The introduction of the Leaving Cert Applied to the Irish Education system

The recession of the 1970’s which brought widespread youth unemployment throughout Europe, made the E.C. raise the need for the introduction of initiatives to meet the problems of the early school leavers especially those who left school with no formal education. In 1977 Irelands department of education introduced the ‘Pre-employment ‘ course, which soon gave rise to the Vocational preparation & Training Programme (VPTP) in 1984. The Shannon Certificate, which ran from 1983-1987, was a project, which attempted to put into practice a range of new policy ideas to assist young people in the transition from education to adult working life. Both the VPTP & the Shannon Certificate were quite successful & high up take rates confirmed a nation-wide need for a senior cycle course aimed at preparing young people for transition to adult & working life. The Leaving Certificate Applied Programme introduced in 1995 is based on the VPTP & the Shannon Certificate.
The Leaving Certificate A...