When Caleb was in primary school, he used to tell his mum he wanted to be a vet.
Instead, since graduating from high school after completing Year 12 in 2020, the Melbourne man has been working in hospitality – and loving it.
While a few of his friends are still scraping by on a uni student’s budget, Caleb is working hard and saving hard, with a full-time job, a taste for annual overseas adventures and a determination to stay off the more traditional path towards tertiary and TAFE studies.
“Spending several years at uni straight after all those years at primary and secondary school seemed kind of overwhelming,” he says. “I just wanted to get a job, earn decent money, be able to afford to move out with friends and start feeling like an adult.”
And it seems he’s not alone.
New Victorian Education Department data shows 24.3 per cent of Victorian students who finished Year 12 in 2021 were employed the next year. These 2021 graduates represent the lowest percentage of university enrolment since 2014.
Although the impact of the pandemic is part of it, a growing number of students are simply making the decision to defer (or abandon) further tertiary studies. Many young school-leavers seek employment in the hospitality sector.
Some experts believe the trend towards hitting the workforce straight from secondary school is a positive way to embrace the pursuit of ‘real world’ learning. Then, enrolling in post-high school study only happens when they are genuinely interested and ready, instead of when they are fresh from Year 12 and may not have a firm idea of their ambitions.
But with other experts warning that a lack of formal training or qualifications could also leave graduates unprepared for the rapidly evolving job market of the future, many are concerned about the long-term ramifications.
According to Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive, Paul Guerra, the growth in the number of students skipping tertiary study straight from school to head to the workforce is a positive trend – and it’s here to stay.
“It’s got to do with the next generation coming through that have a belief that they’ll have a career of learning which won’t automatically start in TAFE or university, but they will take opportunities along the way to either go back to university or TAFE to get the skills as they need,” he said.
“I think what we’ve got now is an opportunity for choice which didn’t exist 10 years ago … it’s not choice just when you’re finishing Year 12, it could be a choice when you finish your first 10 years of a career. I think we’re going to be richer for the experience.”
Dr Stephen Billett is a professor of adult and vocational education at Griffith University in Queensland and disagrees.
Read more: Workers without “lifelong education” risk unemployment, says researcher
The high wages available in the workforce straight from high school can be enticing, but with little training, the professor says, under-qualified people can be left ill-equipped for changes in the job market.
“For young people who move directly into the workforce without securing structured occupational preparation and certification, there is the risk of engaging in working life that will be always perilous,” he said.
Traineeships and apprenticeships provide an alternative pathway
The employment data does not include numbers of traineeships and apprenticeships, which attracted 10.2 per cent of Victorian students who finished Year 12 in 2021.
For most Year 12 completers (72.2 per cent), the lure of tertiary education and training still proved popular, with 52.3 per cent undertaking a bachelor’s degree. For 2020 school-leavers, this figure was 56.1 per cent.
Most popular study choices for the 2021 year 12 completers were health (21.5 per cent), society and culture (17.3 per cent) and management and commerce (13.5 per cent), with the three subject streams holding on to their top three positions for the past six years in a row.
Year 12 completers who were not in education or training were more likely to be employed part-time (13.7 per cent), rather than full-time (10.6 per cent).
The Department of Education surveyed 21,428 year 12 completers between September and November last year and 1571 students who left school in years 10, 11 or 12 in 2021 (non-completers).
The sample included 12,555 females and 10,382 males, as well as 62 respondents who did not identify as either female or male.
Selective science school home to highest percentage of uni attendees
John Monash Science School had the highest percentage of 2021 leavers attending university, with 96 per cent of those surveyed, compared with just two per cent who were employed.
The On Track data showed the number of Year 12 non-completers in employment increased significantly, from 27.2 per cent in 2021 to 37.8 per cent in 2022. In the same period, the proportion of non-completers looking for work fell from 14.6 per cent in 2021 to 9.7 per cent in 2022.
The proportion of non-completers undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship remained steady, while the number enrolled in a certificate or diploma decreased slightly, from 15.6 per cent in 2021 to 12 per cent in 2022.
The leading jobs for both year 12 non-completers and completers has remained almost unchanged since 2017, with those who finished Year 12 most likely to gain employment as store-people and sales assistants (30.8 per cent), or in the food, hospitality and tourism industry (26.3 per cent). For non-completers, entering the building and construction sector (20.6 per cent) and food, hospitality and tourism (14.9 per cent), were the two most popular career pathways.
Have your say on employment and study trends
The student pathways data shown in the Education department’s annual On Track survey is collected each year.
The On Track survey aims to:
- offer a consistent and comprehensive approach to monitoring the transitions of school leavers
- report the information to schools, TAFE institutions and other education providers, organisations concerned with assisting young people, policymakers, parents and students
- provide detailed analysis of transition experienced by different groups of leavers
- enable education providers to use the findings to monitor and improve their programs
- provide a referral service for school leavers who appear to be experiencing difficulties in the transition process.
How it works
In 2023, the survey is open from early July to early September and is conducted by Wallis Social Research.
Students are invited to complete the On Track survey online, with follow-ups conducted via a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) service.
The survey takes five to 10 minutes to complete.
For more information, contact On Track.
