This chapter looks at the employment outcomes of further education graduates in the years after graduation and explores how these outcomes vary across learner characteristics, such as sex and field of study. Note that only those graduates in 'substantial employment only' or 'substantial employment and education' are included here.
The proportion of graduates in employment within the first year after graduation fluctuated over the examined years. Overall, there was nearly a 12% increase in employment, from 62.1% for 2016 graduates to 74.0% for 2021 graduates. However, there was a significant fall in employment rates for 2019 graduates, with only 59.3% of them employed one year after graduation.
The share in employment also varied in the years following graduation. There was an almost 9% rise in the share of substantially employed 2016 graduates three years following graduation, compared with the share of 2016 graduates employed one year following graduation. However, the proportion of 2017 graduates in substantial employment three years after graduation was only slightly higher, at 67.0%, compared to that one year after graduation, at 64.7%.
The proportion of 2021 graduates in employment in the first year after graduation was highest in the fields of Health & Welfare, Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction and Services.
Three fields of study showed significantly higher proportions of female graduates in employment compared to those of men. These were Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Journalism & Information and Business, Administration & Law. In all cases, the employment of females was more than 5% greater than that of males. Conversely, the share of male graduates was 7% higher in Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction than that of females.
Wholesale & Retail Trade, Accommodation & Food Service Activities and Health & Social Work were the top three sectors for employment in the first year following graduation over the period 2017-2021.
More than one in four (27.1%) 2021 graduates were working in Wholesale & Retail Trade, a similar percentage to the 2017 graduates, at 26.0%, one year after graduation. Of the 2017 substantially employed graduates, one in five (19.5%) were working in Accommodation & Food Service Activities, the second largest sector for employment. For the 2021 graduates, this rate has remained relatively unchanged, at 19.0%.
Most fields of study show a concentration of graduates in one or two specific NACE sectors, while graduates from other fields go on to work in a diverse range of sectors. Arts & Humanities and Natural Science, Mathematics & Statistics had the highest rate of employment in either Wholesale & Retail Trade or Accommodation & Food Service Activities at 67% and 66%, respectively. It is noteworthy that employment may refer to part-time work that fulfils the minimum requirements of substantial employment, as defined in the ELD Methodology.
Two in five (38.9%) of Health & Welfare graduates from 2021 were working in Health & Social Work one year after graduation. More than one in four (27.1%) Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction graduates were working in Industry or Construction. Nearly 29% of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries & Veterinary graduates were working in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing one year after graduation.
The Wholesale & Retail Trade Sector showed the highest employment for the 2016 graduates, at 25.2%, within one year following graduation. However, only one in five (20%) graduates worked in this sector five years after graduation. Accommodation & Food Service Activities accounted for 18.8% of substantially employed 2021 graduates one year after graduation and significantly decreased to 8.4% five years following graduation, a 10% reduction. Health & Social Work showed a steady rise in employment, with 16.4% of graduates employed in this sector one year after graduation and one in five (20.3%) five years following graduation.
The median weekly income one year after graduation has increased when comparing 2016 and 2021 graduates. Female graduates in employment one year after graduation have seen a €55 increase in their median weekly earnings, from €290 for 2016 graduates, to €345 for 2021 graduates. The median weekly income for male graduates employed one year after graduation has also increased steadily, from €310 for 2016 graduates, to €375 for 2021 graduates, accounting for a €65 rise. The largest income gap between the male and the female graduates was recorded for the 2020 graduates, where the median weekly income for females was €285 one year after graduation, while for males it was €365, a difference of €80.
Revenue's PAYE Modernisation system (PMOD) introduced on 1st January 2019 is the new way of gathering employment data and allows “real-time” analysis of tax and employment data.
Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries & Veterinary 2016 graduates had the highest median earnings, at €350 per week one year after graduation. In particular, male graduating from this field of study had the highest median income, at €380 per week, while Health & Welfare female graduates earned the highest, at €315. The median weekly income varied the most between male and female graduates in Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries & Veterinar one year after graduation. Female graduating in this field of study earned €50 less per week than male.
Five years following graduation, Information & Communication Technologies and Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction graduates showed the highest weekly median income of €540. Female graduating in the Information & Communication Technologies had the highest median earning of €555 per week, while the male graduating in Health & Welfare and Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries & Veterinary earned a weekly median income of €565.
