Mr. Andrew Brownlee:

I totally agree that it is a potential game changer. We were constantly hearing up to now that the further education options and apprenticeship options are really only an afterthought if the student does not get the points to get into higher education. This is the first step in trying to make sure that everyone has all of the choices on the table.

On the question of whether we know if it works, at the moment we know it has created a level of interest in those different options. The CAO change of mind process has only just closed and we will not know the full impact until August or September when the leaving certificate results are out and people finalise their choices. We should have a good gauge in April or May. We are already hearing anecdotally from the FET colleges that more and more people are coming to them. People are entitled to apply for our courses at the moment but there is no incentive to do so because the higher education process is still working through. We will be able to give the committee an update in April or May on the sense of demand for FET courses, and then a full review of the impact when choices are confirmed in September and October. A big part of this is changing the culture around and helping people to make smarter choices.

It should not be about capping numbers in higher education or fixing numbers in further education and training. There is real potential just to get people better information. There is also real potential to look at further education and training pathways into higher education in order that a person could start off in further education and progress into higher education degree programmes. We are working on this with QQI and with the HEA.