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YOU ARE IN » Home page > News and information main menu > Graduate Market Trends > HE in Ireland (Summer 05)

Higher education participation and graduate destinations in Ireland (Summer 05)

• Summary
• Irish overall participation
• Participation by social class
• Entrants by field of study
• Destination by type of school
• Irish means-tested financial maintenance support
• First destinations of Irish graduates
• Irish demand for graduates
• References

Summary

This article describes higher education participation rates and first destination of graduates statistics in Ireland. Key findings from the review include:

• The proportions of young people from the 17-19 years old cohort entering higher education in Ireland have been increasing steadily over the last 20 years, from 20% in 1980 to 54% in 2003.
• Between 1998 and 2003, participation of youngsters from families whose father was in semi-skilled or unskilled occupations increased faster than other groups, albeit from a low base.
• Nine months after graduation in 2003, nine in ten primary degree (90%) and higher degree (88%) graduates were either in employment or further study. Unemployment, however, was higher amongst higher degree graduates (6%), compared with primary degree graduates (3%).

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Irish overall participation

The report, A Review of Higher Education Participation in 2003, commissioned by the Irish Higher Education Authority from Fitzpatrick Associates and ESRI, was published in January 2005 [1]. The report reveals that in 2003, there were 36,346 new entrants to higher education - 46% joined the universities, 44% institutes of technology, 3.7% colleges of education and 6.5% other colleges which include private provision. This represented over half (54%) of the 17-19 years old population, double the figure from 20 years ago (see Figure 1). Overall, four in five (80%) of new entrants to Irish higher education were aged 19 or under, 11% aged 20-22 and 9% 23 or older.

Just over half (52.2%) of new entrants were female, in proportion to their participation in post-compulsory secondary education. Females accounted for almost three in five (57.9%) of new entrants to universities in 2003, two in five (44.4%) in institutes of technology, almost nine in ten (85.7%) in colleges of education, and under half (45.9%) in other colleges.

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Participation by social class

The Alpine Project compared participation in various European countries [2]. In Ireland, Clancy and Wall analysed the social background of higher education entrants in the Republic of Ireland between 1980 and 1998. Striking differences were found between the socio-economic groups participating in higher education. In the 1998 study, 58% of higher education entrants were found to come from four socio-economic groupings (higher professional, lower professional, employers and managers, and farmers.) even though these groups constituted only 37% of the national population of college entry age. In contrast, other groups were under-represented in higher education, making up 41% of entrants even though they constituted 63% of the cohort. Agricultural workers and unskilled groups were found to have only a third of the places in higher education that their numbers in the population warranted. The Review of Higher Education Participation report contains maps of participation by Dublin postal district and by county which very closely correlate to the social class of the residents and the status of the housing [1].

The present report also shows that between 1998 and 2003 the participation rates of the children of semi-skilled and unskilled fathers have increased faster than any other group, but having started from a much lower base, participation still lags behind other social groups [1] . For professional workers the participation rate rose from 72% to 89%, for managerial & technical it actually fell from 54% to 53% (within the statistical margin for error), for other non-manual it rose from 35% to 43%, for skilled manual from 44% to 56%, for semi-skilled from 36% to 57%, and for unskilled from 20% to 28%.

Higher education entrants are more likely to have mothers in employment, and, conversely, less likely to have mothers engaged full-time in home duties. Three in five (60.6%) of the mothers of new entrants to higher education are employed against only 46% of 'ever married women aged 45-54'.

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Entrants by field of study

Just over a quarter (26.7%) of new entrants to higher education in 2003 studied social sciences, business and law; 17.8% humanities and arts; 14.9% engineering, manufacturing and construction; 14.1% science, mathematics and computing;11.3% health and welfare; 5.1% services and 4.1% education. The remaining small numbers studied agriculture and veterinary, combined and general programmes.

With the exceptions of science, mathematics and computing; engineering, manufacturing and construction; and agriculture and veterinary, females accounted for the majority of new entrants to all other subject groups.

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Destination by type of school

Of all those entering higher education in Ireland in 2003, half of secondary school leavers (49.8%) attended a university and 43% an institute of technology; one in three (33.4%) of vocational school leavers attended a university and another three in five (61%) an institute of technology; 42.3% of comprehensive and community school leavers attended a university and 51.2% an institute of technology; 59.6% of other school leavers attended a university and 32.7% an institute of technology.

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Irish means-tested financial maintenance support

Almost no Irish students paid tuition fees and an average of 34% of new entrants to higher education institutions received some form of maintenance support. This was made up of a fifth (22%) of university students, 42% of institute of technology students, 35% of college of education students and 17% of other college students. The percentage of students receiving grants was three percentage points down on 2002 because of the increased prosperity of parents.

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First destinations of Irish graduates

The following provisional figures are provided by the Irish Higher Education Authority [3]. The total numbers of graduates with a primary degree (Bachelors) from all institutions rose to 19,863 in 2003 from 18,771 in 2002 and 17,438 in 2001. Nine months after graduation in 2003, of the 13,330 graduating with a primary degree and whose destinations were known, 50% were employed in Ireland at the time of the survey, 6% employed overseas; 31% were in further study in Ireland, 3% in further study overseas; 3% were seeking work and 7% were unavailable for study or work. These proportions have barely altered in recent years.

The numbers with a higher degree rose from 3,693 in 2001, to 3,999 in 2002, and 4,599 in 2003. Nine months after graduation, graduates with a higher degree were more likely to be in employment than their primary degree counterparts, and unsurprisingly, less likely to be in further study. However, higher degree graduates also had double the unemployment rate compared with primary degree graduates (see Figure 2).

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Irish demand for graduates

According to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report on higher education in Ireland, 62% of net new jobs which employers are expected to create in 2010 are estimated to be likely to require third level education, compared with less than 30% of existing jobs in 2001[4]. The study, however, states that there are currently considerable disparities in economic activity, personal wealth and educational attainment between Ireland’s regions, with the employment participation rate varying significantly for example between the Greater Dublin Region and the Border Midlands and West regions. Additionally, while Dublin provides 60% of all first degree places nationally it has itself the lowest age participation rate in tertiary education, with the rate in central Dublin estimated at no more than 16%. This emphasises the importance of giving a high priority to lifelong learning, widening participation and the encouragement of mature students.

References

1. A Review of Higher Education Participation in 2003, Fitzpatrick Associates and Philip J O'Connell, ESRI, January 2005. The report is published by the Higher Education Authority Ireland.

2. Strategies for widening adult participation in higher education: a European perspective, Rob Mark (Queen’s University Belfast).

3. Preliminary results of the 2003 first destination survey. See Higher Education Authority Ireland.

4. Review of national policies for education: review of higher education in Ireland, OECD, 13 Sept 04. Report EDU/EC(2004)14.

Content last updated: Summer 2005