SENATOR Jimmy Harte has
welcomed the allocation of 1,000 additional post
Leaving Certificate places as part of the
Government’s Jobs Initiative.
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn,
T.D., today announced the provision of the extra
places to begin in September. This additional
allocation brings the total number of approved PLC
places available nationwide to 32,688.
Senator Harte said: “The PLC programme is a very
important part of the range of further education and
training courses available. PLC courses give
learners specific vocational skills as part of a
major Fetac award which enables them to upskill and
re-skill, not just for the jobs of today, but for
the jobs of tomorrow.”
Mr Quinn added that the new places would mean that,
at least, 1,000 unemployed people would be given the
opportunity to re-skill and up-skill.
"This is vital in order to give them the opportunity
to re-enter the world of work as quickly as possible
and is a cornerstone of the Government’s Jobs
Initiative. VECs and PLC providers are playing an
important role in responding to the challenges
facing the labour market and I commend them for
their work.” He said the additional places this year
would be funded through a combination of
departmental savings and an additional €2 million
from the Exchequer. |
