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College Tribune | January 20th 2009
News Investigation News
A new
diaspora?
Karina Bracken looks at the struggle UCD graduates face to find employment in current economic climate Students are generally shielded from the doom and gloom of economic forecasts during their college years. However, those that graduated this year are finding the realities of the current employment market in Ireland tougher than graduates of previous years. Adam Harvey writing The Irish Times explains, “graduates without experience will have to work harder than in previous years to find a job.” AIB has been a good source of employment for recent graduates in the past. However last summer, it froze its graduate recruitment programmes due to the worsening crisis in the financial sector. As a result of cost cutting measures, other companies such as KPMG have followed suit.
Who is being affected? Patrick graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Arts degree this year. Unsure of what to do after university, he decided to work for a year or two to save for a Masters. Since returning from spending last summer in Spain, Patrick has been looking for a full-time job in Dublin. Despite his best efforts, his search is proving largely unsuccessful. “I haven’t found anything within the area of my degree. Before Christmas, I worked as a waiter in a hotel for a couple of months. But I eventually left because of the conditions. The hotel management’s treatment of staff was terrible and the pay was basic. Tips never really made up the difference.” During the job search, Patrick consulted with a job agency to find temp work. While so far nothing has
been forthcoming, Patrick has taken a three-month unpaid internship in a publishing office. With his effort to gain more work experience, he is hoping that his efforts to find paid work to match his qualifications will more prove fruitful. “Otherwise, I can see myself going abroad when the internship finishes. I’ll probably do a TEFL course and teach English in Spain or Italy maybe.” Patrick reflects the attitude of other Irish graduates. Commentators on the future of graduate employment believe that present-day economic conditions will lead to another Irish diaspora, with students emigrating to find jobs in other countries Another former UCD student Gemma graduated in 2008 with BA International in Italian and Art History. Upon graduating in December, Gemma quit her job as a waitress to concentrate full-time on her search for employment that better suits her qualification. “The job search is so frustrating. Apart from temporary work in An Post over the Christmas, I have yet to find anything suitable.” Like many graduates, Gemma is flexible about where she works. However, employment and wages that reflect four years at university is scarce. Graduates of all disciplines have been advised to take minimum wage jobs and still search for something else. Graduates are particularly affected by the current crisis, as they are viewed over-skilled for minimum wage jobs. More often than not, employers seek
people for jobs with long term prospects at their company. On the other hand, graduates are often not experienced enough for jobs related to their field of study. Many accept unpaid internships but competition for these positions is fierce. Patrick agrees, “there is even a waiting list for the internship that I’m on.” Gemma would like to work in a gallery eventually but is hap-
“Ireland has the edge over others in the EU because it has an Anglophone, highly educated workforce as well as a free and open economy” py to take on a volunteer role at the moment until she gets enough experience. She is passionate about Art History, a field that has always been hard to get into. Like some of her friends who are volunteering in galleries and museums, she may have to go on the dole until she gets enough experience to apply for a paid position. It is not just UCD graduates that are being affected by the current downturn in the Irish economy. Professor Brian Lucey who lectures in finance at Trinity College has prepared his students for the worst, according to an article in
The Sunday Tribune. In previous years, graduates from the course would have easily found employment in the banking, accountancy and corporate sectors. Lucey believes that educators need to prepare students for the bad news. “The jobs outlook is becoming gloomier by the day.” Mark Hutchinson, the co-director of the Centre for Investment Research at UCC, said that the university is anticipating student need in times of financial crisis “by reshaping postgraduate business and finance courses”.
A Sign of Hope The outlook is not all bad. Booms and depressions represent the fluctuating nature of any country’s economy. An article recently published in The Observer highlighted that Ireland will bounce back from the recession. One of the United States’ leading economists, a former adviser to the US government has given an upbeat assessment of Ireland’s economic prospects for the rest of the decade. Dr Robert E Kennedy, head of Business Administration at the University of Michigan has predicted that Ireland’s economy will be strengthened in the future by the amount and quality of its graduates. Kennedy predicted that more jobs will go from manufacturing in this country. “Ireland has very high labour costs compared to central and eastern Europe. In terms of low-skilled jobs involving physically assembling parts Ireland can’t compete.” Kennedy believes
that the key to our economic success will be down to its “highly skilled, educated workforce.” Using recent events to support this claim he explained, “What was interesting about the Dell decision was that it was its manufacturing arm being shifted to Poland. Dell is keeping most of its service and administrative base in Ireland.” Kennedy believes that advanced economies must shift their activities from manufacturing to services and specialist fields such as financial expertise, biotechnology, innovation and design. Which is where graduates from Ireland’s universities come in. “Ireland has the edge over others in the EU because it has an Anglophone, highly educated workforce as well as a free and open economy.” Students must begin to prepare now for when they leave UCD. David from the Careers Office in UCD says that some students have come to them worried about what they will do after graduating. He is optimistic and explains that the Careers Office will be running a number of workshops and information sessions on issues such as volunteer work in the new term. “The new UCD Careers Office website is launching on the 19th January, just in time for the start of term. It has advice for students such as “5 Top Tips for Troubles” for graduating and getting a job.”
» For further information visit www.ucd.ie/careers