Students warned over quality of college courses

The number of CAO points required for a college course does not reflect its quality or the job prospects on offer, students were warned today.

Engineers Ireland said it was critical for Leaving Certificate students to remember that CAO points were not an indicator of their future career.

“Students will often feel pressure to choose a course with higher points, because of the perception that it is a better course offering more career opporunities afterwards,” Margie McCarthy, the manager of the STEPS to engineering programme, said.

“What needs to be remembered is that CAO points only measure the supply and demand of places available within a particular college programme and are not a reflection of the difficulty or quality of any programme.”

The group said the points for certain engineering and science courses, particularly in the technological sector, have dropped due both to the increase in the number of college places available and the widespread belief there are poor career prospects post-qualification.

But Ms McCarthy added: “The quality of Irish engineering and science graduates is internationally recognised, a sign of the high standards of our courses, and the average CAO points of engineering students remains high regardless of any fall in entry points.”

She said the market in the engineering and technology sectors for jobs was strengthening. Engineers Ireland highlighted the recent announcements of another 600 jobs in Dublin for Google, the establishment of the European Headquarters of Xilinx Research Labs in Ireland and the launch of the Government transportation plan, Transport 21, as indicators of a strong future.

“All the evidence points to a very buoyant employment market for engineering, science and technology graduates. Students should feel very confident in selecting a course in these areas on their CAO application form and they should feel excited hat they will play a part in our environmental and technological future,” Ms McCarthy said.

The STEPS to engineering is a programme from Engineers Ireland which is supported by Discover Science and Engineering, the Department of Education and Science, FAS and industry.

The programme is aiming to encourage primary and post-primary students to consider the world of science, and promote engineering as a career option.