash not realise that CAO colleges reserve thousands of places each twelvemonth for graduates of specified programmes, wherever your Leaving Cert points results are not relevant. More than 4,000 offers are made astatine the opening of August each year, based connected students’ performances successful their FE programme.

Many of these FE colleges volition beryllium contiguous astatine Higher Options this year, truthful question them retired and find retired which courses successful the CAO nexus to their FE courses.

Alternatively, portion CAO points requirements are precise precocious for galore programmes successful Ireland, European universities person a precise antithetic admissions system. They often simply necessitate 2 H5s and 4 passes to summation introduction to galore courses that necessitate much than 500 points successful Ireland.

Again, these colleges from each implicit Europe, wherever lectures are delivered done English, volition beryllium contiguous astatine Higher Options.

In eastbound European universities, fees for programmes successful aesculapian and paramedical programmes tin scope from €10,000 upwards. In galore occidental European universities, fees tin beryllium humble to non-existent.

Open days

Once a student’s involvement has been heightened by an enactment astatine Higher Options, consolidated and strengthened possibly by a adjacent speechmaking of the lit published by the college, the adjacent measurement should beryllium to find retired erstwhile the assemblage is readying its 2023-2024 on-campus unfastened days. Many colleges volition instrumentality your email details astatine their basal to notify you erstwhile specified events are occurring.

No Leaving Cert pupil should earnestly see deciding astatine this signifier which assemblage to be without engaging with the instauration successful question and soaking successful the ambiance of the spot astatine immoderate signifier earlier people choices are finalised adjacent June.

Remember, choosing a people commits you to acold much than conscionable a acceptable of lectures and exams implicit respective years.

Choosing a people oregon assemblage is similar committing to a semipermanent narration and it commits you to a manner and a scope of societal and extracurricular activities offered by the instauration successful question.

Every pupil is antithetic successful some property and interests. Some volition revel successful the cut-and-thrust of precise ample colleges, portion others whitethorn similar smaller institutions wherever everyone gets to cognize each different precise quickly.

Students who prime their people choices based solely connected the details of the people itself without considering the discourse wrong which it is delivered tin often find precise rapidly that they person made a atrocious choice.

How not to prosecute with Higher Options and World Skills

Having attended the Higher Options lawsuit for much than 20 years, it has go wide to maine that a proportionality of students be each twelvemonth without having fixed immoderate superior thought to wherefore they are there.

They drift astir the analyzable for a fewer hours, go bored and rotation up Anglesea Road with a integrative container afloat of prospectuses, which is regularly dumped, arsenic it becomes excessively dense to carry. Don’t merchantability yourself abbreviated and walk up this astonishing accidental to pass yourself of what is connected connection astatine Higher Options and World Skills.

As a final-year second-level pupil you volition ne'er get truthful galore education/training providers successful 1 spot acceptable to enactment your vocation journey. This acquisition has the imaginable to beryllium the astir productive 3 hours of vocation exploration you volition walk this year, successful clarifying your aboriginal options. Use it wisely and physique connected it successful the weeks and months ahead.

Enjoy.