Further Education Outcomes 2010 - 2016

Among 2016 further education graduates with major awards, 62% were in substantial employment in the first year after graduation - up from 47% for 2010 graduates.

Over 30% of graduates of further education in 2016 were enrolled in higher education one year after graduation.

Among apprentices who qualified in 2014, 80% were in substantial employment in the second year after qualification, up from 53% for those who qualified in 2010.

The Central Statistics Office has published a new report on graduate outcomes in Ireland for further education and training (FET) programmes in Ireland.  Further Education Outcomes – Graduation Years 2010-2016 draws on QQI data on NFQ Level 1-6 Major Awards and analyses the destinations of FET graduates in terms of employment, re-enrolment in education and the industry sectors that graduates work in.  

Commenting on the report, Kieran Culhane, CSO Senior Statistician, said,

"This report found that 62.2% of 2016 graduates of further education were in substantial employment in the first year after graduation, compared to 46.6% of 2010 graduates.

The largest industries for employment for new graduates in 2016 were Wholesale & Retail Trade, Accommodation & Food Service Activities and Health & Welfare with more than 60% of graduates in substantial employment in the first year after graduation working in one of these industries.

Over 30% of those graduating in 2016 had enrolled in higher education and over 38% were re-enrolled in further education one year after graduation.

There were 1,220 apprentices qualified in 2016, down from 3,295 in 2010. More than half of apprentices qualified in 2010 were in employment two years after qualification and this rose to 80% for apprentices qualified in 2014. Over 35% of 2014 qualified apprentices were working in the Construction industry two years after qualification."

Padraig Walsh, CEO of QQI highlighted the importance of these collaborative policy-relevant research projects:

'This significant new collaboration between QQI and the CSO allows us to better understand emerging trends in the further education sector, particularly in terms of graduate outcomes, employment destinations, pathways from further to higher education and the expansion of apprenticeships.  This on-going analysis will be of benefit to policy-makers, employers, educators and students throughout the country.'

The report was published alongside Higher Education Outcomes Higher Education Outcomes – Graduation Years 2010-2016, a similar report which analyses undergraduate and postgraduate courses, usually taken at Universities and Institutes of Technology.

Read the report in full here.