Destination Outcomes Definition

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

• 'Employment only'. This refers to graduates who meet minimum criteria for substantial employment or self-employment and are not enrolled in higher education within the same calendar year.
• 'Employment and Education'. This refers to graduates that meet the criteria for substantial employment or self-employment and are also enrolled in higher education at some point within the same year. 
• 'Education only'. This refers to graduates that are enrolled in higher education but are not in substantial employment.
• 'Neither Employment nor Education'. This refers to graduates who do not meet the criteria above but have some activity in administrative records for that year. These graduates may have some record of (non-substantial) employment or claimed some benefit in that year.
• The remaining individuals are categorised as 'Not Captured'. This means that they have no activity in the administrative data sources for that year. Most of this group are assumed to have emigrated, but there is no definitive indicator of emigration available in the administrative data.

For further details, see the accompanying ELD methodology documentation.

New Entrant Cohort, Student Progression and PPSN Validity

This release uses the HEA’s Student Records System for information on new entrants to higher education. This contains information on the field of study, NFQ level and information about the learners themselves, such as gender.

The outcomes in the Key Findings are only for new entrants who did not progress from year one into year two. A number of new entrant records have a missing or invalid PPSN, and therefore cannot be matched to other administrative data sources. These new entrants are excluded from the outcomes in the Key Findings. New entrant records by student progression and PPSN validity are shown in Table 3.1 to give a complete picture of the number of new entrants in Ireland. 

Participation in Education

There are a number of databases which record participation in education. The education outcomes in the Key Findings include the following data sources in the definition for being 'in education'.

HEA Activity

This release analyses new entrants to higher education in 2020/21 who have not re-enrolled in the following academic year, in 2021/22. Education outcomes for the 2022 calendar year were determined using an enrolments dataset provided by the HEA for the 2022/23 academic year only.

SOLAS Activity

The PLSS dataset, from SOLAS, contains start and end dates for courses, and learners were considered to have education activity for the 2022 outcome year if the course spanned the 2022 calendar year.

QQI Activity

The QQI dataset is not an enrolment dataset but a record of awards only. Thus, learners were considered to have education activity for the 2022 outcome year if they received a QQI accredited award in the 2022 calendar year.