Young people’s education choices continue to shift
Whilst young people’s participation rates in education and training have remained steady at 81.3% for 2013, there has been a shift in the pathways chosen. According to the report Young people in education and training 2013, fewer young people are taking part in vocational education and training (VET) with more opting for higher education.
Published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), the report provides a summary of young people, aged 15 to 19 years, who participated in education and training during 2013.
The report showed 55.4% of 15 to 19 year olds are at school; 15.6% are in higher education; 5.1% are undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship; and 5.3% are enrolled in publicly funded VET programs.
The steady participation rate reflects a 1.0% increase in school enrolments, a 5.2% increase in higher education and a 7.1% decrease in publicly funded VET programs compared with 2012.
Young people’s enrolments in the VET sector shifted between 2012 and 2013 with:
- VET in Schools students declining by 1.1%, however those enrolled in certificate III courses increased by 12.7%
- Apprenticeship and traineeships commencements declining by 20.7%, with a 7.3% decline in trades and a 30.4% decrease in non-trades for this age group.
Dr Craig Fowler, Managing Director NCVER said “It is clear ongoing policy changes in the broader tertiary education sector are having an impact on choices young people make. With the expansion of the National VET Provider Collection to include total VET activity from 2014, a clearer picture of overall activity should emerge”.
This publication brings together data on young people in education and training from multiple sources, including the National VET Provider Collection, the National VET in Schools Collection, the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, the Higher Education Statistics Collection, and the (non-finance) Schools Statistics Collection.
NCVER 2013 Young People in Education & Training – December 2014
