Social welfare rules may see students ineligible for courses to get new skills

STUDENTS with degrees or who have recently lost their jobs may struggle to get funding for courses to attain new skills because of strict social welfare rules, heads of some of Cork’s busiest further education centres have claimed.

St John’s Central College in Cork city has received more than 4,500 applications for 1,200 places on its Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses, with unprecedented demand largely fuelled by unemployed people, as well as school leavers opting for a further education award.

But principal Ger Looney said many people who already have higher qualifications may be ineligible for funding.