This report analyses six cohorts of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), focusing specifically on changes in participation in secondary and post-school education, participation in the labour force and measures of satisfaction and wellbeing over time. It briefly explores the socioeconomic environment for these changes and aims to provide a holistic overview of education activity and transitions into the workforce for youth between 1995 and 2016. The method of analysis for this report is descriptive and focuses on trends and changes in measures of aspirations, participation, engagement, satisfaction and wellbeing as reported by respondents in the LSAY program since 1995. There are limitations to the descriptive analysis used in this report. The results presented are not inferential and cannot provide evidence for causation, particularly where the effects of policy or socioeconomic events are concerned. Where the report has commented on potential relationships, these have been presented as merely correlational. Further analysis could be done to better understand the effects of particular events on education and workforce participation, satisfaction and wellbeing.
The results suggest that more young people are completing Year 12 and an increasing proportion of those who have plans to leave school early are changing their minds. Those who do leave school early are predominantly going into vocational education, though there is still a proportion who do no further education. Participation in post-school education has increased, driven predominantly by an increase in higher education participation. Fewer young people are transitioning to full-time work by age 25, with unemployment seen mainly among those with no or low-level vocational qualifications. There has been a decline in home ownership and an increase in 25-year-olds still living in the family home. Levels of financial and psychological stress have increased, particularly among those with a higher qualification or an Apprenticeship. Although the Australian youth population is more educated than ever, the returns on investment in their education are not necessarily being realised in the workforce and in the social environment, based on their employment status and satisfaction up to age 25. However, compared with those who have no post-school qualifications, and particularly those with no Year 12 certificate, higher qualifications and Apprenticeships still provide a significant advantage in the labour market. The protective effect of higher skilled qualifications in the labour market does not appear to extend to wellbeing, and it appears that the financial and psychological situation is worsening among those who may have once enjoyed more financial and psychological security as a result of investment in their education and subsequent transition to the workforce.
Edited excerpts from publication.
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