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Many university graduates in Northern Ireland enter the workplace with an inadequate skills base, according to one councilor.

Ian James Parsley, youth affairs spokesman for the Alliance Party, has said that claims of "record employment figures" in Northern Ireland mask the huge difficulties faced by many recent graduates trying to enter the region's job market.

Mr Parsley emphasised: "Among those finding it hard to come by appropriately challenging careers here are graduates, with another batch due to enter the job market this summer.

"We continue to fail to match our training with the skills actually required in the modern workplace. This year, as every year, we will be left with far too many graduates in some disciplines and skills shortages in others."

There are skills gaps in many sectors of the Northern Irish job market. Certain areas of industry, such as the field of biotechnology, are suffering from a lack of graduates with technical and sector-specific skills.

A more general problem affecting both Northern Ireland and the UK is that many recent graduates lack the interpersonal and business skills so fundamental to their success in gaining employment in a wide range of professions.

The Parsley continued: "We need to match the services offered by our further education institutions and universities with the skills required by businesses offering high-wage, challenging careers right here at home."