Katie Flinn, Sarah O Loughlin and Jenny Carron on graduation day from the Royal College of Surgeons. Source: /Photocall Ireland

STUDENTS ARE FAR more positive about their job prospects than they were only four years ago according to new research.

A study from the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has shown that the number of students who expect to find work in Ireland after third-level has more than doubled since 2011.

Almost 8 in 10 college students now expect to work in Ireland when they graduate, compared to just under 4 in 10 in 2011.

Source: ICLU

Such positivity has predictably had a knock on effect on how students view emigration.

Four years ago, 3 out of 4 students said they expected they’d have to emigrate to find work. That figure is now down to just over 1 in 3 (36%).

Source: ILCU

As a further demonstration of how emigration isn’t on the horizon of students to the same extent that it was, the below chart shows that fewer and fewer will look for work abroad when they finish college.

In 2011, the gap between those who planned to search in Ireland and abroad was just 13%. Now that gap has dramatically widened to 62%.

Source: ILCU

Overall, students are also more confident about their futures in Ireland.

Source: ILCU

There is one area though in which students are not any more positive now than they were in 2011.

Four years ago, 67% of students said they felt financial worries would negatively impact their experience in college. This has remained fairly constant with 65% who see it as a worry today.

Money concerns among students echoes similar fears from parents. The ILCU’s survey also detailed how parents are being forced to save for longer and longer to meet third-level costs.

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