Australia is becoming a nation of swots with increasing numbers of people undertaking formal study, latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show.

And study is increasingly the major pathway to employment, the data shows. But trends in the data show we are producing fewer engineers and more health workers.

In May 2016, the ABS says that, of the 15.7 million people aged 15 to 64 years in Australia, more than 3 million – or nearly one in 5 people – were enrolled in formal study.

Of these, 1.2 million people were aged 15 to 19 years, and 741,100 people were aged 20 to 24 years.

And the proportion of people studying has increased across most demographics over the last 10 years, the data shows.

Among young women aged 15 to 24 years, the proportion studying increased from 56 per cent in 2006 to 64 per cent in 2016, while for young men the proportion increased from 55 per cent to 61 per cent.

Among older people – aged 25 to 64 years – the proportion of women studying increased from 7.9 per cent to 10.5 per cent in the last decade, while for men, the increase was from 5.7 per cent to 7.2 per cent over the same period.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger people were more likely to be studying than older Australians.

The ABS data shows the majority of 15 to 19 year olds (83 per cent) were engaged in study. This proportion then declined with age: 45 per cent of persons aged 20 to 24 years were engaged in study, declining to 16 per cent of persons aged 25 to 34 years, 9.2 per cent aged 35 to 44 years, 5.7 per cent aged 45 to 54 years and 2.7 per cent of those aged 55 to 64 years.

Females were more likely than males to be engaged in study, with 21 per cent of females currently studying towards a qualification compared with 18 per cent of males.

Fifteen per cent of employed people aged 15 to 64 years were also studying for a qualification in May 2016.

Nearly three-quarters of 15 to 64 year olds – or 2.2 million people – enrolled in formal study were studying non-school qualifications, and over one-quarter were enrolled in school level study.

Most of these people were enrolled full-time (67 per cent), with the remaining third enrolled part-time. Two in five people studying a non-school qualification were enrolled in a Bachelor degree, and almost one in five people were enrolled in a Certificate III or IV.

Of those engaged in study, approximately 1.3 million – or 43 per cent – were attending a higher education institution, 869,000 (28 per cent were at school, 498,800 (16 per cent) were at Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions and 389,000 (13 per cent) were at other educational institutions or organisations.

Similar proportions of males and females studying for a non-school qualification were undertaking Bachelor degrees (42 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively), while males were more likely than females to be enrolled in Certificates III and IV (22 per cent compared with 16 per cent).

As in previous years, the most commonly reported main field of study for people aged 15 to 64 years enrolled in a non-school qualification was management and commerce (24 per cent of those enrolled) followed by society and culture (21 per cetn).

While there were no differences in the reported main field of study since 2015, there are differences over the longer term. The proportion of people studying engineering and related technologies decreased from 12 per cent of those enrolled in 2008 to 8.8 per cent in 2016.

Meanwhile the proportion of people studying health increased from 11 per cent to 14 per cent over the same period. A larger proportion of females than males who were studying, in 2016, did so in the fields of health (19 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively) and society and culture (26 per cent and 15 per cent respectively), while almost one-fifth (18 per cent) of males were studying engineering and related technologies, compared with 1.4 per cent of females.

Of people aged 15 to 19 years who were enrolled in school level study in May 2016, almost one in five – or 156,300 people – were undertaking vocational education and training (VET) subjects or courses as part of their school studies.

About 60 per cent of people aged 15 to 74 years had completed a non-school qualification.

Persons aged over 45 years were less likely to have a non-school qualification than those aged 25 to 44 years. The proportion with a non-school qualification in the 25 to 34 year age group and the 35 to 44 year age group was similar, at 73 per cent and 72 per cent respectively, compared with 66 per cent for 45 to 54 year olds, 58 per cent for 55 to 64 year olds and 47 per cent for 65 to 74 year olds.

Two-thirds of employed people aged 15 to 74 years had completed a non-school qualification, compared with half of unemployed people, and 41 per cent of people who were not in the labour force.

Of the 10.5 million people aged 15 to 74 years with a non-school qualification, 44 per cent – or 4.6 million people – had a Bachelor degree or higher qualification.

The majority of people completed their qualifications in Australia (84 per cent).

The proportion of people aged 15 to 74 years who held a qualification above a Bachelor degree level has more than tripled in the last 30 years (7.2 per cent in 1986, compared to 26 per cent in 2016.

In May 2016, there were 188,600 people aged 15 to 64 years who were employed as apprentices or trainees and part of the Australian Apprenticeship Scheme. Of these, 97,100 people – or 52 per cent – had commenced their apprenticeship or traineeship in the last 12 months. The majority of apprentices or trainees were male (76 per cent).

As in previous years, construction was the most common industry for apprentices and trainees, with 41 per cent – or 76,800 people employed.

Laurie Nowell
AMES Australia Senior Journalist