Published Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Applications to universities are provisionally up some 7% this year, according to Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey.
It was "a significant increase" given that half of school leavers in Northern Ireland already go to university - more than in the rest of the UK, the minister said.
"The reason could be that some people who might have gone into the labour market have decided that maybe the time isn't right, and if they go into higher education in three or four years they might be in a better position."
With A level results out on Thursday and GCSE's next week, Sir Reg said it was a challenging time for school leavers, particularly those hoping to get work.
"This time last year we were beginning to see the downturn, but compared with two or three years ago it is a different labour market."
"The people who are probably in worst shape right now, rather than the kids who are coming out of school and going to university, are the people who came out and went to university three and four years ago - they are having a big struggle to get work, the market is very challenging for them."