Dozens of engineering courses go unfilled

ENGINEERING courses are still struggling to attract new students, even from among those who formerly worked in the field.

Dozens of engineering and technology courses offered through the Central Applications Office (CAO) have been unable to find enough suitably qualified applicants from among this year’s school leavers.

But a range of free third-level courses in the engineering sector have also been among the toughest to fill under the Government’s jobs initiative for the unemployed.

The 5,900 places on Springboard’s part-time courses opened to applications in May, offering qualifications ranging from certificates to masters degrees.

They have particularly been aimed at mature students, including graduates in sectors worst hit by the recession.

But despite ongoing demand for engineers — particularly in design, process, quality control, electrical and environmental — related courses for about 600 students in the Springboard scheme are not filling as fast as the rest.

They include many college programmes, such as energy engineering, mechatronics and polymer processing, which are specifically designed to re-skill unemployed engineers.

A spokesperson said: “At this stage we have had over 11,000 applications through the [Springboard] website and we’re hopeful of filling the majority of places.

“Courses, however, where there has been less interest are engineering-related, including those geared towards upskilling or reskilling unemployed engineers.”

The initiative is funded through the Higher Education Authority and has been the subject of a major advertising campaign in recent weeks, with more than 2,000 of the applications received in the past fortnight.

But it is understood that strict criteria requiring those taking up the places to be unemployed for at least six months is proving a barrier to high numbers of applicants who are otherwise suited to the courses.

The CAO had over 150 courses on its website yesterday offering vacant places, either because they did not have enough applicants or not enough who did apply met the academic requirements such as minimum grades in a specific Leaving Certificate subject.

Of these, about 30 came under the engineering and technology heading, such as level 8 degrees in manufacturing and design engineering at Dublin Institute of Technology and three electronic engineering degrees at NUI Maynooth.

While high demand pushed up CAO points on Monday for most science, nursing and health profession courses, over half the courses with vacant places are in the business and administration category, most at institutes of technology and private colleges.

Around one-in-five of all level 6 and 7 (higher certificate and ordinary bachelor degree) courses offered through the CAO this year are now open to new applications, along with more than a dozen courses each at Letterkenny Institute of Technology and the Tipperary Institute.

* Applications for Springboard courses remain open at www.bluebrick.ie. Full-time courses with vacant places can be viewed at the www.cao.ie.