Irish young people have a stronger desire to work abroad, compared with their counterparts in other European countries, a recent Eurobarometer survey has revealed.
It shows that 67pc of young Irish people are willing or keen to work in another European country compared with 53pc of young people in Europe generally. However, only 27pc of young Irish people would like to work abroad for the long term.
The survey also shows that young Irish people (19pc) were more likely to have spent time abroad for education or training purposes than the European average (14pc).
Of this 19pc, 69pc spent time abroad as part of their higher education studies, with 34pc studying abroad as part of vocational education and training.
Their studies had been for the most part (69pc) privately financed, with 30pc receiving a national or regional study loan or grant; and 16pc had benefited from an EU-funded mobility programme (LLP, Youth in Action, Erasmus Mundus or other).
Young Irish people were the most likely (39pc) to have worked abroad or been abroad for volunteering or other purposes at almost twice the European average of 20pc.
For young Irish people who have stayed abroad, the most important benefits were improved academic knowledge (34pc), improved foreign language skills (31pc) and awareness of another culture (30pc).
