A new report has warned that there are not enough managers and professionals in Northern Ireland.
Research for employment minister Sir Reg Empey also revealed that the number of agriculture, construction and manufacturing graduates is also well down on the UK average and the small number of public limited companies may be to blame.
It said that the lack of managerial and professional occupations in the province could be linked to the small number of Northern Ireland plcs and the small nature of the economy.
"Many of Northern Ireland's industrial and indeed professional services activities are not at the high end headquarter or design and strategy end of the spectrum and thus demand for managerial and professional occupations is lower," the report which was undertaken by Oxford economics found.
The gap compared to Wales and north east England in the manufacturing and business industry is very evident, although around 30% of the workforce has sub-degree, graduate or post-graduate qualifications.
Sir Reg said: "This report highlights sectors which are predicted to experience shortages, enabling us to focus our education and training plans to create a suitable qualified workforce so that we can all benefit from future opportunities."
The 182-page report - 'Forecasting Future Skill Needs in Northern Ireland'- said most of the private sector had a broadly comparable concentration of graduates compared to the UK average.
