Patterns of success and failure in the transition from school to work in Australia.

The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) project studies the progress of several groups of young Australians as they move from school into post-secondary education and/or work. The oldest group in the project was born in 1961 while the youngest were in Year 9 in 1998. Data is collected through the Australian Youth Survey, a major longitudinal survey of youth that interviews a group of young Australians annually about their school experiences, post-school education and training participation, and employment activities. Approximately 60 per cent of school leavers in Australia do not enrol for either a university degree or TAFE associate diploma when they leave school, but make alternative choices such as seeking employment or starting an apprenticeship or traineeship. This report traces the pathways followed by this group during the seven years after leaving school and provides a detailed analysis of their labour market experiences. The analysis is based on the outcomes of a sample of Year 10 students in the late 1980s and measures their post-school education, training and employment experiences over the first seven post-school years. A second sample of Year 10 students from the mid-1990s is also used and their transition experiences are measured over three years. The aim is to identify the pathways of those who make successful transitions to stable, full-time employment and those who do not, and to highlight the implications for policy formation.