Over two-in-five (40%) of new entrants who did not progress into the second year of their higher education degree in 2021 were enrolled in another education course after one year. Female students who did not progress were more likely to be in education (46%) after one year compared with male students (36%).
Male students who did not progress were more likely to be in Employment Only (52%) after one year compared with female students (43%).
The majority of non-progressed students, who were in employment after one year, were working in the Wholesale & Retail and Accommodation & Food Service sectors.
Nearly two-in-five (38%) non-progressed male students, who studied Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction and were in employment after one year, worked in the Construction or Industry sectors.
New Entrants to higher education in 2020/21 who did not re-enrol in any course in the same institution the following academic year (2021/22) are deemed to have not progressed. For this New Entrant cohort, outcomes are calculated after one year which corresponds to the 2022 calendar year. Education Outcomes: Refer to the Background Notes for more information.
Over two-in-five (40%) of new entrants who did not progress into the second year in their institution were enrolled in another education course after one year. This comprised 33% of students in Employment and Education and a further 7% were in Education Only.
Female new entrants who did not progress were more likely to be in education (46%) after one year compared with males (36%).
In terms of employment, a similar proportion of non-progressed male and female students were in employment after one year. However, male students who did not progress were more likely to be in Employment Only (52%) after one year compared with female students (43%).
Around 7% of all non-progressed students were in Neither Employment nor Education after one year while 5% were Not Captured.
The outcomes are defined in the Background Notes and are available for higher education graduates in a previous release.
Over 85% of students who did not progress from courses in Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction were in employment after one year. This comprises 58% of students in Employment Only and 27% in Employment and Education. A further 5% are in Education Only.
The largest sectors of employment for both male and female students who did not progress into year two of higher education are Wholesale & Retail and Accommodation & Food Service.
The Construction and Industry sectors are the third and fourth largest sectors of employment for non-progressed male students after one year. Respectively, these sectors are the sixth largest sector and the smallest sector of employment for non-progressed female students.
The Health & Social Work sector is the third largest employer for female new entrants who did not progress after one year. There are over four times the number of non-progressed female students (195) working in this sector compared to male students (45).
Across most fields of study the majority of non-progressed new entrants, in employment after one year, were working in the Wholesale & Retail and Accommodation & Food Service sectors.
However, almost two-in-five male students who did not progress from Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction courses were working in the Construction sector (22%) and Industry sector (16%).
Nearly one-in-five (18%) female students who did not progress from courses in Health & Welfare were employed in the Health & Social Work sector.
Just 3% of male students who did not progress from courses in Information & Communication Technologies were working in the Information & Communication sector.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (29 February 2024) published Higher Education Outcomes – Non Progression 2021. This new publication analyses the outcomes for new entrants to higher education who do not progress from year one into year two in terms of whether they opt for employment or re-enrolment in education in Ireland using administrative data.
Commenting on the findings of the release, Brian Stanley, Statistician in the Statistical Systems Coordination Unit, said: “This report measures the employment and education outcomes for students who did not progress from year one into year two of higher education in 2021. More than 40% of new entrants who did not progress into the second year of their degree were enrolled in another education course after one year. Female students who did not progress were more likely to be in education (46%) after one year compared with male students (36%). In terms of employment, a similar proportion of non-progressed male and female students were in employment after one year. However, male students were more likely to be in Employment Only (52%) after one year compared with female students (43%). Most students who do not progress and were in employment after one year were working in the Wholesale & Retail and Accommodation & Food Service sectors."
Commenting on the report, Kieran Culhane, Senior Statistician, said: “This publication was produced using a statistical framework known as the 'Educational Longitudinal Database' (ELD) developed by the CSO. This framework is produced by matching datasets from the Education sector to other public sector datasets which describe learner outcomes in subsequent years. In this regard, the CSO treats all data with strict confidentiality and never discloses any data that could subsequently be associated with any person or business. We have compiled these new statistics using anonymised records and will only produce statistical results at an aggregate level. This means no individual can ever be identified from the data we publish.”