Pathways and transition data for school leavers is not available at a national level. VET and higher education data collections provide some information on the age groups enrolled in tertiary programs (Table 1)

Table 1 – Equivalent full time (EFT) students by sector of education, aged 15 to 19 years[1].

VET
(‘000) / Higher Education
(‘000) / Total
(‘000) / % of all EFT
176.6 / 236.0 / 412.6 / 29.0

Two states, Victoria and Queensland, collect extensive information on student pathways post school through administration of student destination surveys.

The Victorian On Track initiative surveys school leavers in senior secondary years regarding their post school destinations. The program includes a research component and individual support to students who are not studying or in full time employment (DEECD, 2011)[2]. The data in Table 2 shows growth in the proportion of Year 12 or equivalent completers in Bachelor degree programs. This is opposite to the change in participation at lower AQF levels.

Table 2 – Main destinations of Year 12 or equivalent completers, Victoria 2010.

Destination / 2005[3] / 2010
No. / % / No. / %
Bachelor degree / 14,466 / 43.1 / 17,561 / 48.5
Certificate IV and above / 6,071 / 18.1 / 5,037 / 13.9
Certificate I, II and III / 1,790 / 5.3 / 1,452 / 4.0
Apprenticeship/Traineeship / 3,382 / 10.1 / 3,046 / 8.4
Employed / 6,392 / 19.0 / 4,075 / 11.3
Looking for work / 1,484 / 4.4 / 1,308 / 3.6

*NOTE: Data for unemployed categories was not comparable across the two collections and has not been included.

Queensland has also collected post school destination information from school leavers over the past five years (DEIR , 2011[4]). As for Victoria, the main destination was to university degree level programs. The report found that over the past five years the destinations of Year 12 completers were similar. However, the proportion entering traineeships declined marginally each year from 5.9% in 2007 to 3.9% in 2011. There was growth in the proportion commencing at Certificate IV or higher six months after leaving school.

Table 3 – Main Destination

Destination / No. / %
University (degree) / 13,349 / 35.9
VET Certificate IV / 2,689 / 7.2
VET Certificate III / 851 / 2.3
VET Certificate I-II / 1,326 / 3.6
Apprentice/ Trainee / 4,459 / 11.9
Employed / 10,418 / 28.0
Looking for work / 3,396 / 9.1

Graduate outcomes

The outcomes of VET graduates are collected through the Student Outcomes Survey. The survey administered in 2011 reported that 77.4% of VET graduates were employed after training. For those who had not been employed prior to commencing training, 44.0% were employed after graduating. Graduates completing courses at or above Certificate III had better employment outcomes after training than those completing lower level qualifications.

Over one in four graduates (28.5%) were employed in the same occupation group as their training course. A further 33.9% were employed in a different occupation, but found the training relevant to their current job. Of graduates employed before training, 17.3% were employed at a higher skill level after training.

The majority of graduates (73.0%) of graduates employed after training received at least one job-related benefit from the training.

[1] NCVER (2011) Tertiary Education and Training in Australia, 2009. Adelaide: Commonwealth of Australia.

[2] Data, Outcomes and Evaluation Division (2011) The On Track Survey 2010: The destinations of school leavers in Victoria. Statewide report. Melbourne: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

[3] Teese, R., Nicholas, T., Polesel, J. and Helme, S. (2006) The destinations of school leavers in Victoria, Melbourne: Department of Education & Training.

[4] Department for Education and Industrial Relations (2011) Next Step: A report on the destinations of Year 12 completers from 2010 in Queensland. Brisbane: State of Queensland