MORE than half the jobs expected to come on the labour market between now and the end of 1998 will require recruits with Leaving Certificate or third level qualifications, according to figures prepared for the State training agency FAS.

The figures also show that there was a significant fall in the number of men recruited to fill jobs in 1996, although female recruitment continues to soar.

The figures on educational qualifications are contained in a confidential occupational forecast study prepared for FAS by the Economic and Social Research Institute. It also outlines the areas where most job opportunities are likely to occur.

The greatest recruitment will be in management and professional positions, followed by the clerical sales, services, skilled maintenance and security positions.

The survey looks at employment trends between 1991 and 1998. It shows that the percentage of the workforce performing jobs that require only primary or no qualifications will have fallen from 21.7 per cent to 19.7 per cent old the total over the eight year period.

However, because of the overall growth in the active workforce due to the economic boom, there will be an increase of 0.1 per cent in the absolute number of unskilled jobs available.

Jobs requiring students with only a Junior Cert level of education will decline from 26.2 per cent of all job in 1991 to 25.7 per cent in 1998. Nevertheless, there will be growth of 20.9 per cent of all new jobs in this category over the eight year period because of the economic boom.

In all the categories requiring higher standards of education, there is jobs growth in both absolute and relative terms. In 1991 jobs requiring people with at least Leaving Cert qualifications accounted for 30.8 per cent of the total. By 1998, they will account for 31.7 per cent, or 41.1 per cent of all new jobs created over the eight year period.

In 1991, jobs requiring third level (non university) qualified personnel accounted for 10.8 per cent of jobs. That figure will rise to 11.6 per cent by 1998, or 18.6 per cent of all new jobs over the eight bears.

The percentage of jobs requiring people with primary degrees was 8.4 per cent in 1991, but will rise to 9.1 per cent by 1998, or 15.6 per cent of all new job opportunities. The percentage of jobs requiring personnel with higher degrees was 2.1 per cent in 1991 and will be 2.2 per cent in 1998. This will account for 3.8 per cent of all new jobs between 1991 and 1998.

Another F.AS study shows that the number of men recruited for new jobs in 1996 was only 12,000, compared with 30,000 in 1995. The number of women recruited in 1996 was 33,000, compared with 27,000 in 1995.

The report puts the sudden drop in male recruitment down to the "BSE effect" in food processing and the unusually sharp drop in agricultural employment. Both sectors employ mostly men. Between 1990 and 1996 female participation in the labour force rose from 39 per cent to 46 per cent, based on Labour Force Survey data.