LC Life, Community and Work

LC Life, Community and Work

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This course forms the core of the new Curriculum 2026 Leaving Certificate Life, Community and Work subject. Students systematically build self-awareness through values, aptitudes, interests and transferable skills, create and iteratively refine a personal statement, and construct a SMARTER-based career progression plan. They explore all eight post-school pathways, examine labour-market trends, rights and responsibilities, and undertake collaborative design-thinking projects and structured workplace engagement. Four Applied Learning Tasks and a digital portfolio develop reflection, synthesis and communication skills required for the SEC Portfolio in Action assessment.
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Develop self-awareness and forward-looking decision-making as the foundation for the rest of LCW. You explore who you are (values, aptitudes, achievements, interests, transferable skillset) and use that foundation to investigate post-school pathways, the world of work, employment rights, entrepreneurship and labour-market trends. Two Applied Learning Tasks land in this module: the Personal Statement (ALT 1) and the Career Progression Plan (ALT 2).

Strand 1: Understanding Myself
Welcome to LCW: Set up Your Digital Portfolio
What Is Personal Development? the SMARTER Framework
Identifying Areas for Personal Development
Goal Setting in Practice: a Second SMARTER Goal
Reflecting on Progress: the Review Cycle
What Are Values? Why They Matter
Priority Values: the Values Card-sort
Why Priority Values Change
Aptitudes: Your Natural Tendencies
Achievements: Hard-won Successes
Interests: Things You Enjoy
Tracking Development Over Time
Self-assessment in Practice
Classifying Skills: Technical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal
Reading a Job Role Description
Transferable Skills: the Core Concept
How a Transferable Skillset Supports Adaptation
Recognising Your Strong Transferable Skills
Recognising Transferable Skills That Need Work
Feedback from Others: Why Self-reflection Has Limits
Receiving and Recording Feedback
What Is a Personal Statement, and What Is It for?
Different Formats of Personal Statement
Personal Statements as Foundational
Drafting Your First Personal Statement (ALT 1 Begins)
Revising for Voice and Specificity
Peer Review and Feedback
Tailoring for an Audience
Plan for Revisiting Across the Course
Strand 1.1 Synthesis and ALT 1 Bank
Strand 2: Understanding My Progression Opportunities
The Eight Pathways After School
How Choice and Priorities Shape a Sustainable Society
Apprenticeships in Ireland
Traineeships and Further Education and Training
Higher Education in Ireland
Entrepreneurship, Travel, Community and the World of Work
What Is a Career Field?
What Drives Interest in a Career Field?
How to Research a Job Role: Methods
Conducting Your Research
How Your Personal Statement Connects to a Job Role
Additional Education and Training Opportunities
Providers of Education and Training
Investigating Specific Post-senior-cycle Options
Opportunities and Challenges Across Providers
Why People Work
Changing Employment Patterns
Employment Rights: Universal Protections
Young Worker Protections
Employee Responsibilities
Tax, PRSI and Revenue Registration
Entrepreneurship in the Labour Market
Labour-market Trends and Their Drivers
Remote Work, Hybrid Work, Self-employment, Freelancing
AI in the Workplace
Synthesising Strand 1.2 Findings
What Is a Career Progression Plan? (ALT 2 Begins)
Aligning the Career Progression Plan to the Personal Statement
Drafting Your Career Progression Plan
Refining, Peer Review and Strand 1.2 Synthesis

Shift from 'me and my future' to 'me and the world I am part of'. Explore community at local, national and global levels; recognise enterprise; develop transferable skills through a collaborative design-thinking task; and engage directly with the workplace through a minimum three-day placement. Produce ALT 3 (Reflection on the Collaborative Problem-Solving Task) and ALT 4 (Plan Responding to Workplace Feedback). The personal statement is revisited twice more so that by the end of the course it reflects two years of growth.

Strand 1: Appreciating My Community
What Is a Community?
Positive Influence of a Community
Volunteering: the Concept
Ways to Volunteer
Investigating a Real-life Community Issue
Forms of Enterprise
For-profit Business and Community Enterprise
Social Enterprises
Identifying Enterprise That Addresses a Community Need
Competencies Associated with Entrepreneurship
Critical Thinking and Problem-solving
Design Thinking: a Human-centred Approach
The Stages of Design Thinking
Forming Small Groups for the Collaborative Task
Clarifying: Choosing and Defining a Real-life Community Issue (Collaborative Task Begins)
Ideating: Generating Solutions
Developing: Refining the Strongest Idea
Implementing: a Realistic Plan
Reflecting on the Process
Presenting Your Collaborative Response
Mid-strand Personal Statement Revisit
Reflection Frameworks for ALT 3
Identifying Your Transferable Skills from the Task (ALT 3 Begins)
Drafting Your ALT 3 Reflection
Peer Review and Revision
Continued Transferable Skill Reflection
Considering Audience for Future Presentations
Final ALT 3 Submission
Mid-year 2 Portfolio Review
Strand 2.1 Synthesis and Bridge to Strand 2.2
Strand 2: Engaging with the Workplace
Methods of Applying for a Job
Components of a Job Application: CV and Cover Letter
AI in the Job Application Process: Benefits and Limitations
What Is a Competency-based Application Form?
Identifying Career- and Job-based Competencies
Using Authentic Examples to Illustrate Competencies
Completing a Competency-based Application Form
Shortlisting: How Applicants Are Selected
The Interview Process: Structure and Effective Personal Presentation
Practising an Interview
Dealing with Disappointment and Building Resilience
Why Broad Workplace Engagement Matters
Your Personal Statement Supports Workplace Engagement
Making Contact with a Workplace Organisation
Workplace Conditions and Requirements
Public Social Media Presence: Opportunities and Risks
Setting Expectations for the Workplace
Work Experience / Work Shadowing: Day 1
Work Experience / Work Shadowing: Day 2
Work Experience / Work Shadowing: Day 3
Generating Effective Feedback from the Workplace
Reflection Frameworks for Workplace Feedback
Conducting an Interview with a Workplace Member
Reflecting on Workplace Engagement
Opportunities, Challenges and Personal Development
Final Personal Statement Revisit (ALT 4 Prep)
Identifying Areas for Further Progress and Development (ALT 4 Begins)
Drafting Your Response Plan
Assessing the Plan: Measurement and Evaluation
Course Synthesis and Portfolio in Action Readiness

Develop self-awareness and forward-looking decision-making as the foundation for the rest of LCW. You explore who you are (values, aptitudes, achievements, interests, transferable skillset) and use that foundation to investigate post-school pathways, the world of work, employment rights, entrepreneurship and labour-market trends. Two Applied Learning Tasks land in this module: the Personal Statement (ALT 1) and the Career Progression Plan (ALT 2).

Strand 1: Understanding Myself
Welcome to LCW: Set up Your Digital Portfolio
What Is Personal Development? the SMARTER Framework
Identifying Areas for Personal Development
Goal Setting in Practice: a Second SMARTER Goal
Reflecting on Progress: the Review Cycle
What Are Values? Why They Matter
Priority Values: the Values Card-sort
Why Priority Values Change
Aptitudes: Your Natural Tendencies
Achievements: Hard-won Successes
Interests: Things You Enjoy
Tracking Development Over Time
Self-assessment in Practice
Classifying Skills: Technical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal
Reading a Job Role Description
Transferable Skills: the Core Concept
How a Transferable Skillset Supports Adaptation
Recognising Your Strong Transferable Skills
Recognising Transferable Skills That Need Work
Feedback from Others: Why Self-reflection Has Limits
Receiving and Recording Feedback
What Is a Personal Statement, and What Is It for?
Different Formats of Personal Statement
Personal Statements as Foundational
Drafting Your First Personal Statement (ALT 1 Begins)
Revising for Voice and Specificity
Peer Review and Feedback
Tailoring for an Audience
Plan for Revisiting Across the Course
Strand 1.1 Synthesis and ALT 1 Bank
Strand 2: Understanding My Progression Opportunities
The Eight Pathways After School
How Choice and Priorities Shape a Sustainable Society
Apprenticeships in Ireland
Traineeships and Further Education and Training
Higher Education in Ireland
Entrepreneurship, Travel, Community and the World of Work
What Is a Career Field?
What Drives Interest in a Career Field?
How to Research a Job Role: Methods
Conducting Your Research
How Your Personal Statement Connects to a Job Role
Additional Education and Training Opportunities
Providers of Education and Training
Investigating Specific Post-senior-cycle Options
Opportunities and Challenges Across Providers
Why People Work
Changing Employment Patterns
Employment Rights: Universal Protections
Young Worker Protections
Employee Responsibilities
Tax, PRSI and Revenue Registration
Entrepreneurship in the Labour Market
Labour-market Trends and Their Drivers
Remote Work, Hybrid Work, Self-employment, Freelancing
AI in the Workplace
Synthesising Strand 1.2 Findings
What Is a Career Progression Plan? (ALT 2 Begins)
Aligning the Career Progression Plan to the Personal Statement
Drafting Your Career Progression Plan
Refining, Peer Review and Strand 1.2 Synthesis

Shift from 'me and my future' to 'me and the world I am part of'. Explore community at local, national and global levels; recognise enterprise; develop transferable skills through a collaborative design-thinking task; and engage directly with the workplace through a minimum three-day placement. Produce ALT 3 (Reflection on the Collaborative Problem-Solving Task) and ALT 4 (Plan Responding to Workplace Feedback). The personal statement is revisited twice more so that by the end of the course it reflects two years of growth.

Strand 1: Appreciating My Community
What Is a Community?
Positive Influence of a Community
Volunteering: the Concept
Ways to Volunteer
Investigating a Real-life Community Issue
Forms of Enterprise
For-profit Business and Community Enterprise
Social Enterprises
Identifying Enterprise That Addresses a Community Need
Competencies Associated with Entrepreneurship
Critical Thinking and Problem-solving
Design Thinking: a Human-centred Approach
The Stages of Design Thinking
Forming Small Groups for the Collaborative Task
Clarifying: Choosing and Defining a Real-life Community Issue (Collaborative Task Begins)
Ideating: Generating Solutions
Developing: Refining the Strongest Idea
Implementing: a Realistic Plan
Reflecting on the Process
Presenting Your Collaborative Response
Mid-strand Personal Statement Revisit
Reflection Frameworks for ALT 3
Identifying Your Transferable Skills from the Task (ALT 3 Begins)
Drafting Your ALT 3 Reflection
Peer Review and Revision
Continued Transferable Skill Reflection
Considering Audience for Future Presentations
Final ALT 3 Submission
Mid-year 2 Portfolio Review
Strand 2.1 Synthesis and Bridge to Strand 2.2
Strand 2: Engaging with the Workplace
Methods of Applying for a Job
Components of a Job Application: CV and Cover Letter
AI in the Job Application Process: Benefits and Limitations
What Is a Competency-based Application Form?
Identifying Career- and Job-based Competencies
Using Authentic Examples to Illustrate Competencies
Completing a Competency-based Application Form
Shortlisting: How Applicants Are Selected
The Interview Process: Structure and Effective Personal Presentation
Practising an Interview
Dealing with Disappointment and Building Resilience
Why Broad Workplace Engagement Matters
Your Personal Statement Supports Workplace Engagement
Making Contact with a Workplace Organisation
Workplace Conditions and Requirements
Public Social Media Presence: Opportunities and Risks
Setting Expectations for the Workplace
Work Experience / Work Shadowing: Day 1
Work Experience / Work Shadowing: Day 2
Work Experience / Work Shadowing: Day 3
Generating Effective Feedback from the Workplace
Reflection Frameworks for Workplace Feedback
Conducting an Interview with a Workplace Member
Reflecting on Workplace Engagement
Opportunities, Challenges and Personal Development
Final Personal Statement Revisit (ALT 4 Prep)
Identifying Areas for Further Progress and Development (ALT 4 Begins)
Drafting Your Response Plan
Assessing the Plan: Measurement and Evaluation
Course Synthesis and Portfolio in Action Readiness

Curriculum Mapping

See exactly how this course maps to official curriculum specifications

LC Life, Community & Work
Curriculum Area
Outcomes
Module 1 - Strand 1: Understanding Myself
Personal development
LCW.M1.S1.PD.1 LCW.M1.S1.PD.2
My values
LCW.M1.S1.VAL.1 LCW.M1.S1.VAL.2 LCW.M1.S1.VAL.3 LCW.M1.S1.VAL.4
My skillset
LCW.M1.S1.SKL.1 LCW.M1.S1.SKL.2 LCW.M1.S1.SKL.3 LCW.M1.S1.SKL.4 LCW.M1.S1.SKL.5 LCW.M1.S1.SKL.6
Personal statements
LCW.M1.S1.PS.1 LCW.M1.S1.PS.2
Applied Learning Task 1: Personal Statement
LCW.M1.S1.ALT1.1
Module 1 - Strand 2: Understanding my Progression Opportunities
Exploring my progression opportunities
LCW.M1.S2.PROG.1 LCW.M1.S2.PROG.2 LCW.M1.S2.PROG.3 LCW.M1.S2.PROG.4 LCW.M1.S2.PROG.5
Work in its broadest sense
LCW.M1.S2.WORK.1 LCW.M1.S2.WORK.2 LCW.M1.S2.WORK.3 LCW.M1.S2.WORK.4 LCW.M1.S2.WORK.5 LCW.M1.S2.WORK.6 LCW.M1.S2.WORK.7 LCW.M1.S2.WORK.8
Applied Learning Task 2: Career Progression Plan
LCW.M1.S2.ALT2.1
Module 2 - Strand 1: Appreciating my Community
Appreciating my community
LCW.M2.S1.COM.1 LCW.M2.S1.COM.2 LCW.M2.S1.COM.3 LCW.M2.S1.COM.4 LCW.M2.S1.COM.5
Enterprise in the community
LCW.M2.S1.ENT.1 LCW.M2.S1.ENT.2 LCW.M2.S1.ENT.3
Collaborative problem-solving to support the development of a transferable skillset
LCW.M2.S1.CPS.1 LCW.M2.S1.CPS.2 LCW.M2.S1.CPS.3 LCW.M2.S1.CPS.4
Applied Learning Task 3: Reflection on the Collaborative Problem-Solving Task
LCW.M2.S1.ALT3.1
Module 2 - Strand 2: Engaging with the Workplace
Applying for a job
LCW.M2.S2.APP.1 LCW.M2.S2.APP.2 LCW.M2.S2.APP.3 LCW.M2.S2.APP.4 LCW.M2.S2.APP.5 LCW.M2.S2.APP.6 LCW.M2.S2.APP.7
Preparing for and engaging with the workplace
LCW.M2.S2.ENG.1 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.2 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.3 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.4 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.5 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.6 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.7 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.8 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.9 LCW.M2.S2.ENG.10
Applied Learning Task 4: Plan Responding to Workplace Feedback
LCW.M2.S2.ALT4.1

The curriculum does not include official reference codes for individual learning outcomes, so we have assigned a code scheme to make it easier to identify and track coverage.

What Students Will Learn

Learning Goals

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  1. Develop a clear understanding of personal identity, values, aptitudes, interests and transferable skills through structured self-assessment and reflection
  2. Apply the SMARTER framework to set, monitor, evaluate and revise meaningful personal development and career progression goals
  3. Build and maintain a digital portfolio that captures self-knowledge, personal statements, career research and evidence of the four Applied Learning Tasks
  4. Research and evaluate post-school pathways, education and training providers, and labour market trends to make informed choices about future progression
  5. Develop practical competencies in community engagement, collaborative design thinking, job applications, workplace navigation and professional reflection
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Learning Outcomes

  1. Set up and organise a digital portfolio with four strand-specific sub-folders and write a baseline self-description paragraph.
  2. Create and compare two personal SMARTER goals, one for overall development and one targeting a self-audited area for growth.
  3. Complete a self-audit to identify three strengths and three areas for development across academic, social, personal effectiveness and physical wellbeing domains.
  4. Rank personal values using a card-sort exercise, analyse how priority values change across life stages, and write a forward-looking prediction for your top value in five years.
  5. Compile evidence of aptitudes, achievements, interests and transferable skills, then consolidate them into a single-page self-assessment for use in ALT 1.
  6. Read a real Irish job advertisement, distinguish essential from desirable skills, and annotate the underlying competencies.
  7. Build mini-portfolio entries using the Situation-Action-Result structure for three strong transferable skills and convert two development needs into SMARTER mini-plans.
  8. Draft, revise, peer review and tailor a personal statement using a four-paragraph structure (who I am, what I’m good at, what I’m interested in, where I’m going), drawing on portfolio evidence.
  9. Map the eight post-school pathways (apprenticeships, traineeships, FET, Higher Education, entrepreneurship, travel, community, world of work) to your own interests and investigate one apprenticeship and one local FET course in detail.
  10. Research a chosen job role using multiple sources, analyse what drives your interest in a specific career field, and identify how your personal statement connects to it.
  11. Explain key employment rights and responsibilities for all workers and for those under 18, and describe the components of an Irish payslip including PAYE, USC and PRSI.
  12. Analyse labour-market trends including AI, hybrid work and the circular economy, and investigate one specific application of AI in your chosen career field.
  13. Draft, peer review and finalise a career progression plan containing SMARTER short-term (1 year), medium-term (3 years) and long-term (5 years) goals aligned with your personal statement (ALT 2).
  14. Investigate a real Irish community issue, identify three affected groups, and participate in a group design-thinking process to clarify, ideate, develop and implement a credible enterprise-based solution.
  15. Deliver a 5-minute presentation on the group’s collaborative design-thinking project and write a structured reflection on the transferable skills demonstrated (ALT 3).
  16. Prepare a first CV, 200-word cover letter and a completed competency-based application form for a realistic role, using STAR examples and the personal statement as source material.
  17. Plan, undertake and reflect on a multi-day work experience or shadowing placement, generate workplace feedback, conduct an interview with a workplace member, and produce

What You'll Need

Student Devices

Students will need one of these devices. Students can share in groups of 2-3 if necessary.

Chromebook/Laptop/PC
Chromebook/Laptop/PC
iPad/Tablet
iPad/Tablet
Required Equipment

Equipment used in some of the lessons in this course. Items can be shared among students.

IWB/Projector/Large Screen
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

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