hi redstar,
i have a b in my bonnet about this too. im also looking at doing a postgrad in september - been unemplyed since last july, so will qualify for the BTEA.
from what i can gather, the reason the social welfare dont support masters courses is because they dont want the scheme to be abused by all and sundry i.e. people would deliberately sign on for a couple of months prior to doing their masters in order to qualify for the BTEA.
the 3rd level option of the BTEA is supposed to be for graduates who, despite having a degree, are still having difficulty getting a job. this is where the hdip comes in.
hdip courses are classified as "conversion courses" for people who want to diversify their qualifications e.g. an arts graduate doing a hdip in computer science. In fact, you can only get into a hdip course if your primary degree is not relevant to the hdip course topic.
Essentially, the 3rd level option of the BTEA is for people who need to diversify their qualifications in order to make them more employable, and subsequently get them off the dole. it is not meant to be a means of furthering your education, per se. (and nothing got to do with teacher shortages as far as i know)
The BTEA actually suits me perfectly. i am looking to diversify as much as possible. my degree is in quantity surveying and all my work experience is in property development (not exactly inundated with job offers at the moment as you can imagine!) And so a conversion course suits me fine.
I am looking at doing a postgrad in Accounting and there are three conversion courses which interest me :
Professional diploma in Accounting @ DCU
Postgraduate diploma in Accounting @ DIT
Hdip in Accounting @ UCC
The three courses are identical in terms of their content, professional exemptions etc. However, according to the SW, they will only let me do the hdip in UCC. (not very convenient for me, considering i live in dublin).
ive tried to take this up with them at my local SW office, but seem to be hitting a brick wall.
none of them are able to explain to me the difference between a hdip/postgraduate dip/professional dip or why they distinguish between them.
As far as i know, there is no difference. they are all postgraduate diplomas, just different colleges use different names. but i cant seem to get this point across to the SW people. really frustrating!
redstar, i would be very interested to hear how you got on mith ms hanafin. would appreciate it greatly if you could post any advice/info. maybe i should speak to someone in her office myself, might get a more helpful response.
i think the qualifying criteria for the BTEA is outdated and completely out of sync with the current climate. i mean, there are thousands of graduates on the dole at the moment and it doesnt look like they'll be going back to work any time soon. they might as weel be doing something useful while theyre collecting the dole i.e. a postgrad. its not like its going to cost the state any extra, if the person is already on the dole. just doesnt make sense to me that the SW are being so specific about the type of postgrad.