Australia, a clever country? Education and life chances

The apprentices mostly enjoyed their work and liked the hands-on learning in contrast to school, as well as getting paid. They appreciated the government financial assistance. Problems however included work injuries, fatigue and, for some, fitting in study time.

The young people who had spent most of the year working or looking for work, as opposed to studying, were either having a “gap year”, working and traveling before starting university, or were early school leavers. These early school leavers’ situations were least satisfactory, as they faced long periods of unemployment and limited full-time job opportunities because of issues such as learning difficulties, mental health problems, lack of work experience and regional location. Some had already unsuccessfully attempted TAFE courses and apprenticeships. One young man who had learning difficulties had enjoyed working, and learning as a labourer on a big building site; however, his job finished and he had been unemployed for some months:

“It’s hard. I’m not working, I can’t get the dole, I can’t get Youth Allowance, so it’s very hard you know. Just life in general.”

Costs of education presented an important barrier for those in the study who were from low-income families. School costs that caused problems included books and other materials, uniforms, and additional tutoring. University students emphasised the high cost of textbooks, while fees were a problem for those wanting to attend TAFE, especially if not eligible for concessions. One early school leaver commented:

“I’d love to go to do a TAFE course to do my diploma in fitness but that’s very expensive and you have to work at the same time, so you can’t really do it. It’s like a few thousand dollars for fitness. It’s very expensive so it’s hard.”

Policy challenges

Australian government policies to increase inclusion and equity in education have included setting targets to increase Year 12 completion (with a target of 90 per cent of young people completing Year 12 or equivalent by 2015); to increase the proportion of university students from low socioeconomic groups; and improving access to vocational training.

This study found that school retention and academic achievement are associated with both family resources and school resources. Where families lack the necessary resources, appropriate supports for young people need to be provided by schools, universities and other training organisations.

Given that less than a third of young people in Australia gain university qualifications (Robinson & Lamb 2009 (PDF 1.56MB)), it is important for a clever country that strong support is provided for non-university pathways, including accessible career counselling which can make sense of the potential training and employment options available.

Messages from the Life Chances Study include:

To promote Year 12 retention:

• actively engage the less academic students in appropriate courses, for example by providing positive support for non-academic courses such as VCAL;
• support those on low incomes, by addressing school costs such as textbooks and subject fees, and also with adequate family income support.

To promote further education and training: