Participating in education or training beyond the age of 16 offers young people an opportunity to get qualifications that can significantly increase their prospects of future employment and earnings:
- people with five or more GCSEs at A* - C earn, on average, 9-11% more than those without
- getting two or more A levels leads to men earning £80,000 and women £110,000 more over the course of their lifetime more than someone whose highest attainment is getting 5 or more GCSEs A*-C
- getting a level 3 Apprenticeship increases earnings by an estimated £105,000 and a level 2 Apprenticeship by £73,000.
The Government has committed to increasing the number of places in education and training for 16-18 year olds as we prepare to raise the participation age to 18 by 2015. Local authorities have a duty to ensure that sufficient, suitable places are available to meet the reasonable needs of all young people, and to encourage them to participate. They also track young people’s progress as they move between different education and training opportunities.
DfE publishes statistics each year on the number and proportion of young people participating in different types of education and training. Local authorities, schools and colleges will want to use this data to assess their area’s performance against previous years and neighbouring localities. This, together with information about the needs of young people in their area, will help them to develop the best ways to support young people into education or training.
The information in this section has been written to help local areas to increase participation in education by those aged 16 and over. You can find out about supporting young people's transition to education and training at age 16, our commitment to raising the participation age, and support for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
