The importance ofhigher education to society and the workforce. Education is increasinglyimportant in today’s world it unleashes ones potential and provides members ofsociety with the skills needed to face the challenges of society and the labourmarket. Education brings better jobs ,higher wages and social benefits. Among OECD countries 84% of 15 >19 year olds areenrolled in education but a large proportion will stop before completing highereducation only 41% of 25 >34 year olds have completed a higher education course. Although Education can getvery expensive evidence tells us that investing in education is a great choice.(New MediaConsortium, 2017)Education opens lotsof doors it provides individuals a wider array of possibilities in terms of jobopportunity. On average among OECD countries 56 % of peoplewho haven’t completed secondary are employed with it increasing to 82% forthose that have a bachelor’s degree 87% for those with a master’s degree and91% for those with a doctoral degree.
With this in mind the financial returnfor those who have completed higher education is around twice as large as forthose that have only completes secondary education.(New MediaConsortium, 2017)Not only does educationpay off for individuals it also has a major impact on society through greatertax revenue and social contribution. Higher educationtrends globally Higher education ischanging globally in a number of ways there is a number of trends that aretaking place including student mobility . Student mobility has increased massively in the past decade in 2017 around5.0 million students were studying abroad which was more than twice the numberin the year 2000 (2.1million ) and more than triple the level in 1990.
(HODSON, 2018) . There has also been amassive growth in distance learning. Education is becoming more and moreassessable you do not have to be in the class room to learn anymoreadvancements in technology has enabled people from all over the world access collegecourses.
Reasons for more students accessing this are strict visa restrictionsin such places like the USA and Britain and a lack of higher education programsin certain markets around the world. Adult learning hasalso increased dramatically with many adults going back to education becausethey now see the benefits and opportunities there is for people with a 3rdlevel education. It is also made easier for adults to go back with the advancementsand flexibilities that there are in certain courses. In Australia the number ofpeople over the age of 45 increased by 15% between 2010 and 2014 (HODSON, 2018).This is one of the reasons career developmentcentres in higher educational facilities are so important. Another trend in somecountries Graduate employability.
In certain countries therehas been a trend where many young graduates are unemployed. One may expect incountries with a low number of graduates that they would receive instantemployment but in many developing countries the opposite is happening employers doubt the job-readiness ofgraduates and as a result unemployment is high. In India for example only 7% ofIndia’s engineering graduates are job ready (Benson , 2016) Ireland and Higher educationWhile Ireland has over40 higher education institutions with over 222,618 students enrolled we have avery good relationship the majority of school leavers in Ireland carrying on tothird level .According to OECD figures Irelands higher education participantsstands at 41 % compared to 33% of other OECD countries .
In Ireland between 2009and 2014 we had the biggest growth in higher education usage because we stillhave an issues with high youth unemployment. (HigherEducation Authority, 2017)Irelands younger population stay in educationlonger to give them a competitive advantage when looking for job. This is oneof the reasons why the career development centres in these higher educationalfacilities are so important for our students to get hired and to be seen as jobready graduates. Institutes of technology such as DIT has over 20,000 studentsbeing one of the largest highereducation providers in the state. For these reasons Career development serviceswithin the colleges is very important. Career DevelopmentCentres Importance in Higher Education DIT Each higher educationfacility has a career development centre The aim of any careersdevelopment centre is to educate ,support and empower students to manage theircareers . Career development centres can give students a competitive advantagewhen starting their careers and will teach them the personal and professionalskills to help them achieve what they wish to do after they leave the highereducation system.
Career development centres are becoming more and moreimportant aspects to our education programs employees want to see job readygraduates that have the life skills and balance they need in the workplace .They provide individual guidance and put on workshops and courses and invite inguest lecturers to help with career development. Dublin Institute oftechnology has over 20,000 students on 10 main campuses DIT Mountjoy Square,Dublin 1 DIT Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin 1 DIT Bolton Street, Dublin 1 DITChatham Row, Dublin 2 DIT Aungier Street, Dublin 2 DIT Kevin Street, Dublin 2 DIT 159 Rathmines Road,Dublin 6 DIT 143-149 Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 DIT Focas Research Institute,Camden Row, Dublin 8Grangegorman, Dublin 7. Their career development officesalthough opporastes in every campus they only have offices in Auingier streetand Bolton street to cater for the two sides of the city. With this many students and there being many campuses there are manychallenges for the DIT careers servicesone of the main problems is student engagement this study seeks to investigatestudent engagement with the careers development centre in DIT and provide aseries of recommendations.
The next Chaptercritically analysis the literature of consumer behaviour relating to theservices and examines the influencing factors enhancing engagement. Benson, K., & Griffith, L. (2016).International Trends in Higher Education 2016–17, 1–24. Higher Education Authority. (2017).
KeyFacts and Figures Higher Education 2015/16. Retrieved fromhttp://hea.ie/assets/uploads/2017/06/HEA-Key-Facts-and-Figures-201516.pdf HODSON, A. (2018). Top Three Trends forStudents in Higher Education. Retrieved January 17, 2018, fromhttps://blog.
euromonitor.com/2018/01/students-higher-education.html New Media Consortium. (2017). HorizonReport – 2017 Higher Education Edition.
Horizon Report.https://doi.org/ISBN 978-0-9968527-5-3
