YOUNGER AUSTRALIANS

Younger adult Australians are more likely to participate in education, or to hold a vocational or higher education qualification, than older Australians. In 2009, 58% of 15-24 year olds were attending an educational institution compared with 15% of 25-34 year olds and declining proportions in the older age groups. The proportion of people who had a vocational or higher education qualification was greatest for those aged 25-34 years (69%). This reflected a similar pattern seen a decade earlier in 1999.

While those aged between 25-34 years were the most likely to hold a vocational or higher education qualification in 2009 (69%), the proportion of people who held such qualifications increased for all age groups between 1999 and 2009. This was partly because of increased educational participation across most age groups, but it also reflects the age cohort influence over time as more educated people move into the older age groups.

	Education participation rate			People with a vocational or higher education qualification
	May 1999	May 2009		May 1999	May 2009
Age group (years)	%	%		%	%
15-24	56.0	58.1		22.7	26.5
25-34	13.2	14.6		52.9	68.6
35-44	8.8	9.1		53.0	64.3
45-54	4.6	6.5		48.5	61.1
55-64	2.0	2.7		37.9	53.9
Total 25-64	7.9	8.6		49.3	62.5
Total 15-64	18.1	18.9		43.7	55.0

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