A skilled Australia needs higher education and vocational training…
The majority of working Australians rely on more than a school education, so why is this not a focus?
CPD research director Christopher Stone addresses the fact that political leaders place little emphasis on higher education and vocational training when talking about employment. Tony Abbott and Wayne Swan may talk about a skilled workforce, but neither are proposing plans to achieve it. While Gonski reforms and school education are important, statistics indicate that people with only a school education find it much harder to get a job
“The 2011 census data shows that of the 10 million Australians in paid employment, 5.9 million had non-school qualifications (degrees, diplomas, or certificates) as their highest level of education. The majority of the workforce did not rely solely on their school education to obtain a job. This inference is borne out when examining the figures for those looking for work. Of the 600,000 people who were unemployed and looking for work, only 246,000 had non-school qualifications. This is a much lower proportion (41 per cent) than amongst the employed (59 per cent), indicating that those with only school education have a harder time finding work.”
The benefits of a skilled nation are countless and will be what keeps Australia in the economic race.
