● <B>Charles Telfair Institute.</B> Recruitment at Charles Telfair has already started for the academic year beginning on 20th February. A few places are reserved in every field for HSC students who are waiting for their results. Next Tuesday, the institution will hold an information session as from 5 pm for students and parents followed by a free career-counselling workshop.

Three faculties offer a wide array of courses: the Management and Finance faculty, Technology and Applied Sciences faculty and Humanities faculty. Each offers academic, professional and vocational courses. But ?all courses are aimed at making students employable graduates?, claims the institute. Some of the most popular courses are the BCom in Accountancy and Finance, Tourism and Management, Human Resources and Management.

This year, Charles Telfair will launch a brand new combined IT course with a double certification, meaning that students will graduate in IT and Business, IT and Accounting or IT and Project Management. Scholarships and bursaries are offered for most courses and students are advised to enrol early to obtain them. Moreover shareholders will also be advertising bursary schemes very soon in the press?

● <B>University of Mauritius (UoM). </B>The main university of the country is waiting for the results to be made public before accepting applications for the next intake in August 2008. About 130 courses will be available, among them a number of new subjects. ?We try to adapt to the country?s needs. We cater for national needs and create our programmes with the aim of making our students more employable,? explained Dela Issur from the Admissions Office. This is also the reason why "some changes are made to the syllabus all year long?.

Some of the new programmes offered are: MSc in Food Technologies, BSc Honours in Agriculture with specialisation in Agricultural Extension or Sustainable Forestry, Bsc Honours in Computer Applications, Diploma in Podiatry and BA Honours in Heritage Studies.

The UoM will publish its recruitment adverts in the coming weeks and all information on the dates and content of the programmes will be available online. "Students will also be told which course they can apply for depending on their results,? she said. Just like last year, the UoM plans to accommodate about 3,400 students.

● <B>University of Technology (UTM).</B>The academic year opens in August for the UTM and the enrolment sessions should not start before May. The number of places there has never been an issue but the demand is not as high as at the UoM. Students need a minimum of two A-Levels to qualify for admission at the UTM ?except for some IT courses, which require A-Level Mathematics. But the UTM also offers a foundation course in Maths to by-pass this problem. The most popular courses among the students are related to management, finance, banking, tourism and IT. IT Security is one of the new courses that proved very popular with students last year.

● <B>Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management University. </B>The opening day at this private university is on 25th February. Enrolment for part-time students has already started but all admissions will continue for the next few weeks. There are about 200 seats available for the Bachelor of Business Administration, Computer Application, Journalism and Fashion and Marketing. The university has also applied for two more courses in Hospitality Management and Advertising and Mass Communication, which should soon be starting. Two A-Levels are required for an application for a course that costs Rs 50,000 per year.

● <B> Industrial and Vocational Training Board (IVTB). </B>The IVTB offers no fewer than 65 full-time programmes and 200 part-time courses. The main sectors are Engineering, Art and Design, Hospitality and Tourism, IT, Textile and Printing among others. Most courses also include periods of internship and extend from one to three years ? with the choice of entering the world of work or following up with university courses afterwards. The various courses start at different periods of the year. If students miss the one in January, other courses start in April or August.

● Centre d?Etudes Supérieures (CES) of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry.</B> The main course offered by this institution is the Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS). This fee-paying French diploma course is a two-year programme on a full-time basis. Through lectures and compulsory internships, this course appears to prepare students quite well for the world of work. The three BTS available at Ebène at the moment are Management Unités Commerciales, Assistant Gestion PME/PMI and Assistant Gestion Informatique. Admissions begin as soon as the HSC results are out ? most probably next week. This training centre can accommodate up to 25 students in each field. The CES will also launch a brand new diploma in September ? Diplome d?Université in Accountancy and Management. A preparatory course for those wishing to qualify for entry to the diploma courses will start on Saturday but admissions will still be open after this specific date.