There are plans to update the CAO system to include more options such as further education courses.
A paper by the Department of Education is due to be published on the issue shortly.
There is a push to encourage more students to apply to further education courses and apprenticeships.
A draft consultation paper by the Department of Education says the CAO system should meet the standards of all students.
The new application system would include more options such as apprenticeships, according to the Irish Times.
Mary Quirke is a guidance counsellor from Career Confidence and she says there should be a review of the whole structure.
"What needs to be updated is more people's idea of work and courses, what they can study after school, what they can study over their working life span."
It is part of a plan to tackle what some see as a status problem with further education.
This can lead to people regarding it as a "second-best" choice.
President of the Union of Students in Ireland and Wexford native Lorna Fitzpatrick, says changes to the Leaving certificate need to be considered.
"There needs to be a review in general of the CAO and the Leaving Cert."
The draft paper titled A Tertiary Education System for Ireland is due to be published shortly.
