Young people report employment gains after training

28 June 2006

A new study released today by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) finds that young people report substantial employment gains over time following the completion of their training.

The study, which is the first of its kind to be undertaken by NCVER, aims to provide a clearer picture of the outcomes young people (aged 15 to 24 years) experience more than two years after they completed training. It shows that significant gains were made against key outcome measures, including employment levels, wages, skill levels and pathways into further study.

Employment levels
Large improvements were reported by graduates and module completers (students who completed at least one module of study) alike after completing training two years previously. For both graduates and module completers, around two-thirds of those unemployed in 2002 and over half of those not in the labour force (not working and not actively looking for work) in 2002 were employed in September 2004.

Wages
From 2002 to 2004, for those employed full-time, wages improved by 32% for graduates and 21% for module completers. In 2004, average annual wages for graduates employed full-time were $36 479, and for module completers employed full-time were $33 214.

Skill levels
By 2004, in addition to improving employment status and wages, nearly half of the employed students had moved to a higher skill level (based on occupation) compared with their pretraining level.

Further study
Around three quarters of graduates and module completers went on to some form of further training, be it formal or informal. By September 2004, 43% of graduates had completed an additional qualification, and a third of module completers had completed a qualification.

The Down the Track Survey is based on data provided by students who completed training in 2001 at a TAFE institute. These students (graduates and module completers) first participated in NCVER's Student Outcomes Survey in May 2002 and then in a follow-up survey, known as Down the Track, two-and-a-half years later in September 2004.

ENDS

To download a copy of the Down the track: TAFE outcomes for young people two years on,, please visit http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/1694.html

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