ANYONE hesitating about going to third level would be well advised to nestle down beside the fire and browse through an unlikely source of comfort - the latest statistics on graduate prospects. Compiled by the Higher Education Authority, it tells us that graduates are much in demand in the jobs market. And it seems that the longer you spend studying, the more likely you are to get a job with a higher starting salary.
The HEA survey presents a fascinating snap-shot of where 1995 graduates were placed on April 30th last, six to nine months after they left college. A total of 26,394 people were conferred with awards in 1995 ranging from that rare creature, the one-year certificate, to the increasingly common postgraduate degree.
The numbers graduating from third level have almost doubled in the past 10 years. However it seems that, far from flooding the market (with the occasional notable exceptions - see our panel on second-level teaching), these graduates are being snapped up by employers. Overall 53 per cent of primary degree respondents and 78 per cent of higher degree respondents had obtained employment by the date of the survey.
This compares favourably with the previous year's figures when 51 per cent of primary degree respondents and 77 per cent of higher degree respondents had obtained employment at a comparable date.
The percentage of graduates going overseas dropped slightly. Twenty four per cent of primary degree graduates who gained employment went abroad compared to 29 per cent of the 1994 graduates. Similarly, the numbers of employed postgraduates going overseas dropped by almost three per cent.
This fall in the numbers emigrating is probably a reflection of the buoyant market at home. But, it must be pointed out, emigration is not just a function of poor job prospects here - students of certain faculties traditionally spend some time working or training abroad in order to gain wider experience.
Of those who stayed at home, 61 per cent of primary degree respondents and 68 per cent of higher degree respondents found work in the eastern region of Ireland, so worries about the economic and population decline in the west are likely to continue.
At certificate and diploma level, the proportion of graduates seeking employment fell slightly from 5.2 per cent in 1994 to 4.9 per cent in 1995 but the percentages gaining employment decreased slightly from 39.3 per cent in 1994 to 38.6 per cent in 1995. Meanwhile the proportion going on to further study increased by 2.1 per cent over the same period. This means that the numbers progressing up the ladder from certificate to diploma to degree and onwards are increasing each year.
MANY employers now regard the degree as the basic qualification so it's likely that this trend will continue. Regional technical colleges and the
Dublin Institute of Technology are responding to this so-called "qualification inflation" by increasing the number of add-on diploma and degree programmes each year. Many students who did not have the points to get straight on to degree programmes after their Leaving Cert are now being offered the opportunity of doing a degree by stages.
Of course, talking about jobs for graduates in general terms is slightly misleading. The situation varies from faculty to faculty. In 1995 the proportion of graduates seeking employment increased in arts and social science and very slightly in law, medicine, dentistry and paramedical studies.
Many people worry about the practical value of a general education such as an arts degree. Looking at the first destinations of arts and social science degree holders in 1995, 34 per cent went directly into full-time employment with 26 per cent going on to research work or further academic study.
Seven per cent went into teacher training (see panel) and just over 18 per cent went on to other vocational and professional training. This means that 50 per cent of all arts and social science graduates continued on to some further form of training before they entered the jobs market.
Compare this with science, where 37 per cent of graduates went on to further study and three per cent opted for teacher training. Eight per cent went on to vocational and professional training and 45 per cent went directly into full-time employment. So, more science graduates found work directly after graduation while arts graduates were more likely to enter vocational training programmes.
The trend whereby graduates top up a general degree with a vocational qualification is an important one, according to careers officers who say that these one-year vocational programmes are very successful in placing graduates in the jobs market. In general students are staying in college longer as they add to their qualifications. This is something for which prospective third-level students should be prepared.
Having said that, graduates of certain more vocationally-oriented primary degrees performed particularly well in the jobs market. For instance, 95 per cent of veterinary medicine respondents gained employment - 65 per cent in Ireland and 30 per cent in Britain.
IN architecture the proportion of respondents gaining employment rose from 55 per cent in 1994 to 79 per cent in 1995, reflecting the buoyancy of the construction industry during 1995-96. Computer science and engineering graduates also did very well in the jobs market (see panel).
While the current jobs market is buoyant and our economy is performing well, it's difficult to predict the employment situation in four or five year's time. Deciding on a course purely on the basis of its performance in the jobs market in the past is not a good idea. Choose an area you are interested in for its own sake and enjoy those years in college.