The impact of additional educational qualifications for early school leavers

The study examined the impact of acquiring post school VTE qualifications on young people’s labour market outcomes by around their mid twenties.  Separate analyses were undertaken of the impact for young people in general and for those who experienced a substantial period of unemployment before completing the VTE qualification.  The study found that VTE qualifications significantly improved the employment outcomes of both Year 12 completers and early school leavers, as well as for those who experienced lengthy periods of unemployment.  The increase in the likelihood of being in full time employment by age 22 years in the case of the longer term unemployed school leavers was of the order of 10-13 percentage points.  The most beneficial VTE qualification was an apprenticeship or traineeship. The multivariate statistical analyses used Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data. 

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