Irish graduates plan to look for work abroad

A recent survey of students in Ireland has shown that close to a third do not believe that they will be able to find a suitable job at home and will need to look overseas. The European Graduate Barometer indicates that there has been a confidence crash for students across Europe but that the situation is particularly dire for those in Ireland.

Of the 5,780 respondents two-thirds of all Irish students said that they were concerned about their career prospects which is around 10 per cent more than the average for the rest of Europe.

Ireland’s Union of Students president, John Logue, said a low level of self confidence in students was becoming a serious problem.

Those intending to look for jobs in the IT sector said they expected to be looking for at least five months and would probably have to apply to at least 35 companies. Students planning a career in the professions, business or finance were even less optimistic saying they expected to be looking for a position for at least half-a-year.

Mr Logue said students were becoming despondent about the fact that they were seeing their CVs added to piles where there were already 200 applicants in front of them. He added that unlike the emigration of the 1980s which saw many semi-skilled workers leaving the country to find jobs abroad the current crisis could mean that Ireland will lose a large portion of its highly skilled workers who will leave and not decide to return.