Staying on in education is the best option for students who sat their Leaving Certificate exams this year.

This is according to Tony Deffley, chairman of Mayo Teachers Union of Ireland branch and guidance counsellor at Davitt College, who said the current economic climate means it is difficult to secure employment.

"The tide goes in and the tide goes out and it just happens to be out at the moment as there doesn't appear to be a huge amount of jobs in prospect, so young people are as well to use their time productively by bettering themselves," he told the Mayo Advertiser.

Mr Deffley advised people to make "intelligent choices" when it comes to college courses and not simply go for the most in-demand ones.

He added that more training courses are needed to prevent Ireland facing a skills shortage in the future.

It was revealed last year that demand for third level courses is pushing up points in some subjects, with nursing and agricultural science proving particularly popular.

Written by Donal Walsh

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