Higher Education Outcomes - Graduation Years 2010-2016

This chapter describes the employment and education destinations of graduates, and how these destinations vary across the different fields of study and levels of qualification. Two different styles of longitudinal study are presented. Graduate outcomes are described at 1, 3, and 5 years after graduation in a longitudinal panel study. Graduate outcomes are also analysed at one year after graduation for each of the separate graduation years in a longitudinal cohort study.  

There are five classifications which describe graduate activities within each calendar year. 

• 'Substantial Employment only' refers to graduates who meet minimum criteria for employment or self-employment, and have no record of enrolment in higher education within the same year.
• 'Substantial Employment and Education' corresponds to graduates that meet the criteria for substantial employment or self-employment and are enrolled in higher education at some point within the same calendar year. 
• 'Education only' refers to graduates that are enrolled in higher education but are not classified as being in substantial employment. 
• 'Neither Employment nor Education' is the category comprised of graduates who are neither enrolled in higher education nor are involved in substantial employment within the year, but appear somewhere in the administrative data for that year. These graduates may have some record of (non-substantial) employment or may have claimed some benefit over the year.
• The remaining individuals are categorised as 'Not Captured', meaning that they could not be found in any of the administrative datasets for the year in question. Most of this group are assumed to have emigrated, but there is no definitive indicator of emigration available in the administrative data sources. 

Four in five 2016 graduates in substantial employment in the first year after graduation

Approximately 80% of 2016 graduates were 'in substantial employment' in the first year after graduation. 58.8% of all graduates were 'in substantial employment only', and a further 20.7% 'in substantial employment and education'. Between 2010 and 2016, the proportion of graduates who found employment after graduating rose year-on-year. Of 2010 graduates, only two thirds entered substantial employment in the first year after graduation.

Around one in four (26.9%) of those graduating in 2016 had re-enrolled in higher education the following year. This represents a decline from 2010. Of the class of 2010, one in three graduates returned to education in the first year after graduating. 

The proportion of graduates that were 'in neither employment nor education' fell by almost half over the period examined, from 11.6% for 2010 graduates to 6% for 2016 graduates. The proportion of graduates that were 'not captured' decreased slightly, from 10.8% for 2010 graduates to 8% for 2016 graduates. 

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO05

Outcomes for 2012 graduates after one, three and five years are shown in figure 2.2. This graduation year is examined in some detail throughout this report as it is the most recent graduation year for which outcomes data after five years is available. Other combinations of graduation year and years since graduation are available within the CSO Statbank tables which accompany this publication.

Three in every ten graduates from 2012 had re-enrolled in education in the first year after graduation, falling to one in ten by five years after graduation. Seven out of every ten graduates were 'substantially employed' in the year after graduation, and this increased only very slightly over the following four years, reaching 72.5% at five years after graduation. Almost one in ten (9.2%) of graduates were 'not captured' in the first year after graduation, and by five years after graduation this proportion had more than doubled to 20.7%. At the same time, the proportion of graduates in 'neither employment nor education' fell by half, from 11.1% in the first year after graduation to just 5.2% after five years.

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO05

Female graduates more likely to be in employment. Males more likely to re-enrol in education.

Female graduates are more likely than males to be 'in substantial employment' in the first year after graduation, though the difference in employment rates between men and women has decreased since 2010. Among 2010 graduates, 60% of males and 70.9% of females were 'in substantial employment' in the first year after graduation, a difference of 10.9 percentage points. For 2016 graduates, this difference had reduced to only 4 percentage points, with 78% of males and 82% of females 'in substantial employment' in the year following graduation. 

Males were more likely to re-enrol in education in the first year after graduation than females. However, as was the case for the cohort, 'in substantial employment', this gap has narrowed in more recent years. For 2010 graduates, there was a 6.9 percentage point gap, with 36.4% of males and 29.5% of females back in higher education. Among 2016 graduates, there was just a 3.5 percentage point gap between enrolment rates for men and women, with 28.8% of males and 25.3% of females in education. 

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO05

Education courses had highest proportion in substantial employment

Among 2012 graduates, the field with the highest proportion in employment five years after graduation was 'Education', with 84.5% of graduates 'in substantial employment'. This was followed by 'Business, Administration and Law', and 'Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Veterinary', each of which had approximately 77% of graduates in employment. Around two thirds of graduates from 'Arts & Humanities' were substantially employed five years after graduation, the lowest of any field. 'Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction' also had a low proportion in employment of just 67%, and the highest proportion of graduates classified as 'not captured' at 27.1%. 

The field with the largest proportion in education was 'Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics', with 17.8% of graduates enrolled 5 years after graduation. Graduates from 'Business, Administration and Law' were the least likely to be in education, with just 4.6% enrolled five years after graduating. 

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO05

Two thirds of graduates at levels 6 and 7 return to education in first year after graduation

Two thirds of graduates who completed courses at levels 6 and 7 in 2012 had re-enrolled in education the following year. This proportion fell substantially over the following years, with just 14% of level 6 graduates and 8% of level 7 graduates in higher education five years after graduating. This pattern may be explained by courses which offer students an additional 'add-on year', leading to an additional award, often at a higher NFQ level. This option is common at NFQ levels 6 and 7. 

Seven in every ten level 8 graduates were 'in substantial employment' in the first year after graduation, as were approximately three quarters of graduates from level 9 courses. Among level 10 graduates, only 63% of graduates were in employment in the first year after graduation, and this group had the highest proportion of graduates who were 'not captured', at 27%. By five years after graduation, the proportion who were not captured had risen to 34%. This may be related to a number of factors, such as the high proportion of non-Irish graduates in this group, the higher average age of this group, and the availability of relevant employment in other countries. 

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO05

Go to next Chapter: Where do graduates work?