Higher Education Outcomes - Graduation Years 2010-2016

This chapter examines the industry classification (NACE sector) in which graduates find employment. Only graduates who are classified as being 'in substantial employment' are included here (including those who are both in substantial employment and enrolled in education). The NACE sector is assigned to the employer and describes their main activity. The administrative data upon which this publication draws does not contain occupation codes which might offer greater detail about the type of work carried out by graduates.

'Wholesale & Retail Trade' the most common sector for new graduates

The proportions of graduates working in each NACE sector in the first year after graduation are shown in figure 3.1 for graduation years 2010 to 2016. The proportions shown are relative to the total number of graduates that were substantially employed in each of those years. 

The most common NACE sector in each year is 'Wholesale & Retail Trade', though the proportion of graduates working in this sector has fallen over time, from 20.8% for 2010 graduates to just 14.6% for 2016 graduates. 

The proportion of graduates working in the 'Education' sector has also fallen over time, from 14.9% among 2010 graduates to 11.5% for 2016 graduates. There is a sharp dip in this series to 7.6% for 2015. This is due to the introduction of a two year Masters in Education for new teachers. As a result, the number of graduates from education courses fell sharply in this year, particularly among those courses leading to a professional qualification required to teach at primary and post-primary level. 

There was an increase in the proportion of graduates working in 'Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities', rising from 10.8% for 2010 graduates to 13.3% for 2016 graduates. There were also increases for 'Industry, Administrative & Support Service Activities', and 'Information & Communication'.

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO07

One in five graduates were working in education sector seven years after graduation

Around 20% of 2012 graduates worked in the sector, 'Wholesale and Retail Trade', in the first year after graduation, and a further 10% worked in 'Accommodation and Food Service Activities'. Both of these sectors saw a large decrease over the following years, with the proportion in 'Wholesale and Retail Trade' falling by half to around 10% after 5 years, while the proportion in 'Accommodation & Food Service Activities' shrunk to only 2.9%. In the previous chapter, it was shown that a large proportion of graduates who were 'in substantial employment' in the first year after graduation were also enrolled in education in the same year. Therefore, many of these graduates working in 'Wholesale and Retail Trade' and 'Accommodation & Food Service Activities', may be in part-time work as they continue their studies, leaving these industries as their eventually finish in higher education. 

There was an increase over time in the proportion of graduates working in the sector, 'Education', from 13.2% in the first year after graduation, to 17.3% after five years. The proportion in 'Public Administration & Defence' also grew substantially, from just 1.5% after one year to 5.1% at five years after graduation. 

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO07

Female graduates more likely to work in 'Education' and 'Health & Social Work'

There were noticeable differences in the distributions of male and female graduates across the various NACE sectors in the first year after graduation for 2016 graduates.

For women that graduated in 2016, the most popular NACE sector in the first year after graduation was 'Health and Social Work'. Women were more than four times as likely as men to work in this sector, with 17.7% of female graduates in 'Health and Social Work' compared to just 4.2% for male graduates. Women were also more likely to be employed in the sector, 'Education', with one in seven female graduates in this sector compared to around one in twelve male graduates.

Sectors in which male graduates were more likely to be employed than females include 'Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities', 'Industry', 'Finance and Real Estate' and 'Information and Communication'.

The difference in distributions of male and female graduates across the various NACE sectors is a clear reflection of the preferred fields of study for male and female graduates, which are outlined in the chapter on Background Statistics. For example, approximately 31% of female graduates from 2016 had studied either Education or Health & Welfare, and here we see that a similar proportion of these 2012 graduates have found work in the sectors of Education and Health & Social Work. For male graduates, on the other hand, the fields of Education and Health & Welfare when taken together accounted for only 12% of male graduations in 2016. The graph below shows that proportion of male graduates from 2012 that were working in either Education or Health & Welfare after five years was also around 12%. 

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO07

NACE sectors by field of study

Figure 3.4 shows the breakdown by NACE sector for substantially employed graduates from each of the ten fields of study. The data relates to graduates from 2012 who were 'in substantial employment' five years after graduation. Some fields of study are dominated by a single destination sector, while for other fields graduates are dispersed among a range of sectors with no single sector dominating. The vast majority (86.7%) of graduates from courses in education were working in the 'Education' sector five years after graduating. Three in every ten graduates from 'Arts and Humanities' were also working in the 'Education' sector. Around six in ten graduates from 'Health and Welfare' found work in 'Health and Social Work', and approximately 45% of graduates from 'Information and Communication Technologies' were working in the 'Information and Communication' sector. 

The two most popular sectors for graduates of 'Business, Administration and Law' were 'Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities' and 'Finance and Real Estate', together accounting for 44% of graduates from this field. Almost half (47.7%) of graduates from 'Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction' found work in either 'Industry' or 'Professional Scientific and Technical Activities'. Approximately one in five graduates from 'Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Veterinary' worked in the 'Industry' sector, with a further one in five working in 'Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing'. 

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO07

NACE sectors by NFQ level

Graduates from NFQ level 8 courses were distributed across a range of NACE sectors, with large portions employed in sectors including 'Wholesale and Retail Trade', 'Health and Social Work', 'Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities' and 'Education'.

Among graduates at NFQ levels 6 and 7, there were far higher proportions working in 'Wholesale and Retail Trade' and 'Accommodation and Food Service Activities', with 62% of level 6 graduates and 38% of level 7 graduates employed in one of these two sectors. This work may be part-time in nature, given that a majority of graduates at levels 6 and 7 who were substantially employed in the first year after graduation were enrolled in higher education in the same year. 

There are far higher proportions of graduates from levels 9 and 10 employed in the sector, 'Education'. This sector accounts for 22% of level 9 graduates and almost four out of every ten level 10 graduates. Most of the level 9 graduates working in 'Education' are those that have completed teacher training courses, whereas many of the level 10 graduates working in 'Education' may be working in post-doctoral positions at Irish universities and institutes of technology.

Interactive table: Statbank Link HEO08

Go to next Chapter: What do graduates earn?