.jpg)
Early school leavers are costing governments and communities more than $580m annually and more than $23bn over a lifetime, according to a new report.
These figures were revealed in a damning new report, released by the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University today.
The report found that one-in-eight Australians will never attain a Year 12 qualification, and some of these people make up the one-in-eight Australians who will be disengaged from the workforce for most of their lives.
Research shows the gap in Year 12 completion rates is around 30% between young people from low and high socio-economic backgrounds. Currently, more than 1.1 million children and young people live in poverty in Australia.
Victoria University’s Vice‐Chancellor, professor Peter Dawkins, said that a lack of support for young people to find success later in life leads to enormous costs not just for communities but for the government itself.
“When we fail to set young people up for success, they are not the only ones affected – the impact stretches to all corners of society,” Professor Dawkins said in a statement today.
“The size of the impact, we’ve discovered, is staggering. Poor investment in our education system, especially in areas that help young people transition to careers, is costing our country billions of dollars every year.”
Dawkins said this also means people pay less taxes, and make less of an overall contribution to our economy and communities.
For example, having 38,000 people aged 19 who will never achieve Year 12 or equivalent costs taxpayers $315m each year, and more than $12bn over a lifetime.
Having 46,000 people aged 24 who will be disengaged for most of their lives costs taxpayers $472m each year, and almost $19bn over a lifetime.
From the social perspective, the group of early school leavers costs governments and communities more than $580m annually and more than $23bn over a lifetime.
The figures are even larger for the disengaged 24 year olds – $1.2bn each year and more than $50bn over a lifetime.
The report stated that these costs are based on cohorts from just one year and are likely to be much higher.
Dawkins urged governments to prioritise system changes to ensure all Australians have equal education opportunities, saying industry leaders, educators and communities can also help drive change.
“Universities and training institutes can be part of the solution by partnering with employers, understanding community needs and providing better opportunities for more young people to gain the skills and knowledge they need to find success,” he said.
“It is a matter of urgency to pay attention to the problems in our system that are letting down so many people. In the meantime, we’ll all keep paying the costs.”
The Smith Family’s CEO, Dr Lisa O’Brien said that the shock in this report is not that there are young Australians not completing Year 12.
“Sadly we know that already. What’s new is this report quantifies the actual cost to the individual and to the Australian community, and the cost is huge,” Dr O’Brien said in a statement.
“It is staggering to learn that the cost to the community of each early school leaver over their lifetime is nearly $1m.
O’Brien said the report provides an “urgent prompt” to invest in effective strategies– both in and outside the classroom which help young Australians complete Year 12.
“It gives a strong rationale for available resources to be invested in proven programs to stem the flow of the ‘lost opportunity’ referenced in the report,” she said.