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The purpose of the project is to examine senior New South Wales students' expected educational and occupational pathways. It specifically analysed the post-school destinations of both Year 12 completers and early school leavers (or school non-completers) in the first year after leaving school and the educational and occupational expectations of students still at school. The expectations of university and vocational post-school study or training among students at school are compared to the expectations of their parents and teachers. Students' expectations are also compared to the actual participation at university and [vocational education and training] VET of the generally older cohort of school leavers. Students' Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) scores are analysed among students who gained an ATAR score. The report also documents students' expected occupations at age 30. Other aspects of the school-to-work transition analysed in this report include: influences on course selection, early school leaving, plans for further study, course level and field of study among those in post-school study or training, employment, unemployment and the main activities of young people not in full-time work education or work. The report documents many aspects of the school-to-work transition by gender, region, school sector and socioeconomic background. The report is based on data obtained from a representative survey conducted in late 2010 of approximately 6,100 NSW students who were in Years 10, 11 and 12 in 2009. The data also include information from parents (from one in three families) and teachers and principals at the sampled schools. The main activities of Year 12 completers were full-time university study (46 per cent), full time work (22 per cent) which includes apprentices and trainees, part-time work (14 per cent), full-time vocational study at a TAFE (11 per cent) and unemployment (five per cent). The main activities of Year 12 non-completers were full time work (45 per cent), part-time work (19 per cent), full-time vocational study at a TAFE (17 per cent) and unemployment (14 per cent). (Note that the non-completer group is smaller, so there the estimates are less precise, or statistically speaking are associated with wider confidence limits).

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This report is based on the On Track telephone survey of 36,022 Year 12 or equivalent completers and 4,676 early leavers from the 2008 school year in Victoria. Destination data were collected in two dimensions: education and training, and employment and occupation. In addition, respondents were asked about the reasons for their choices and their views on aspects of their schooling. Show less

On Track is a Victorian Government initiative which surveys school leavers who have left school in the last six months to find out if they are on track to a bright future. The On Track survey is designed to provide a tool for guiding program policies both at the government and school level and at a local or regional level. On Track ensures school leavers are contacted within six months of leaving school to see if they are on a path to further education, training or employment. It also enables young people to seek further advice and assistance via a referral service if required to get back on track. This report presents results from the 2009 interviews with 5284 young Victorians, as part of the longitudinal component of the On Track program of annual interviews. These young people either completed a Year 12 or equivalent certificate in 2007 or left school before receiving a Year 12 certificate during 2007.

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LSAY briefing, produced by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is a series which aims to provide summaries of findings from ACER research and to identify some of the implications for policy and further research. It is based on data from ACER's Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) project and key LSAY reports. This issue on early school leaving and 'non-completion in Australia' highlights that: students who perform well at school are less likely to leave school early; boys have a greater tendency than girls to leave school; students whose parents are less educated than average are more likely to leave school early; more than 20 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students leave school by the start of Year 11; only a small number of schools impact the school leaving rate; and a high proportion of early leavers in recent years have gained employment. Show less

This report, based upon data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program, examines the process of school leaving and the transition from school to postcompulsory education, training and the labour market. Young people who do not stay on to complete senior secondary school and are perceived as ‘at risk’ of experiencing a problematic transition are a major focus of the study. Three research questions are asked: (1) What are the influences on school non-completion, and have these influences changed over the past two decades? (2) What are the post-school experiences of school non-completers, and how do these differ from young people who complete Year 12? (3) How do sociodemographic and human capital factors influence the labour market activities of young people? The study found that the same sociodemographic factors that influenced school non-completion in the early 1980s were still in operation by the late 1990s. However, the influence of some factors (socioeconomic background for example) declined while representation among non-completers of young people with Australian-born parents and those living in non-metropolitan areas increased. A majority of non-completers reported that they left school for positive, work-related reasons such as getting a job or an apprenticeship. Analysis of the post-school activities of non-completers revealed that approximately half the non-completers were engaged in some form of education or training. Approximately half the non-completers who entered full-time work immediately or soon after leaving school, combined work with education or training. However, non-completers are less likely than completers to engage in postcompulsory education or training, and non-completers experienced less successful transitions than completers. The evidence presented here suggests that females, especially non-completers, face greater difficulties than males in the early post-school years. The report concludes that it is important to ensure that alternative educational and training pathways are available to all groups of young people. Show less

On Track is a Victorian Government initiative which surveys school leavers who have left school in the last six months to find out if they are on track to a bright future. On Track ensures school leavers are contacted within six months of leaving school to see if they are on a path to further education, training or employment. Data presented in this report is based on the On Track telephone survey of 33,250 Year 12 or equivalent completers and 4740 early leavers from the 2007 school year in Victoria. Show less