ISSU Partner with Text 50808
With the current uncertainty surrounding the State Exams, the ISSU have partnered with Text 50808 to provide help to students who need it.
50808 is the first 24/7 text service, providing everything from a calming chat to immediate support for people going through a mental health or emotional crisis - big or small.
Text ISSU to 50808 to begin.
A message to students receiving Leaving Cert Results from the ISSU
Best of luck to all the students receiving their Leaving Cert results today. You experienced a year like no other and worked incredibly hard regardless of the hurdles you faced. We wish you the very best of luck as you progress to the next stages of your lives. Go n-éirí leat!
ISSU Launch Online Learning Hub
The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union is aware that students are currently facing numerous hurdles when it comes to having a stress-free and engaging online learning experience. As a result of this, the organisation has taken steps to provide students with the necessary resources to equip them with the continuation of online learning.
In January 40% of students who responded to an ISSU survey said that they were “unconfident or very unconfident” in their school’s ability to provide a strong standard of tuition online. The ISSU Online Learning Hub is therefore being launched, to include an information campaign concerning online learning.
Meg Foley, Cork City Regional Officer stated “Students didn’t seem to be aware of their online learning rights, so we wanted to provide them with the information they needed to have a better experience with online learning”. The Online Learning Hub includes a summary of the recently released remote teaching guidelines, a list of students’ online education rights, template emails to assist students in contacting teachers, and a guide on using online learning space across various platforms.
“Some students are really struggling with the technical aspects of online learning, so we wanted to combat the confusion by providing guides to various platforms such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams” expressed Eva McDonnell, Cork City Regional Officer.
Clare Regional Officer Lara Costello added “Hopefully the students of Ireland will find these tools useful and the stress they are facing will be somewhat alleviated.”
All of these resources are available for all students at the ISSU Online Learning Hub at www.issu.ie/online-learning-hub. It is also linked on our various social media accounts.
YMCA Ireland | Download Going to College 2021
YMCA Ireland have created a guide for parents and students to help and inform as they progress to college in 2021
You can download it here
Further Education and Training – More than you might think | The many paths for Leaving Certs
At the best of times, selecting a course can be a very difficult decision for Leaving Certificate students. These are not the best of times.
With so much uncertainty over the past number of months, it has been very challenging for any young person trying to make decisions which determine their future.
And, there are so many options to choose from - what career or course to pursue. Where they might like to study or train? What kind of educational route offers the best progression in the field of study they choose?
Further education and training (FET) and the opportunities for students, is sometimes overlooked. But, the breadth of courses and progression routes in the FET sector is huge!
The Paths
FET offers a wide variety of education options to anyone over 16. From stonemasonry to journalism and media, science to accountancy, engineering to culinary arts and everything in between, there are post leaving cert courses (PLC), apprenticeship and traineeship options to take students on any career path.
Further education and training in Ireland has produced countless leaders in their field, from world champion beauticians to international award-winning chefs (at age 19!) and graduates of one college have racked up no less than seven Oscar nominations.
But these headline grabbing stories are not the only ones to focus on. There are also the stories of lab technicians, healthcare workers and childcare workers around the country, the value of whose work has been so acutely revealed in the last number of months. There are the first responders, and the logistics experts and the software developers. There are thousands of professions open to FET graduates through PLC and other FET courses.
While this range of courses doesn’t necessarily make the post-leaving decisions for students easier, it certainly opens up many options.
Qualifications
Further education and training courses are QQI accredited and awards range from NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications) Level 1 to 9, providing students and learners with the option of going straight into work in their chosen field or studying further.
Many universities, institutes of technology and some independent higher education institutions offer places to FET graduates on the basis of their FET award, based on certain criteria.
A number of level 6 awards (Advanced Certificates) achieved through FET courses also provide enhanced progression into year two of higher education programmes, where the higher programme is in a similar discipline. This is known as ‘advanced entry’. In some cases, based on the chosen course and meeting certain criteria, a candidate with a level 6 award may be offered exemptions from elements of programmes within the first year.
Applicants are always advised to check with the Admission Officers and with the information of both CAO and the relevant higher education institution.
Apprenticeships and Traineeships
FET also includes apprenticeships and traineeships, which are becoming ever more desirable for particular careers across Ireland. We continue to see a rise in the number of apprentices in the more traditional apprenticeships but we now have a whole new range of apprenticeships in areas such as cyber security; biopharma and chemistry; information and communication technology; and finance.
Likewise, there is a huge range of traineeships, a programme that combines learning in the classroom and experience in the workplace which will provide you with an opportunity to develop cutting edge skills and on-the-job knowledge, enhancing your career options and improving your employability.
The opportunities are diverse. Read some of our stories on Aircraft Maintenance Engineering apprenticeship and Auctioneering and Property Services apprenticeships to Digital Sales and Marketing traineeship and much more.
Further education and training opens the doors for thousands of young people across Ireland every year. It opens the door to careers they didn’t even know about, to careers they might have only ever wanted to do, to further learning or to space and time to figure out what route they wish to take.
In colleges, institutes and learning centres in every corner of Ireland, there are students realising their dreams. Their journey started here.
To find out just how many opportunities and paths there are to take, students can get inspired by some FET stories at http://www.thisisfet.ie
ISSU Survey Results: Students Want Choice & Clear Communication from Department on State Examinations & Schools Reopening
Today, Wednesday 20th January 2021, the Irish-Second Level Students’ Union publishes their Report on the State Examinations 2021 and the Reopening of Schools. The ISSU undertook a detailed consultation process including a survey which had over 20,000 responses, and a private webinar with over 250 representatives of ISSU member schools in attendance.
The purpose of this report is to ensure student voice is being included in any decisions made surrounding the 2021 State Examinations and the Reopening of Schools. The consultation process was carried out through the ISSU’s 480 member schools, and due to the important nature of future decisions on these topics, students from all schools were also invited to input to the survey.
The ISSU reiterates the need for increased communication from the Department of Education & Skills regarding safety protocols and the rationale behind their decisions, with 73% of respondents feeling either very unsafe or unsafe with regard to the prospect of schools reopening. The ISSU notes that poor communications is also leading to students lacking any real trust in the Department’s decisions, with 75% of respondents saying that there trust in the Department is either “very poor” or “poor”
State Examinations
After extensive analysis of the survey results paired with data from the consultation, the ISSU will be advocating for a choice for Leaving Certificate students between calculated grades or sitting in-person exams in June, with over 81% of respondents rating this option favourably. The ISSU wishes to acknowledge the massive input from 6th year and LCA2 students in particular to the survey and consultation, as well as their communications with the union over the last number of weeks.
Alicia O’Sullivan, Education Officer of the ISSU noted “It has been an extremely busy time for us here in ISSU over the last few weeks. Students are calling out for clarity and are calling for the Department to give them some idea of what might happen regarding their exams. We have listened and we now have a clearer picture of what students want, and we want to work constructively with the Department and other stakeholders to make sure that all students are catered for, and that their welfare is prioritised over anything else in the coming months”.
The ISSU will also be advocating for clarity with regard to the Junior Certificate exams, with 71% of Junior Cycle students who responded to the survey communicating their dissatisfaction with the support they have received from the Department of Education. Junior Cycle students are also not in favour of exams proceeding as currently planned, with calculated grades or an option of calculated grades and in-person exams gathering a majority of support.
Speaking on the launch of the survey and consultation report, ISSU President Reuban Murray stated “Students want clarity, and for the Department to learn from the mistakes and delays of last year. We need to plan now for what might be happening regarding exams and the reopening of schools in the coming weeks and months. We’re asking for compassion for the thousands of students who - up until now- have been asked to carry on as normal, in what are completely abnormal times. It is clear that we need to try something different, and we’re ready and willing to contribute to this with our recommendations in this report”.
The ISSU will present these findings to Minister Norma Foley, the Department of Education & Skills and all education stakeholders at the Advisory Group meeting regarding State Examinations this Friday 22nd January.
The full ISSU Report on the State Examinations 2021 and the Reopening of Schools can be found here:
or on the ISSU Publications Page.