Mr. Liam Carew:

To answer the Cathaoirleach's first question about our inspiration for entering the competition, we began our research in 2020, when we had just finished third year and when schools were closed in March 2020. Then we entered the competition in January 2021. We were coming to the end of our third year and we had the option of going into TY, straight into fifth year or into the leaving certificate applied. We wondered, when we looked at our year group, what are the factors that impact our peers and our own decisions at this stage and what is the true impact school has on us as students at this age? That was one thing that inspired us to undertake this study.

In terms of apprenticeships, in our school we have quite a small year group of about 50 but there are maybe ten or so students who are looking into apprenticeships at the moment.

Career guidance in school and so on is still geared a lot more towards college courses. Every week representatives come from colleges giving talks to the students and advertising their colleges. Maybe the same is not quite there for apprenticeships. When we hear people in our year saying they want to do this apprenticeship or that apprenticeship, it comes from them and they ignite it themselves. A few weeks ago our school took two groups on a workshop to Irish Rail in Dublin, for example, so there are initiatives definitely coming around, and students are becoming a lot more aware that apprenticeships are available, but I think it still comes from the students who want to do it themselves.