A business confidant recently put it to me bluntly over a pint in South Belfast: academic qualifications, he said, are now inversely proportional to earning potential. It was a sweeping statement, but as someone who has hired, mentored, and occasionally counselled young professionals — I couldn’t shake the sense that he might be onto something.
In Northern Ireland today, thousands of graduates leave Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University each year with high hopes, only to find themselves facing a job market that neither values their qualifications nor rewards them proportionately. Worse still, many of them are in debt, underemployed, and overqualified for the roles they eventually settle into.
It raises an uncomfortable but necessary question: What’s the point of third-level education in NI today — and who is it really serving?
The Graduate Premium? Not Always
For years, higher education was sold to young people as a surefire path to social mobility. And for some, it still is. Queen’s, for instance, continues to punch above its weight in research output and global rankings. Ulster University has expanded across the region and boasts world-class facilities in fields like nursing and biomedical sciences.
But the overall picture is far less rosy. According to the Department for the Economy (NI), nearly one in three graduates is working in a non-graduate role three years after finishing their degree. In some sectors — hospitality, retail, and admin — degree-holders are indistinguishable in pay or position from their non-graduate peers.
Meanwhile, the average student debt in Northern Ireland has quietly crept above £24,000, with some owing significantly more. And with the graduate salary average in NI sitting well below that of the UK-wide figure — typically around £22k–£26k for new grads — the financial return on a three- or four-year degree is looking increasingly shaky.
Local Universities, Global Economy — Mismatched Realities
Queen’s and Ulster both market themselves as engines of innovation and gateways to global opportunity. But the Northern Ireland economy doesn’t always deliver the jobs to match the aspirations they foster.
Many graduates, particularly in humanities and social sciences, struggle to find relevant employment locally. This leaves them with two options:
- Settle for underemployment at home, or
- Leave Northern Ireland altogether — contributing to the region’s ongoing brain drain.
The situation is even more acute for those from working-class or rural backgrounds, who may lack the resources or networks to make the leap to London, Dublin, or further afield. For them, the dream of upward mobility via university is often replaced by stagnation and disillusionment.
Alternative Routes, Better Returns?
While our universities dominate the conversation about education, there’s a strong case to be made for non-academic pathways that deliver quicker, more practical results.
- Skilled trades remain some of the most secure and best-paying options for young people in NI. Apprenticeships in electrical, plumbing, or engineering roles can lead to earnings of £30k+ within a few years — without tuition fees or student loans.
- Digital skills programmes, including short bootcamps in coding or cybersecurity, are now producing job-ready talent in just 6–12 months. Organisations like Catalyst NI and Belfast Met’s Assured Skills Academies are providing credible alternatives to university for those aiming for the tech sector.
Yet these options are still treated as “second tier” in schools and by many parents — an outdated view that no longer aligns with market reality.
Who Is University Really For?
The fundamental issue here isn’t with Queen’s or Ulster specifically — it’s with a societal model that reflexively funnels thousands of 18-year-olds into university whether it suits them or not.
Universities are doing what they were designed to do: deliver degrees. But increasingly, those degrees are being treated as commodities — something to collect before real life begins. And when real life doesn’t deliver the return on that investment, who’s to blame?
Some might argue that the universities are simply responding to demand. But when that demand is driven by flawed expectations and a lack of viable alternatives, it’s fair to ask: is the system serving the students, or is it serving itself?
What Should Change?
If we want to future-proof the Northern Ireland workforce and economy, we need to:
- Rebalance the education ecosystem — elevate and invest in further education, apprenticeships, and vocational pathways.
- Publish transparent graduate outcome data by course, to show the real earning and employment potential of different degrees.
- Stop pushing university as the default — especially for young people who would thrive elsewhere.
- Ensure local economic development matches the skills we’re producing — otherwise we’re just exporting talent we paid to train.
Conclusion
Third-level education in Northern Ireland isn’t broken — but it’s not keeping pace with the world around it. And unless we’re willing to ask hard questions about its value, its purpose, and its opportunity cost, we’ll keep graduating thousands of young people into a future that no longer exists.
It’s time to stop equating education with employ
Eugene Reid is a keen observer of all things business and politics. A former elected representative who has had a career working across the private, public and voluntary sectors! Bringing a unique perspective from a diverse and varied background.
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