The number of students graduating with a language qualification is set to fall by 14 per cent over the next three years.

A recent study by researchers at the Graduate School of Business in UCD found that while 9,011 students are expected to graduate with a language qualification from third-level institutions this year, this figure will fall to 7,763 by 2003 - a drop of 14 per cent.

The biggest fall is anticipated in French. The number of graduates with a qualification in the language will fall by a massive 32 per cent. Some 3,586 students got a qualification in French this year, but by 2003 only 2,445 students will be qualified in the language.

Another big faller will be German, with a projected drop of 22 per cent - from 2,328 to 1,805 graduates. This is followed by Spanish, which falls from 661 to 586 graduates, a drop of 11 per cent. Italian, however, is to get a boost, with the number of graduates climbing by 14 per cent from 202 to 230.

The study, commissioned by a recruitment consultancy, the Collins McNicholas Group, also shows that while the number of language graduates is declining, the number of IT graduates is set to increase by 23 per cent over the same period.