1991 School-Leavers: A Follow-up in 1994/95

Author(s): Ian Shuttleworth
Document Type: Report
Year: 1997
Publisher: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
Place of Publication: Belfast
Subject Area(s): Education, Employment
Client Group(s) : Young People

Abbreviations: NI - Northern Ireland, SELS - Secondary Education Leavers' Survey, CSU - Central Survey Unit, FE - Further Education, HE - Higher Education, NIERC - Northern Ireland Economic Research Centre, SELSFL - SELS Follow-up Survey

Background to the Research

  • This survey was a follow-up to the NI pilot SELS and traced the educational and labour outcomes of young people three years after they left school.

Research Approach

  • The research took place in two parts. The first part involved face-to-face interviews, through the CSU of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, with those school-leavers who were known to be employed or in FE in 1992.
  • The second part of the research was aimed at those school-leavers who were in HE in 1992, with NIERC mailing questionnaires to them.

Main Findings

  • The analysis of the data was aimed towards seeing how possible it is to explain the status of those surveyed in terms of their social, educational and family background and their "first destination" in 1992.
  • Just over 50% of young people were employed. Those unemployed in 1992 were likely to remain unemployed in 1994/95, with only 45% becoming employed. In contrast, those who were in FE in 1992 were likely to be either employed or in HE by 1994/95.
  • 30% of those in HE in 1992 had moved to employment, with the leading status for the rest being continuation in HE.
  • Those who had stayed in school until Upper Sixth were more likely to be in HE, as were those educated in Grammar Schools. The proportion of unemployed were "closely comparable" between those who had left school in fifth form and those who had left in Upper Sixth.
  • Catholic unemployment rates were higher, although there were few differences in terms of training and participation in FE and HE.
  • Those who had been eligible for free schools meals were more likely to be unemployed and less likely to be in HE than those who were ineligible, thereby indicating that deprivation is a key factor in the life histories of young people.
  • The more GCSE passes a young person had, the less likely it was that they would be "economically active" in 1994/95.
  • The board area where a young person was educated also had an effect on their status in 1994/95, with leavers from Belfast more likely to be unemployed than those from other areas.
  • Those whose first destination after school was anything but HE (except government training) were more likely to be employed in 1994/95.

 

 

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