Description
This conference paper was presented to the Third International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training, 13–16 May 2012, in Shanghai. It argues that there are two key factors behind Australia's good record of employment for young people: high levels of post-school education with the consequence that there is not a large cohort of people in their mid-to-late teens flooding on to the labour market; and a flexible education system which gives individuals multiple choices.
Summary
About the research
This paper was presented to the third International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training 13—16 May 2012, Shanghai.
Compared with many countries, Australia has relatively few young people who are unemployed. The presentation examines the features of Australia's education system and labour market to see the extent to which they contribute to this outcome. These features include: recent increases to the school leaving age and an emphasis on post-school education; the apprenticeship and traineeship system; the vocational stream of education within the schooling system; and the high proportion of students undertaking part-time work. It argues that there are two key factors behind Australia's good performance in this area: high levels of post-school education with the consequence that there is not a large cohort of people in their mid-to-late teens flooding on to the labour market; and a flexible education system which gives individuals multiple choices. However, these factors are not sufficient and are unlikely to be effective without a strong economy — it is very difficult to absorb teenage and young adults' labour in a depressed labour market.
Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER