Survey of Further Education College Leavers Report published

Date published: 26 October 2021

This report presents analysis of the seventh annual Northern Ireland Survey of Further Education (FE) College Leavers. Undertaken approximately six months after course completion it provides a snapshot of the immediate added value to FE College leavers of completing and achieving a regulated qualification at Level 3 or below in the FE sector during the academic year 2019/20.

The key points are:

• More than four-tenths (43.6%) of FE College leavers who completed a qualification at Level 3 or below were in employment six months after achieving their 2019/20 qualification, up from 40.9% before their course began; the proportion in learning fell slightly from 43.1% to 42.0%.
• Linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion in employment (43.6%) was lower than that for the 2018/19 cohort at the equivalent stage (47.7%) and included 2.9% who were on furlough. In addition, the unemployment rate (7.7%) was higher than for those who qualified in 2018/19 (4.0%).
• When asked to give the most important reason for doing their course, FE College leavers were most likely to say: ‘I thought it would improve my career prospects’ (21.9%); ‘I was interested in the subject’ (17.3%); or ‘I wanted to learn something new / gain new skills’ (15.6%).
• Over five-sevenths (73.3%) of FE College leavers in employment said the course had prepared them well for employment.
• Employment rates for FE College leavers varied depending on subject area studied. The subject areas with the highest proportions of FE College leavers in full-time employment were Construction, Planning and the Built Environment (62.6%), Business, Administration and Law (55.3%) and Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (51.5%).
• The subject areas with the lowest proportions of FE College leavers in employment were Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care (8.8%), History, Philosophy and Theology (11.5%) and Social Sciences (13.5%).
• Typically, unemployment rates were lower for those qualifying at higher levels. One-sixth of those who had studied at Entry Level or Level 1 were unemployed (15.6%), in contrast to 8.5% of those who had studied at Level 2 and 4.7% of those at Level 3.

This report, along with tables (including notes and technical details), an executive summary and infographic are available to download from the Department’s website.