THIRD LEVEL: Study choices closely linked to salary success
So taking that one statistic as a starting point, it’s no surprise that the experts within the education sector advise those still in school or those who have left the world of learning to think seriously about going on to third level and, automatically, improve their career prospects.
“It definitely shows you have a better chance of a better quality of life when you have that extra qualification,” as Institute of Guidance Counsellors president Betty McLaughlin puts it.
Also worth noting is the positive environment for graduates as we enter 2015, compared to the years which immediately followed the economic implosion of 2008.
“Things have improved and, as things improve, it’s the graduates who are getting the jobs.”
Just a few years ago a college degree may have seemed like a precursor to a plane ticket for Australia or Canada or the States or the UK where opportunities were more widespread for the suitably-qualified but the recent upturn in Ireland’s economy and improvement in the jobs market has changed that trend.
The IGC are constantly monitoring the labour market to assess where the widest gaps and best opportunities are for second-level students, so their college and other further education will translate into meaningful employment opportunities, Ms McLaughlin points out.
“Our current research shows the most sought-after skills in the workplace are, IT skills, language skills, having a third language, and business and science-related competencies.”
Meanwhile, apart from reducing the risk of ending up on the dole queues, a third-level education also improves earning power. OECD statistics indicates that graduates enjoy an average of 75% more income than those without a higher education — 69% among men and 90% for women.
The Higher Education Authority released some research last month, to coincide with College Awareness Week, backed up by Betty McLaughlin and the IGC among other bodies, and it also showed there are many non-financial benefits to a higher education including better health outcomes; lower risk of obesity; less likely to smoke; better societal participation; increased job satisfaction; and a passing-down of a love of education to the next generation, helping to perpetuate the positives.
“It’s better for their lifestyle, it’s good for their self-esteem too and it opens the mind,” Ms McLaughlin says of third-level education. “You can acquire a lot more transferable skills and you end up being able to present yourself better to employers and build up team leadership skills and presentable skills. All of these are needed to go into the workplace.”
She says that “right across the spectrum ” universities have such skills built into their courses to help deliver well-rounded graduates after three or four years.
As has been highlighted in the last couple of years by recruitment and education experts, however, there are shortages in some areas of the Irish economy and employers are desperate to see a skills-improvement in sectors such as information and communication technology, the pharma industry and others. Part of the thinking behind College Awareness Week, which was launched last month by tánaiste Joan Burton, is to increase awareness of the long-term benefits of third-level education and training, particularly in those wide sectors of the population with no family or community history of college-going.
Experts have regularly referred to the fact that, in some parts of the country — particularly disadvantaged urban areas like Darndale in Dublin — there is major under-represenation in higher education. Secondary-school leavers in relatively affluent areas of the capital like Dublin 6 are almost 100% likely to go on to further education, compared to only about 15% in less well-off postcodes. The HEA, in a consultation paper released in August, referred to “deep reservoirs of educational disadvantage, mirroring in large part economic disadvantage” but said equity of access to education is a national priority.
The unacceptable state of affairs reqarding access is one reason the HEA and the IGC want to highlight the reasons for going to college and the better opportunities for third-level graduates.
“In the school where I work we have nearly 200 students all aspiring to go on to third-level,” Betty McLaughlin said. “Some are held back because of financial reasons and I know a number of students, every year, are deferring their courses to save money and get to college.”
One interesting new development she referred to among fifth and sixth-year pupils is that emigration may not be the feared option it once was, but is becoming for potential graduates the “lifestyle choice” derided in the past.
“One question a lot of students coming for career guideance appointments are asking me is, ‘will this course be recognised abroad,” the IGC president said. “A lot want to travel and go abroad or maybe they have family abroad and other connections. But they want to make sure their courses are recognised.
“Another thing is that a lot of courses at DCU and UCD and others have an Erasmus year abroad and a lot of people want to do that. They also realise work experience is going to stand to them when they look for a job. It’s a huge draw.”
Sectors of the economy where the IGC has noticed gaps include IT, “where we have thousands of places unfilled at the moment,” and that’s just one example of an area where graduates will be needed in the coming years to keep employers happy.
In the meantime, the advice from Betty McLaughlin and her colleagues is to follow that third-level dream.
“It definitely has benefits in the long-term, they feel more fulfilled and it’s a lovely time for them and in a student’s life,” she said.
Educaiton is better for lifestyle, for self-esteem and it opens the mind too
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