More school-leavers going straight to work - ESRI

More Leaving Cert students are spurning college and going straight into the workforce, according to a report by the Government’s Economic and Social Research Institute.

The report said almost two-fifth of school-leavers in 2001 went directly into jobs, while just over half went on to further education.

Last year, one in five students didn’t even apply to the CAO.

The recent boom in the economy and the ready availability of jobs is thought to be one of the main reasons behind the trend.