Politics

Richard Curran: Third-level students must be educated for life, not just for big employers

It was 1989. As I crossed the front square of Trinity College for an appointment with the career-guidance department, I didn’t hold much hope. I was graduating with an arts degree. The country was still kind of broke and many of my peers rightly assumed they would have to emigrate to find work.

Cartoon by Graeme Keyes It was 1989. As I crossed the front square of Trinity College for an appointment with the career-guidance department, I didn’t hold much hope. I was graduating with an arts degree.

The country was still kind of broke and many of my peers rightly assumed they would have to emigrate to find work. The words from the career professional were blunt and true. I was finishing university as a person “not actually qualified to do anything”, but as a graduate of this university, “the world was my oyster”.

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