This report was originally published 28 October 2019.

Summary

In 2018, 3,529 students who finished Year 12 and 4,470 students who left school before completing Year 12 (known as early school leavers) completed the survey. All Aboriginal and Torres Strait students, students who attended schools participating in the Connected Communities program and students who left school before the minimum leaving age were in scope for the survey. A sample of students who completed Year 12 or left school after the minimum leaving age were also in scope.

Year 12 completers

In 2018, six months after finishing school, more than two-thirds (69.2%) of Year 12 completers were in some form of education or training. The main post-school destination among Year 12 completers continues to be a Bachelor degree (50.6%). The remaining four education and training categories combined make up less than 19 per cent of all other post-school destinations, with 5.5 per cent enrolled in a Certificate IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma; 3.6 per cent a Certificate I, II or III course; 5.7 per cent an apprenticeship; and 3.8 per cent a traineeship.

Close to one-quarter (23.1%) of Year 12 completers were employed, while few were looking for work (5.2%) or not in the labour force, education or training (NILFET; 2.5%). (Not in the labour force means that a person is not working and not looking for work) (refer to Table 1 in Appendix).

Early school leavers

By comparison, more than half (57.1%) of early school leavers were in some form of education or training in 2018. The most common form of education and training was an apprenticeship, with around one-third (32.4%) of early leavers training at this level. The remaining four education and training categories were made up of less than ten per cent of early school leavers, with 1.1 per cent enrolled in a Bachelor degree; 8.0 per cent in a Certificate IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma; 8.7 per cent in a Certificate I, II or III course; and 6.9% in a traineeship.

Almost one-quarter (24.8%) of early school leavers were employed, while more than one-in-ten (12.9%) were looking for work and one-in-twenty (5.2%) were NILFET (refer to Table 2 in Appendix). Overall, early school leavers were less likely to be in some form of education or training than Year 12 completers (57.1% vs. 69.2%) but more likely to be employed full-time (11.1% vs. 9.3%), looking for work (12.9% vs. 5.2%) or NILFET (5.2% vs. 2.5%) (refer to Table 3 in Appendix).