Today’s school-leavers may feel that fate has not been kind to them.

Their older brothers and sisters were spoilt for choice when they graduated, while they are now confronted by an industrial landscape being redrawn on a weekly basis by company closures and job losses.

However, there are reasons for optimism. First, most economists agree that the current recession will last, at most, four or five years. Secondly, the economy which will emerge from this recession will provide exciting opportunities for those with the appropriate qualifications. Therefore, the strategy I would recommend to today’s school-leavers is to undertake further study while the recession runs its course and acquire qualifications which have the potential to sustain an interesting and lucrative career.

What are these qualifications? In general, they are those which are associated with the provision of services, rather than the production of goods. The decision by Dell to relocate its assembly operation to Poland and the differential in labour costs between the two places illustrate in stark terms how difficult it is for modern Ireland to compete in the international market in semiskilled manufacturing and assembly operations.

This reality is implicitly acknowledged by the government in its recently published economic plan. The emphasis in this plan is on developing an innovative economy focused on producing and providing sophisticated and complex products and services and on fully exploiting the domestic and international requirement for sustainable sources of energy.

In this new world, the acquisition of certain types of qualifications will place graduates in a position of significant potential in terms of the price they can command in the market in the future.

One example is qualifications related to software engineering .A few years ago, some graduates experienced difficulties obtaining employment in the software industry. But this was a temporary once-off situation which reflected certain developments in the market.

There is now a steady demand for graduates who are competent in software engineering, and there is a strong demand for people who are proficient in advanced software architecture. Indeed, despite rising unemployment, we are currently ‘importing’ persons with these advanced skills from outside the European Economic Area - mainly from India - because there are not sufficient candidates in the EU to fill vacancies.

The focus on advanced skills is critical. It is not saying that a person who graduates with a basic degree in computer programming will command an exceptional price in the market; of course not. But the acquisition of such qualifications provides a springboard, which, when combined with further study and relevant work experience, can equip a graduate with the type of competencies which can form the basis for a lucrative and interesting career.

Further study and work experience should focus on those areas of greatest opportunity, such as IT security systems, web applications, business intelligence systems and mainframe systems analysis. The advantage of developing expertise and work experience in these areas is that it provides the opportunity to move from being an employee to becoming a business software consultant, either working alone or in a project team. There are two trends in the international labour market which, together, are creating exciting opportunities for consultants with business and software skills. The first is the tendency for companies to outsource as much of their back office activity as possible.

The second is the rapid diffusion of software into every aspect of our lives. There is an unending demand from business for software solutions to enhance the efficiency of business transactions. As a consequence, employment opportunities in this area are expected to increase strongly. Indeed, research by the US Labour Bureau of Statistics suggests that this type of work could increase by 78 per cent by 2016.

Many students reading this article are now wondering what age they will have to be before they are equipped to do these interesting and highly-paid projects. But graduates should remember that they don’t have to achieve all their goals in the early part of their career. A career is not one seamless progression.

It goes through many different stages involving marriage, children and finally retirement. It is more beneficial to choose a career which has strong long-term potential - even if it is characterised by relatively routine work and modest pay in the early years - rather than a career which is initially better paid, but which has relatively poor prospects.

The approach I am advocating applies equally well to other sectors of the economy which are expected to expand, most obviously financial services. While the current recession has resulted in significant job losses in this sector, the medium term employment prospects for graduates are good.

This is the case for two reasons. First, the government has specifically targeted this sector for further development, particularly in the higher value-added areas of fund management.

While Dublin is a major centre for fund administration, the government is actively seeking to augment these activities with significant expansion in the area of fund management and associated financial activities.

Secondly, the fact that the current international recession was caused essentially by rather imprudent financial practices has created a strong demand worldwide for greater regulation and a concomitant demand for graduates with the skills to ensure compliance with such regulations.

Again, the greatest opportunities are for those who blend different qualifications. The compliance sector, for example, will require graduates of financial disciplines who are also capable of undertaking the type of quantitative modelling which will enable them to assess the claims made of various financial products. In a world which will be more regularised and more complex, qualifications in disciplines such as accountancy and actuarial science can form the basis for lucrative careers.

Most employment opportunities will be associated with the provision of services, rather than the provision of goods. Manufacturing, however, is a very mixed bag indeed and, while this statement is true for the economy writ large, there are sectors within manufacturing which are expanding, most notably the pharmaceutical, medical devices and biotechnology sectors.

Furthermore, the emphasis in the government’s plan on research and development and sustainable technology indicates that this expansion will accelerate over the next few years.

You don’t require a honours degree to access employment in these areas, as many of the openings are at technician, rather than professional, level. There are currently good employment opportunities at technician level in many companies in these sectors, and such experience would provide an ideal platform from which to undertake a research PhD later in life and move into the expanding research and development sector.

In this new world, priority will be given to the conservation of nature and the development of a sustainable relationship with the natural world. That will breathe new life into the sciences and technology. The type of problems which will demand our attention include the reduction in carbon emissions, creating sustainable transport systems and harnessing and delivering the power of the wind and the sun.

The natural sciences of zoology and marine biology will increase in importance. The sea will provide a rich harvest of food and medical drugs, and many new career opportunities will emerge for those with a thorough understanding of flora and fauna.

So choose an area which you have a interest in, and remember that a career spans 40 years and that some of the most interesting and lucrative employment opportunities will involve a blending of different qualifications.

If, in mid-life, you are still doing a job that ‘anyone could do’, you will be vulnerable. Avoid that scenario by gradually individualising your portfolio of qualifications.

That strategy works for a very wide range of careers. Thus, if you intend to work in sales - another growth area - you will be far more marketable if you have an in-depth knowledge of particular commodities or services, or if you are fluent in a widely-spoken foreign language.

The truth of this observation is evident all around us. Despite the deep recession in the construction industry, the electrician who has developed the software skills to install electronic security systems or design ‘smart’ homes is not unemployed, nor is the plumber who has an acknowledged expertise in the installation of sustainable heating and ventilation systems.

Even in journalism, the person who can bring a unique expertise to the table - in addition to good writing skills - will be far more marketable than the general reporter. Employment in the public sector is expected to expand in two specific directions. First, the requirement in this new world to continuously update and expand qualifications will result in a virtual explosion in education services, whether provided privately or publicly.

Secondly, we are an aging population. The demand for doctors, dentists, nurses and radiographers will continue to increase and there will be many employment opportunities in these professions. My advice is to be optimistic and go for it.

John McGrath is research manager with Fás, the state training agency