It is estimated that 81.9% of Australians aged 15-19 participated in an education and training activity as at August 2012, according to the report Young people in education and training.
Published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), the publication provides a picture of how many young people participated in education and training.
The report identified 55.1% of 15 to 19 year olds were at school; 15.1% were in higher education; 5.8% were undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship; and 5.8% were enrolled in publicly funded VET programs.
In 2012, there were 242 300 VET in Schools students aged 15-19. Between 2011 and 2012, the number of VET in Schools students increased by 2.5% and those enrolled in Certificate III qualifications rose by 36.4%.
“It is interesting to see what vocational training school students do. Courses in management and commerce remain the most popular despite a decline in 2012; and there has been considerable growth in society and cultural courses such as children’s services, sport and recreation, and fitness,” said Sandra Pattison, NCVER General Manager Statistics.
There were 803 900 school students aged 15-19 in 2012 and between 2011 and 2012, students in Year 12 increased by 2.0%.
In 2012, there were 488 100 VET students aged 15-19 and between 2011 and 2012, the number of students in this age bracket increased by 2.1% with the most significant growth in Victoria (8.0%) and South Australia (6.7%).
“This is very much in line with the growth we are seeing across all age groups in these two states,” said Ms Pattison.
There was a decline of 3.9% in the number of apprenticeship and traineeship commencements between 2011 and 2012.
Copies of Australian vocational education and training statistics: young people in education and training 2012 are available from www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2697.html
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