25 years of change in the Western Region: Education – Attainment, Provision and Student/Graduate Retention

In 2024, the Western Development Commission is celebrating its 25^th anniversary and has published a new Report which both details the impact of the WDC in that time-period and highlights key areas of economic, social and demographic change in the Western Region generally over 25 years. It is a story of great, if uneven progress and development, of new opportunities and new challenges, of unique regional dynamics and in some cases, of persistent gaps between the national and regional picture.

In a series of blogposts released in late 2024, we describe in greater detail the changes and patterns highlighted in this Report and in doing so, illuminate a range of topics which are of relevance to life, economy and society in the Western Region[1]. In this fourth in the series, we look at the changes in educational attainment, at the increased provision and increased diversity of third-level education in the region and finally, at the extent to which the so-called ‘brain-drain’ phenomenon identified in The State of the West (2001) still exists.

Changes in educational attainment levels

One of the most significant changes in Ireland and in the Western Region over 25 years is the huge increase in the numbers of people completing third-level education. The 1996 Census shows that only 19% of the population of the State who were 15 years and over had completed third-level education. The comparable figure for the Western Region was 17.5% but with some very significant regional variation. Back in 1996, 32.6% of the population of Galway City who were 15 years and over had a third-level education, a much higher proportion than the State average of 19%.  Sligo (18.9%) and Clare (17.5%) were closer to the State average but the remaining counties of Donegal (13.1%), Leitrim (13.3%), Roscommon (14.1%), Mayo (14.3%) and Galway County (15.8%) were below or well below this average.

The disparity between the State and Western Region figures was even more significant when we looked at the proportion of the population aged fifteen years and over whose highest level of education completed was Primary, including having no formal education. For the State minus the Western Region, the proportion was 27.26% but for the Western Region it was 33.1% with some counties such as Donegal (42.3%), Mayo (38.4%) and Leitrim (37.6%) having particularly high proportions of the population in this category.

The figures for 2022 show an enormous overall increase in the proportion of the population aged 15 and over with a third-level education as their highest level of educational attainment. The figure for the State minus the Western Region is 45.3% and for the Western Region is 43.26%. Again, there is significant regional variation. Galway City has the second highest proportion in the State with 53.3% of the population while Donegal at 36.8% has the lowest proportion in the region and amongst the lowest proportion in the State overall. Other counties which are closer to the State (minus Western Region) average include Galway County (46%), Sligo (44.5%) Clare (43.8%) and Leitrim (42.2%).  The three counties with the lowest proportion of the population with a third-level education apart from Donegal are Mayo (39.2%) and Roscommon (40.3%).

Simultaneously, the proportion of the population in the region whose highest level of education is Primary has declined dramatically – from 33.1% in the region in 1996 to 10.9% in 2022, just above the State minus Western Region figure of 9.5%. It remains above 10% in four of the counties: Donegal (16.2%), Mayo (13%), Leitrim (11.4%), Roscommon (11.1%) and Galway County (10.8%).

Changes in Third-level Education Provision in the Western Region

It is difficult to obtain detailed information on past student numbers in all third-level education institutions in the region, but there clearly are substantially more student places and a more diverse offering than existed 25 years ago. In the case of the University of Galway (formerly NUI Galway) for example, the number of undergraduate students enrolled has increased from 6183 in 1997/1998 to 14,355 in 2022/2023. In the same time-period, the number of post-graduate students at the University has increased by 256%, from 1356 in 1997/1998 to 4830 in 2022/2023. The University campus has also undergone substantial growth, with new buildings dedicated to sciences, engineering, and the arts.

One of the most significant developments from a regional development perspective has been the evolution of Atlantic Technological University (ATU). Officially established in April, 2022 as part of national strategy to create technological universities (TUs), ATU represents the amalgamation of three previous institutes of technology: Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT), and IT Sligo. The university serves a broad geographic area and has campuses dispersed throughout the region at Galway City, Castlebar, Letterfrack, Mountbellew, Sligo, Letterkenny and Killybegs. In 2022/2023, there were 19,460 undergraduate students and a further 3185 postgraduate students enrolled in ATU. Courses at ATU have continued to expand and evolve to reflect changes in the regional and national economy and society.  The emergence of more recent programmes in areas such as environmental sustainability, marine resources, digital technologies, health and life sciences and the expansion of creative arts and humanities disciplines are all reflective of this.

Though outside the scope of this blogpost, a large number of students also access further education and training (FET) opportunities within their own counties and in the region. Some of the larger providers include Mayo College of Further Education and Training, Sligo College of Further Education, Galway Technical Institute and Donegal ETB. Equally, the number and variety of apprenticeships is increasing, reflecting growing recognition of their value in bridging education and employment and in meeting regional skills needs.

As Table 1 shows, of the 40,900 students from the Western Region enrolled in third-level in Ireland in 2022/2023, 55% attended either ATU (12,030 students), the University of Galway (9755 students) or St Angelas (820 students) and so remained in the region. Three geographically adjacent educational institutions –  University of Limerick (UL), Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and Mary Immaculate College – combined accounted for a further 21% of student enrolment from the Western Region. 15% of students from the region were enrolled in one of the colleges in Dublin with four – University College Dublin (2155 students), Dublin City University (1465 students), Trinity College Dublin (1105 students) and Technical University Dublin (940 students) – accounting for most of these.  The remaining 12% of students were enrolled at institutions elsewhere throughout the country with Maynooth and University College Cork being the only two to have over 1000 students from the Western Region enrolled.

Table 1: Numbers of students from the Western Region enrolled in third-level institutions in Ireland (2022/2023)

There are some interesting regional variations in the relative popularity of different educational institutions, as Table 2 demonstrates. In five of the seven counties of the region (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo), ATU was the No. 1 third-level destination in 2022/2023, accounting for as many as 56% of third-level students from Donegal and 42% from Sligo. In all five of these counties, the University of Galway was the second most popular destination. In Galway itself, the University of Galway was the destination for 40% of third-level students from the county, with a further 26% going to ATU. Clare is somewhat of an outlier in having neither Galway University or ATU as either the first or second choice. Instead, UL and TUS combined are the destination for 50% of students.

These trends underscore the significant role of geography and proximity in shaping third-level preferences, particularly amidst the rising costs of third-level education. They also highlight the importance of maintaining a diverse and high-quality range of academic offerings across the region. This approach supports the encouraging trend of students choosing to pursue higher education within the region, a trend which we will discuss in a little more detail below.

Table 2: Top 3 destinations for third-level study for students from each county in the Western Region (2022/2023)

Education and Population Movement – can we still talk about a ‘brain drain’? 

In 2001, the State of the West Report identified the so-called ‘brain drain’ as a major challenge facing the Western Region. This was the long-standing pattern whereby a relatively high proportion of those who grew up in the Western region both left to be educated in other regions and then gained employment elsewhere – they were to some extent ‘educated away’ from the West. This also had the effect of leaving a high proportion of the population of the Region with lower levels of educational attainment relative to other regions with significant economic consequences.  The State of the West highlighted the relatively small proportion of graduates from across the country who found their first job post-graduation in the West or Northwest and the small proportion of graduates from each Western Region county who found employment in their county of origin post-graduation:

• • In 1998, 60.5% of higher degree recipients overall and 65.6% of those with primary degrees found their first job post-graduation in the East Region (counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow).
  • Of all the graduates originating from the Western Region in 1998, 37.7% gained employment post-graduation in Dublin, more than the total combined for all seven counties in the Western Region (34.2%).
  • This average figure of 34.2% masks some significant regional variation. Just under 50% of graduates originating from Roscommon, Donegal and Leitrim were working in Dublin post-graduation with relatively small proportions working in their home counties: 6.8% in Roscommon, 18.9% in Donegal and 7.4% in Leitrim.
  • Galway was by some measure the county with the largest proportion of young people from the county working there post-graduation (37.7%) and as might be expected, the lowest proportion working in Dublin (29.9%).

We have seen from our previous discussion above that a high and increasing proportion of young people from the Western Region are now being educated in the region in an increasingly diverse and regionally dispersed educational landscape. While we don’t have recent county-level data which is directly comparable to that presented in the State of the West, we can make some observations, which also draw on the HEA Report on Regional Mobility of Irish Graduates (2022)[2].

• • Drawing on an extensive survey of the graduating class of 2021, the HEA Report found that in the NUTS 3 West Region (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon), 40% of graduates stayed in the region for both study and work and an additional 16% returned to work after studying elsewhere. This means that 56% of graduates from the region were working in the region within a year of graduation. This represents a significant increase from the regional average of 29.3% in 1998.

• • The comparable figures are not as high for the NUTS 3 Border Region, which includes counties Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, but also Cavan and Monaghan. Here only 21% stayed for study and work while a further 20% returned after study, bringing a total of 41% of graduates from the region working in the region within a year of graduation. In contrast, 51% moved for study and work compared to as little as 4% in Dublin and 12% in the South-west. The inclusion of counties Cavan and Monaghan in the Border figures – counties which are without any third-level institution and which are in closer proximity to Dublin in many cases – does skew the figures somewhat.

Overall and with some provisos, we can conclude that in overall terms, the ‘brain drain’ phenomenon still exists – and has a strong regional dimension – but is not as pronounced as it once was. Young people from the Western Region are now both more likely to attend third-level in the Western Region and more likely to return to the region upon graduation elsewhere.

Conclusions

Over the past 25 years, Ireland and the Western Region have experienced significant growth in educational attainment. However regional disparities persist.  Galway City consistently leads nationally in educational attainment, while Donegal, Mayo and Roscommon remain below the average for the State. One of the most striking yet often overlooked changes during this period is the decline in the proportion of the population with low levels of educational attainment. However, some counties in the region still have a higher percentage of individuals with only primary education or none compared to the State average.

The expansion of third-level education in the Western Region has been a key driver of regional development and innovation. Increased access to diverse and high-quality third-level education across the region has also enabled more young people than ever to remain in the region for their third-level education. Additionally, graduates are now more likely to stay in or return to the region, contributing to regional growth and vitality. The figures presented in this blogpost underscore the progress made in educational provision – and in employment creation – over 25 years, while also highlighting the need for ongoing efforts to address regional disparities.

[1] For this we rely on a number of data sources. Foremost amongst these is the landmark report The State of the West published by the WDC in 2001 and which examined its recent trends and future prospects. It, alongside a range of other sources including the 1996 Census, provides us with an excellent starting point for comparisons between then and now. For contemporary statistics, we largely rely on Census 2022 but draw on other data sources where relevant throughout the series.

[2]This study analysed regional mobility patterns among Irish honours degree graduates using Graduate Outcomes Survey data from the Class of 2021. The sample size is 11,247. Research Info-Byte – Regional Mobility of Irish Graduates | Publications | Higher Education Authority (hea.ie)