KILKENNY -- Several students in Tipperary Institute have asked me whether there is any difference in wage packet between a Diploma graduate and a Degree graduate and I have pointed to evidence showing there is. College education in Ireland increases students' earning power by 10% for each year of study, more than in any other country in the western world.
Research shows that the longer someone stays in college, the more Irish employers are willing to pay for their skills. Few investments pay as well as an extra year in education. The average bonus to earning power for a year in college in other countries, including Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, is 8%. A four-year degree in Ireland can therefore give a person an increased earning power of up to 50% over someone who entered the workforce immediately after school. The study was written by Colm Harmon, an economist at University College Dublin and colleagues at the Institute for the Study of Social Change. These numbers form part of the Irish government's position that calls for the reinstatement of fees for third level education in Ireland.
Free college education was introduced in 1995, and Ireland now spends EUR 178m a year putting students through college.
Paul Colgan -- "Year's Study Puts 10% on Earning Power" in The Sunday Times, 1 Sep 02.
