Education and Work, Australia

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Data on engagement in work and/or study, current and recent study, qualifications, and transitions to work

Reference period
May 2023
Released
1/11/2023

Key statistics

Of people aged 15-74 years:

  • 63% had a non-school qualification
  • 80% with a non-school qualification, and 58% without, were employed
  • 85% who finished a non-school qualification in 2022 were employed in 2023.

Of people aged 15-24 years:

  • 61% were currently studying
  • 8% were not engaged in any work or study.

Engagement in work and/or study

Fully and partially engaged in work and/or study

A person who is either working full-time, studying full-time, or both working and studying is fully engaged. A person who is working part-time only, or studying part-time only, is partially engaged. These include those enrolled in school.

In 2023:

  • 61% of people aged 15-74 years (11.9 million) were fully engaged in work, study, or both
  • 71% of men were fully engaged
  • 51% of women were fully engaged.

(a) All persons aged 15-74. 
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 16

People aged 15-24 years were the most likely to be fully engaged in work and/or study (82%), with similar proportions for both men (83%) and women (82%).

Of people aged 15-24 years, 10% were partially engaged in work and/or study.

Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 15

People aged 15-24 years were fully engaged at similar proportions across states and territories, ranging from 86% in the Australian Capital Territory to 79% in South Australia.

Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 16

In 2023, for people aged 15-24 years:

  • 49% were fully engaged primarily through full-time study compared with 50% in 2022
  • 28% were fully engaged primarily through full-time work compared with 26% in 2022.

Not engaged in work or study

  • 8% of all people aged 15-24 years were not engaged in any work or study in 2023, which is consistent with 2022.

Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 15

Current and recent study

Currently enrolled in study

In 2023:

  • Just over 3 million people aged 15-74 years (16%) were currently studying, including school students
  • 30% of these current students were at school, while 42% were at higher education institutions, 17% were studying at technical and further education (TAFE) institutions, and 12% were studying at other education or training institutions
  • 67% of current students (including school students) were enrolled in full-time study.

(a) All persons aged 15-74. 
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 11

In 2023, the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory had the highest proportions of persons aged 15-74 years currently enrolled in study (both 18%), while Tasmania and Western Australia had the lowest (both 14%).

(a) All persons aged 15-74. 
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 1

Young people and school leavers

In 2023:

  • 61% of people aged 15-24 years were at school or enrolled in further study compared with 63% in 2022 and 65% in 2021
  • 40% of people aged 20-24 years were studying towards a non-school qualification at certificate III level or above
  • 58% of school leavers aged 15-20 years who had finished year 12 in 2022 were studying for a non-school qualification in 2023.

Of school leavers aged 15-20 years who had finished in 2022 with qualifications at year 11 or below:

  • 36% were studying for a non-school qualification in 2023, down from 42% in 2022
  • 21% had undertaken vocational education and training (VET) as part of their previous school studies.

Studying for a non-school qualification (certificate, diploma, or degree)

In 2023, 2.2 million people aged 15-74 years (11%) were currently studying for a non-school qualification.

Of these:

  • 311,500 people were undertaking a postgraduate degree
  • 815,700 were studying for a bachelor degree
  • 510,000 were studying for a certificate III or IV.

Fields of study

Of students who were currently studying for a non-school qualification:

  • 21% were studying for a qualification in the field of society and culture 
  • 17% were studying management and commerce 
  • 16% were studying health 
  • 11% were studying engineering and related technologies.

Female students were more likely to study in the field of society and culture, and health than male students whereas male students were more likely to study engineering and related technologies.

(a) All persons aged 15-74 years who were studying for a non-school qualification.
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 5

Apprentices and trainees

Of people aged 15-74 years who were employed as apprentices or trainees (excluding school based apprentices or trainees):

  • 35% were aged 15-19 years
  • 38% were aged 20-24 years
  • 81% were male
  • 50% had started their apprenticeship or traineeship in the last 12 months
  • 16% were born overseas
  • 53% of people's usual residence was in a greater capital city area.

Of people aged 15-74 years, 39% gained a place for an apprenticeship or traineeship but were not undertaking as of May 2023.

Qualifications held

Qualifications at year 12 or certificate III level or above

In 2023, of people aged 20-24 years:

  • 90% had attained a qualification at year 12 or certificate III level or above
  • 93% of women held qualifications at this level, compared with 87% of men
  • 87% or above in all states and territories held qualifications at this level.

Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 20

Non-school qualifications

Attained or studying for a non-school qualification

In 2023, of people aged 15-74 years:

  • 63% had attained a non-school qualification (certificate, diploma, or degree), the same proportion as for 2022
  • 11% were currently studying for a non-school qualification.
Non-school qualifications held

In 2023, the proportion of women aged 15-74 years with a non-school qualification was higher than for men (64% compared with 62%) and has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years.

(a) All persons aged 15-74 years.
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 25

The proportions of attainment differed by age group, with men aged 55 to 74 years more likely to hold a non-school qualification than women of the same age.

Conversely, women between the ages of 15 to 54 years were more likely to hold a non-school qualification than men in the same age range.

(a) All persons aged 15-74.
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 25

Non-school qualifications at bachelor degree level or above

In 2023, of people aged 15-74 years:

  • 32% held a bachelor degree or above
  • 36% of women aged 15-74 years held a bachelor degree or above, compared with 28% of men.

The Australian Capital Territory had the highest proportion of people with a bachelor degree or above (47%) of all state and territories.

More women than men held a bachelor degree or above in all age groups, with:

  • one in every two women aged 25-34 (52%) and 35-44 years (50%) having a qualification at this level.

(a) All persons aged 15-74.
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 35

Education and employment

Transition from study to work

In 2023, of people aged 15-74 years who had completed a non-school qualification in 2022:

  • 85% were employed
  • 5% were unemployed and looking for work.

Three-quarters (76%) of people aged 15-20 years who had finished year 12 in 2022 were employed in 2023. Of these school leavers:

  • 8% were studying while working full-time
  • 35% were studying while working part-time.

Non-school qualifications and employment

People aged 15-74 years with a non-school qualification (degree, diploma, or certificate) were more likely to be employed (80%) than those without a non-school qualification (58%).

The higher the qualification, the more likely people were to work full-time:

  • 77% of men with a postgraduate degree worked full-time, compared with 44% without a non-school qualification
  • 61% of women with a postgraduate degree worked full-time, compared with 24% without a non-school qualification.

(a) All persons aged 15-74.
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 22

Skill level of occupation

People aged 15 to 74 years with non-school qualifications were more likely to work in jobs with higher skill levels:

  • 44% worked in Skill level 1 jobs (the highest skill level, including occupations such as pharmacists, architects, school principals, farm managers, and arts professionals)
  • 12% worked in Skill level 2 jobs (including occupations such as restaurant managers, finance brokers, medical lab technicians and welfare support workers)
  • 13% worked in Skill level 3 jobs (including occupations such as plumbers, hairdressers and butchers)
  • 22% worked in Skill level 4 jobs (including occupations such as receptionists, delivery drivers, and miners).

Most people without a qualification worked in either Skill level 4 or Skill level 5 jobs (34% and 31% respectively).

(a) All persons aged 15-74 years.
Source: Education and Work, Australia, 2023, Table 32

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Education and work

Data files

Survey material

Education and work 2023 Questionnaire

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