This article sets out to share the experience of a Cork Education and Training Board (CETB) Further Education and Training (FET) Guidance Counsellor on collaborating with FET Literacy and Apprenticeship Services colleagues to support young male early school leavers who had achieved less than the required five passes in their Junior Certificate to be eligible to register as apprentices. The individual learning pathways created with two of these young males to achieve their Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) Level 3 Awards are outlined, the first within CETB and the second within Tipperary ETB (TETB) Literacy Services. Reflections from colleagues and learners are included to give further insights. The article concludes with an exploration of possibilities for creating wider awareness of these pathways, for example, with school guidance counsellors who could refer other young people in similar situations to their local FET Guidance and Literacy services.