This paper examines the interaction between being young, educational
participation, educational attainment and labour force participation. It commences
with a framework for analysing young people’s transition from dependence to
independence and provides a snapshot of transition trends and outcomes for young
Australians. This is followed by an overview of the rates of participation in education
and the labour force among young people and the working age population as a whole.
It then compares the levels of participation in education and labour force activity
of teenagers (15 to 19 years) with those of young adults (20 to 24 years). This is
followed by a summary of how participation rates in these activities and levels of
educational attainment vary between young men and women.