The polymer industry employs about 16,000 people. Between 10 and 20 per cent are in the technical area, according to Reg McCabe of the Plastic Industries Association (PIA). The industry has grown in the past five years, particularly in healthcare.

Most school-leavers are unaware of opportunities, so the PIA and Athlone RTC have produced a brochure and the PIA has developed an introduction programme for Transition Year students - "the message is that there are exciting and challenging opportunities and it's very well paid."

Athlone RTC, the national education centre for technicians and engineers for the plastic industry, offers a number of courses. UL also offers a degree in material science which includes the study of polymers.

Dr Eliathamby Ambikairajah, head of Athlone's school of engineering, says that two four-year ab initio degree programmes are being offered next year - polymer technology and polymer engineering. "Students must have higher-level maths for the engineering course or they must pass the special maths exam set by the college," he says, "whereas there is no higher-level maths requirement for the BSc in polymer technology."

The higher-level maths requirement has been causing problems with recruitment. There are only 10 students on the first year of the engineering programme this year, says Amikairajah. To increase numbers and fulfil industry needs, the college is re-introducing its BSc in polymer technology.

About 30 degree graduates and 30 to 40 technicians are needed each year. "There is less design on the technology programme," he says. "Industry will be able to choose between graduates who are more technically oriented or more design oriented."

Athlone also offers a national certificate in plastics engineering from which students may progress to a diploma and, from there to a degree (see chart below).

Final-year degree and diploma students undertake industry-supported projects. Degree students also spend three months on industrial placement, many of them abroad. Plastic engineering students are virtually guaranteed jobs, according to the college, and they can earn salaries significantly ahead of those with general engineering qualifications.

A FOUR-YEAR UL degree in materials science covering all materials from polymers to ceramics to metals, composites, biomaterials and opto-electronic materials. "The main thrust of the course is to understand the structure property relationships of materials so you can choose the right material for an engineering application," explains Professor Martin Buggy.

Polymers are increasingly being used for biomedical applications, he says. For instance, drug carrier systems for timed release are often polymeric as are bio-absorbable sutures. Boston Scientific employs graduates of UL and Athlone RTC.

Buggy says that employment for UL graduates is very buoyant - about one third go to electronics companies, one-third to new healthcare companies and one third to engineering companies. The last available figures shows an average annual starting salary in the region of £15,500.

McCabe, of the PIA, notes that entry is not necessarily via a degree. "We're about to introduce traineeships for moulding technicians in conjunction with FAS. We'll be looking for people already working in industry who want a change."