Level 6 & 7 Graduates: This section examines the outcomes of graduates of programmes at NFQ Levels 6 and 7 from institutes of technology.

Overview of Graduate Population

• In 2018, there were 9,681 Level 6 & 7 graduates (up from 9,602 in 2017)
• More than half (56%) were male graduates
• 2 in 3 (66%) continued to higher levels of study

 

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Main Graduate Destination

2.1 Main Graduate Destination – Field of Study

Two-thirds (66.4%) of Level 6 & 7 graduates pursued further study, while 30.0% were in employment. In 2017, 73% pursued further study, while 23% went into employment. Thus, in 2018, less people pursued further study, while more went into employment 9 months after graduation.

Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics had the highest proportion of graduates in further study 9 months after graduation (77.3%).

Education graduates were most likely to be in employment 9 months after graduation (62.9%).

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Employment Outcomes

This section relates only to graduates who are considered “In Employment”, as defined below. Thus, all figures reflect only the cohort of graduates defined as “In Employment”.

In Employment: Graduates are considered to be employed 9 months after graduation if they are working full-time, working part-time or due to start a job in the next 3 months.

 

2.2 Employed Graduates – Occupation & Sector

Of the graduates in employment, most were working in Professional Occupations (24.3%), followed by Administrative & Secretarial Occupations (15.6%).

The most popular sector of employment was Industry, with 17.4% of employed graduates working in Industry.

2.3 Employed Graduates – County of Employment

Of those in employment, 94% were working in Ireland, while 6% were working abroad.

Of those working in Ireland, the most popular counties of employment were Dublin (25%), Kildare (13%) and Cork (11%).

Of those working abroad, Great Britain was the most popular location (18%), followed by France (17%) and the United States (14%).

2.4 Employed Graduates – Salary

Nine months after graduation, 94% of graduates were employees, and 5% were self-employed, freelance or starting up their own business. The remaining 1% were on work placements or internships.

The majority of graduates (75%) were on permanent or open-ended contracts, 14% were on fixed term contracts lasting 12 months or longer, 6% were on fixed term contracts lasting less than 12 months, while 5% were on temporary/casual contracts.

Excluding those who refused to disclose their salaries, one in five graduates earned between €35,000 – €39,999.

2.5 Employed Graduates – Placement/Work Experience

Just over half of all graduates (50.6%) completed work placements or internships. This differed by gender, with 56.1% of females completing work placements, compared to 46.1% of males.

2.6 Employed Graduates – Relevance and Need

Of the graduates who took part in work placements, one-third (32%) were more than 6 months long. A further 31% lasted more than 6 weeks but less than 4 months. One-fifth (22%) took part in internships between 4-6 months long, while only 15% were less than 6 weeks long.

More than half (56.3%) of graduates considered their course Very Relevant or Relevant to their job.

On the need for the qualification, 38.4% of graduates considered their qualification a formal requirement for their job. One-fifth (23.9%) thought that their qualification was not a formal requirement, yet gave them an advantage in attaining their job.

2.7 Employed Graduates – Source of Job

On the source of the job, 32% had already worked in their job previously (this includes work placements or internships). One-fifth (22%) found their job through personal contacts, and 14% through recruitment sites.

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Further Study Outcomes

In Further Study: Graduates are considered to be in further study 9 months after graduation if they are enrolled in either full-time or part-time further study or training.

 

Two-thirds (66%) of graduates continued on to further study. Most (98%) were based in Ireland, and in their own institute (96%).

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Unemployment & Other Activities

 

Unemployed: Unemployed graduates consist of graduates who are unemployed and looking for a job 9 months after graduation. 

 

Engaged in Other Activities: Other activities include caring for family members or others, travelling, volunteering, illness, retirement, unemployed yet not seeking employment, and other.

 

Overall, only 2% of graduates were unemployed, while 1% were engaged in other activities. Due to the low numbers, an in-depth analysis is not included.