This study only includes university graduates and not graduates from institutes of technology or other colleges, said Dr Vivienne Patterson of the authority’s statistics section, who compiled the 2012 report.

The student cohort is split between those with level eight (honours primary degrees) and those with level nine/10 qualifications (master’s degrees and PhDs). As usual the survey includes data on the numbers in employment here and overseas, the numbers seeking work or in further study or training.

The figures show 52 per cent of level eight graduates and 72 per cent of level nine/10 graduates were in employment. Of the level eights, 42 per cent were working within Ireland and 10 per cent overseas, while 61 per cent of level nine/10s were working here while 11 per cent were overseas.

Brain drain
Dr Patterson suggested these figures showed the value of a postgraduate degree, given the higher employment rate after graduation. It also countered at least in part the idea that there was a wholesale brain drain of graduates under way, she said.

For the first time the survey includes questions about the relevance of a qualification to the employment gained. Based on discipline studied, questions arise about student satisfaction with course relevance.

Almost 90 per cent of level eight computer graduates and 95 per cent of level nine/10 graduates found their courses relevant to their subsequent employment. But only 31 per cent of level eight and 55 per cent of level nine/10 arts and humanities graduates found relevance between what they studied and their employment.