Catholic education hailed for helping overcome employment discrimination

A leading priest-theologian has hailed the role of Catholic education in helping Catholics in the North overcome decades of employment discrimination.

Fr Niall Coll, who lectures at St Mary’s University College in Belfast, told The Irish Catholic that “Catholic education in the North can be rightly proud of its role in helping young people from the nationalist community to advance socially and economically”.

Fr Coll’s comments come following the publication of a new report that reveals, for the first time, there was an even split in the religious background of the workforce in full-time employment in the North in 2014.

The latest Labour Force Survey religion report – which looks at working age, economic activity and inactivity of people – shows how the composition of the workforce has changed in the 22 years up to 2014.

Historically, the Catholic community experienced higher levels of economic inactivity and unemployment in the North. However, while the economic activity rates of those of working age remained higher in 2014 for Protestant than Catholic, the gap has closed dramatically.

The new report details how, in 1992, 70% of all working age Protestants were in employment compared to 54% of working age Catholics. In 2014, however, these rates had moved to 67% and 66% respectively.

Work hard

Frank Hennessey, a former Head of Business Studies at St Mary’s University College, Belfast, told this newspaper that Catholics in the North historically “had education bred into their bones”.

“You knew that if you didn’t study and work hard you weren’t going to get a job,” he said.

Noting that the report revealed that 45% of 25-34 year olds from the Protestant community were economically active compared to 55% of Catholics of the same age, Fr Coll warned against educators “sitting back on their laurels”.

“I think it is worrying that the young adult cohort from both communities is struggling, which could point to the burden of austerity being placed disproportionately on their shoulders. This is something that should concern Church people who work for social justice,” he said.

Employment discrimination was a key factor that led to the civil rights movement in the North in the 1960s as an increasingly-educated Catholic population refused to accept bias in recruitment polices.