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 utilised in this publication does not contain occupation codes which might offer greater detail about the type of work carried out by graduates.
The number of graduates that were in substantial employment in their first year after graduation are shown by selected NACE sectors in Figure 3.1 for graduation years 2010 to 2019. Details for all NACE sectors are available to view via PxStat Table HEO07.
The largest NACE sector for 2019 graduates in their first year after graduation is 'Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities'. The number of graduates working in this sector in their first year almost doubled, from 2,200 graduates in 2010 to 4,200 graduates in 2019. 'Wholesale & Retail Trade' was the largest NACE sector for graduation cohorts from 2010 until 2017, though the number of new graduates employed in this sector has generally fallen over time.
The number of graduates working in the 'Education' sector has increased from 3,000 among 2010 graduates to 3,500 for 2019 graduates. There is a sharp decline in this series to 1,800 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.
The number of graduates working in the 'Accommodation & Food Service Activities' sector in their first year after graduating fell from 2,300 among 2018 graduates to 1,800 among 2019 graduates. This may reflect the impact of large parts of this sector temporarily closing in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The number of graduates working in 'Industry' and 'Information & Communication' almost doubled between the graduation cohorts from 2010 to 2019. The number of graduates working in 'Public Administration & Defence' and 'Construction' also doubled in this period, though these sectors employ a small number of graduates overall.
Among 2010 graduates, the 'Education' sector was the second-largest sector of employment in the first year after graduating and the largest sector after three, five and ten years. The number of 2010 graduates who were employed in the 'Education' sector increased by nearly 50% from the first year after graduation to ten years after graduation (from 3,000 to 4,400). The number of 2010 graduates employed in the 'Public Administration & Defence' and 'Information & Communication' sectors also grew substantially from the first year after graduation to ten years after (respectively, from 300 to 1,600 and from 900 to 1,800).
The largest sector of employment for 2010 graduates in the first year after graduation was 'Wholesale & Retail Trade'. However, ten years after graduation, the number employed in this sector fell by over half (from 4,100 to 1,700). The fall in employment was even more pronounced in the 'Accommodation & Food Service Activities' sector from the first year after graduation to ten years after graduation (from 1,800 to 300). 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 & Retail Trade' and 'Accommodation & Food Service Activities', may be in part-time work as they continue their studies, leaving these industries when they complete their higher education.
There are notable differences for 2019 graduates in the distributions of male and female graduates across the various NACE sectors in the first year after graduation.
For women that graduated in 2019, the most popular NACE sector in the first year after graduation was 'Health & Social Work'. Five times the number of women worked in this sector compared to men, with 2,900 female graduates employed in 'Health & Social Work' compared to just 600 male graduates. There were also twice the number of women employed in the 'Education' sector compared to men, with 2,400 female graduates working in this sector compared to 1,100 male graduates.
Sectors in which there were more male graduates employed than females include 'Finance & Real Estate', 'Industry', 'Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities', 'Information & Communication' and 'Construction'.
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, 30% of female graduates from 2019 had studied either 'Education' or 'Health & Welfare'. On the other hand, these fields of study accounted for only 10% of male graduates in 2019. Together, these reflect the differing employment rates for male and female graduates working in the 'Education' and 'Health & Social Work' NACE sectors.
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 2015 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 (84%) of graduates from courses in education were working in the 'Education' sector five years after graduating. Around three in every ten graduates from 'Arts & Humanities' were also working in the 'Education' sector. Six in every ten graduates from 'Health & Welfare' found work in 'Health & Social Work', and 44% of graduates from 'Information & Communication Technologies' were working in the 'Information & Communication' sector.
The two most popular sectors for graduates of 'Business, Administration & Law' were 'Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities' and 'Finance & Real Estate', together accounting for 45% of graduates from this field. Over half (55%) of graduates from 'Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction' found work in either 'Industry' or 'Professional Scientific & Technical Activities'. One in every five graduates from 'Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries & Veterinary' worked in the 'Industry' sector and almost one in every seven graduates were working in 'Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing'.
Graduates from NFQ level 8 courses were distributed across a range of NACE sectors, with large portions employed in sectors including 'Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities', 'Wholesale & Retail Trade', 'Health & Social Work' and 'Education'.
Among graduates at NFQ levels 6 and 7, there were far higher proportions working in 'Wholesale & Retail Trade' and 'Accommodation & Food Service Activities', with 54% of level 6 graduates and 36% of level 7 graduates employed in one of these two sectors. This work may be part-time in nature as the previous Chapter showed that most graduates at levels 6 and 7, who were substantially employed in the first year after graduation, were also enrolled in higher education in the same year.
There are far higher proportions of graduates from NFQ levels 9 and 10 employed in the 'Education' sector. This sector accounts for 23% of level 9 graduates and 42% of level 10 graduates in their first year after graduation. 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 higher education institutions.
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