It can be a stepping stone for those who want to train quickly and begin a working life. For some people it may be about leaving second-level school and moving swiftly on.

A course in the PLC sector will train you, "upgrade" you and place you in an eminently employable position.

Work experience is usually considered to be an integral party of a Post Leaving Cert course and in some colleges students are graded on it. That's because a PLC course generally aims to bridge the gap between school and work. Up to 75 per cent of students on PLC courses are aged between 18 and 20.

As a phenomenon the PLC sector is one of the most vibrant and successful initiatives within the education system to have developed in the past 20 years. Often it caters for those who don't want to delay, who want to begin work sooner rather than later, who want to cut to the chase. It's for those who want to hop, skip and jump to the next stage in life. However, the PLC route is now recognised not only as a preparatory route to employment, but also as a path to further education.

The sector has been growing steadily since it first came into being in 1985. This year about 24,500 students were registered on PLC courses in 240 centres throughout the State. Some 11 years ago, there were only 12,000 enrolments in PLC courses. That's more than double the number in just over a decade.

In general, these courses are one to two years in length, leading to a qualification awarded by the National Council for Vocational Awards.

In a survey of PLC students carried out by the Department of Education in the 1996-1997 academic year, it was estimated that 64 per cent went directly into employment while a further 36 per cent went on to further education or training.

There are more than 60 disciplines, including building construction, tourism and travel, drama and music and teleservices. (The chart on this page and the facing page breaks them down into 35 areas for the sake of convenience.) Some of the newest courses to choose from include a graduate diploma in multimedia computing, a graduate diploma in recruitment and a course in landscape architecture. Other courses include auctioneering, business, marketing and interior design. The range of courses continues to grow in response to market demands, encompassing art, engineering, pre-nursing, applied languages, teleservices, computing and community care.

As there is no central applications system for PLCs, applicants must apply to each institution individually. Some courses offer an alternative route into third-level education. One of the spin-offs of the economic boom was to make PLC graduates highly desirable to employers, who snap them up, often even before they have completed their courses.

While a Leaving Certificate is required for entry to a PLC, there is no points rating on performance and interviews are usually carried out to assess the suitability of a student to a course.

Students are also finding that the more focused, specialised courses on offer in the PLC sector allows them to study a more narrow and relevant aspect of a subject, a sort of focus that is not on offer in the university or IT sector.

Also for those who do not achieve the requisite number of points for a particular course at third-level, the PLC sector gives them the opportunity to proceed to third level using a ladder system - called the Higher Education Links Scheme. Using this scheme, more than 2,000 first places are reserved on selected courses in ITs for students with the NCVA level 2 qualification. Under this scheme, places on selected courses in the ITs are allocated on the basis of the grades achieved in the NCVA Level 2 awards.

Some PLC colleges offer courses that lead to degree-awarding programmes in universities in this State or elsewhere. Students find they can complete a third-level qualification in almost the same time it would have taken if they had gone directly to third level.

PLC courses are particularly beneficial for students who complete the Leaving Certificate Applied programme. Approximately 8,000 students pursue this two-year programme in 244 second-level schools and it is proving to be increasingly successful. PLC courses can provide these students with an opportunity to continue their vocational training. And it is also an important route for LCA students whose aim is to achieve a third-level qualification, since it can be difficult for these students to gain a place through the CAO.

In all, there are more than 1,000 courses to choose from; many of the courses are provided in vocational colleges right around the State.

Some courses are longer than others, and awards vary. Some qualifications are offered by professional bodies. As well as the NCVA level 2 (awarded after the successful completion of eight modules), there is also an NCVA level 3, which is usually awarded after two years of study.

In some ways the PLC sector has been a victim of its own success, with up to 23 per cent of students dropping out of courses because they were offered jobs before they graduated. Employers have been guilty of "poaching" these young students from PLC courses because of their skill, enthusiasm and desire to work.

According to one teacher at a PLC college, the demand for trainees is "huge". In response, a number of colleges now offer students a chance to complete the next stage of their course at night or part-time during the week.