2022 Post School Destinations and Experiences Annual Report

NSW Department of Education
2022 NSW Post-School Destinations

and Experiences Survey
Annual report
Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation
December 2023
The Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE) undertakes in-depth analysis
of education programs and outcomes across early childhood, school, training, and
higher education to inform whole-of-government, evidence-based decision‑making.
Put simply, it seeks to find out what works best. Its focus is all education in NSW.
CESE’s main responsibilities within the department are:
• qualitative and quantitative research, including data analysis, evidence papers and
case studies that build understanding and uptake of evidence‑based practice
• robust data collection to enable research and statistics for the education and
training sector
• evaluating key policies and programs to strengthen quality delivery and
student outcomes
• national engagement on research agenda and data strategy
• driving capability uplift in the use of data and evidence as part of everyday practice
• trialling innovative initiatives to improve student outcomes.
Authors
Linda Hamilton, Daniel Piepers, Matthew Prants, Mitchell Nunn, Emie Roy and Lexie Lancaster
Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, 2023, Sydney, NSW
Please cite this publication as:

CESE (Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation) (2023) 2022 NSW Post‑School
Destinations and Experiences Survey – annual report, NSW Department of Education.
For more information about this report, please contact:

Department of Education
GPO Box 33
Sydney NSW 2001
[email protected]
education.nsw.gov.au/cese
Acknowledgements
CESE and the Survey Delivery Team would like to thank all those who have contributed to
the 2022 Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey annual report and associated
fact sheets. With special thanks to:
• The Social Research Centre for their field work and collection of data for the annual
report and other deliverables.
• Yoshi Costello and Vicki Russell for their hard work in preparing the annual report
and other deliverables for publication.
• Matt Berger for his technical advice regarding bespoke analyses.
Last, we would like to thank the many NSW recent school leavers from 2022 who took
the time to participate in the 2022 survey.
We acknowledge the homelands of all Aboriginal people and pay our respect to Country.
Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 2

Table of contents
Introduction and summary 7
Who are our NSW 2022 school leavers? 9
Destinations of NSW school leavers in 2022 12
Historical destinations of NSW school leavers 13
School leavers in education or training 16
Year 12 completers in education and training 17
Early school leavers in education and training 17
Year 12 completers who deferred further education 18
Early school leavers who deferred further education 18
School leavers in employment only 19
Methodology 20
Appendix: Main destinations tables 21

List of figures
Figure 1
Sample frame of 2022 Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey 9
Figure 2
Proportion of early school leavers whose final year at school was Year 10, 11 or 12 10
Figure 3
Estimated proportion of most recent NSW school leavers in education, training or employment 6 to 12
months in the year after leaving or completing Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022 12
Figure 4
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in education, training or employment 6 to 12 months in the
year after leaving or completing Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022 13
Figure 5
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in education, training, employment only, looking for work or
NILFET 6 to 12 months in the year after leaving or completing Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022 14
Figure 6
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in education or training 6 to 12 months in the year after
leaving Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022 16
Figure 7
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in full-time or part-time employment only 6 to 12 months in
the year after leaving Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022 19

List of tables
Table 1
Top 7 reasons early school leavers left before completing Year 12 11
Table 2
All school leavers by year, 2014 to 2022 21
Table 3
Year 12 completers by year, 2014 to 2022 21
Table 4
Early school leavers by year, 2014 to 2022 22
Table 5
All school leavers by gender, 2022 22
Table 6
Year 12 completers by gender, 2022 23
Table 7
Early school leavers by gender, 2022 23
Table 8
All school leavers by socioeconomic status (SES) quartile, 2022 24
Table 9
Year 12 completers by SES quartile, 2022 24
Table 10
Early school leavers by SES quartile, 2022 25
Table 11
All school leavers by school sector, 2022 25
Table 12
Year 12 completers by school sector, 2022 26
Table 13
Early school leavers by school sector, 2022 26
Table 14
All school leavers by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, 2022 27
Table 15
Year 12 completers by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, 2022 27
Table 16
Early school leavers by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, 2022 28
Table 17
All school leavers by language background other than English (LBOTE) status, 2022 28
Table 18
Year 12 completers by LBOTE status, 2022 29
Table 19
Early school leavers by LBOTE status, 2022 29
Table 20
Early school leavers by minimum school leaving age, 2022 30

Table 21
All school leavers by Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness, 2022 30
Table 22
Year 12 completers by ASGS Remoteness, 2022 31
Table 23
Early school leavers by ASGS Remoteness, 2022 31
Table 24
All school leavers by NSW region (Statistical Area Level 4 cluster), 2022 32
Table 25
Year 12 completers by NSW region (Statistical Area Level 4 cluster), 2022 33
Table 26
Early school leavers by NSW region (Statistical Area Level 4 cluster), 2022 34
Table 27
All school leavers by disability and/or additional learning needs status, 2022 35
Table 28
Year 12 completers by disability and/or additional learning needs status, 2022 35
Table 29
Early school leavers by disability and/or additional learning needs status, 2022 36
Table 30
Early school leavers’ reasons for leaving 37

Introduction and summary
The annual NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey (Destinations
survey) collects information about where school leavers from NSW Government,
Catholic or independent schools are, 6 to 12 months in the year after leaving school.
The Destinations survey has been conducted since 2014 and unpacks information
on educational pathways, attainments and destinations of young people in NSW,
and informs policymaking related to students’ post-school education, training and
employment. Results from the Destinations survey are also used to support program
evaluation relating to post-school destinations of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait
Islander students.
The NSW Department of Education considers school-to-work transition as one of

the most important transitional experiences, particularly with respect to future
employment outcomes. The department provides a range of programs and initiatives
to ensure young people are prepared for higher education, training and work.
Almost all secondary schools provide work-readiness training and opportunities
for students to participate in work experience.
This report describes the findings from the 2022 survey which was conducted
between July and November 2022. NSW school leavers who completed Year 12 in
2021 (Year 12 completers) or who left school in 2021 while they were in Year 10, 11 or
12 (early school leavers) participated in the survey.
There were 10 main school destinations that relate to further education and
current employment: bachelor’s degree, vocational education and training (VET)
certificate IV+, VET certificate III, VET certificate I–II, apprenticeship, traineeship,
full-time work, part-time work, looking for work, and not in the labour force or
further education or training (NILFET).1
School leavers in post-school destinations in 2022 were not impacted by COVID-19

to the extent that school leavers in post-school destinations during 2020 and
2021 were, with around 1 in 4 school leavers in post-school destinations in 2020
noting COVID-19 impacted their planned destination.2 For example, some of these
school leavers reported an inability to find a job and working fewer hours than
normal. Students who left school in 2019 experienced their first post-school year
in 2020 when COVID-19 began. This included periods of strict lockdowns and loss
of work. Students who left in 2020 and experienced their first post-school year in
2021 underwent lockdown during their final year of school and a further lockdown
at the time of the Destinations survey. Unlike these cohorts, 2022 post-school
destinations experienced a post-pandemic shift which saw a recovering economy
and labour market, changes in education delivery and the impacts of the reopening
of international borders.
This classification system is hierarchical and prioritises education‑related post‑school destinations over
participation in paid employment (unless employed as an apprentice or trainee). As such, it represents
a young person’s main destination since leaving school. For an explanation of the difference between
an apprenticeship and a traineeship, refer to Benefits of apprenticeships and traineeships on the
NSW Department of Education website. ‘Not in the labour force’ means that a person is not working
and not looking for work.
CESE (Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation), ‘Impacts of COVID-19 on recent school leavers’
post-school destinations’, 2020 NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey fact sheets,
NSW Department of Education, 2021, accessed 4 September 2023.

Introduction and summary
Improvements in post-school outcomes of school leavers who participated in the 2022

Destinations survey indicate a potential post-pandemic recovery. These improvements
were evident across equity groups within NSW (refer to the 2022 Destinations fact
sheets) and in comparison to the Destinations survey results from previous years.
Key results from the 2022 Destinations survey include:

• Of the 89,083 NSW school leavers in scope for this survey, 9 in 10 school leavers
were estimated to be in education, training or employment in 2022.3
• After a notable drop in 2020 due to the pandemic, 2 years after this, the
proportion of school leavers in education, training or employment has recovered
and exceeded previous years.
• A higher proportion of Year 12 completers were in education or training than
early school leavers and a slightly higher proportion of early school leavers were
looking for work than Year 12 completers, with both leaver types having similar
proportions in employment-only destinations over time, including 2022.
• The lowest proportion of early school leavers were looking for work or NILFET
in 2022 than previous years, reducing by 6.3 and 2.8 percentage points (pp)
respectively since 2014. Simultaneously, the highest proportion of early
school leavers in employment-only destinations was in 2022 in comparison
to previous years.
• The most common study areas in the education categories were:
• bachelor’s degree – health (22.1%)
• VET certificate IV+ – creative arts (18.0%)
• VET certificate III – health (16.8%)
• VET certificate I–II – health (17.5%).
• Approximately one-quarter of Year 12 completers and early school leavers

were employed and not in education or training in 2022.
Most school leavers continued to remain in education, training or employment

after leaving school. The NSW education sector has demonstrated resilience with
the proportion of school leavers in post-school destinations having recovered or
exceeded the notable drop following the pandemic.
The data collected through this survey is essential for policy development, changes,
and fulfilling our Australian Government obligations to report on the destinations
of early school leavers and Year 12 completers. This information, combined with the
actual destinations these students opt for, will help the NSW education sector to
prioritise the type of support to be provided to students in Years 10, 11 and 12, to set
them up for life ahead.
Refer to the 2022 NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey technical report for more
information on estimates.

Who are our NSW 2022 school leavers?
Figure 1
Sample frame of 2022 Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey
Note. ‘All school leavers’ are Year 10, 11 or 12 NSW Government, Catholic or independent school students who
left school in 2021. ‘Early school leavers’ are students who left school in Year 10, 11 or 12 before completing
Year 12. ‘Year 12 completers’ are students who completed Year 12 and may or may not have received a HSC.
Our 2022 NSW school leavers were Year 10, 11 or 12 NSW Government, Catholic or
independent school students who left school in 2021. These students may have left
before or after completing Year 12. Students who left before completing Year 12
(who may have been in Year 10, 11 or 12 when they left) are categorised as early
school leavers for the purposes of the Destinations survey reporting and students
who completed Year 12, who may or may not have attained the HSC, are categorised
as Year 12 completers.

In 2022, all students who left school in 2021 were invited to complete the survey.
This report focuses specifically on the educational pathways, attainment and
destinations of Year 12 completers 6 to 12 months in the year after they leave school.
A total of 63,685 Year 12 completers and 25,398 early school leavers were invited
to take part in the 2022 survey.4 Responses were received from 29,457 Year 12
completers and 5,923 early school leavers.
Close to half (45.6%) of early school leavers were in Year 11 for their final year of
study (refer to Figure 2) with over a quarter of early school leavers specifying work
or career aspirations as their main reason for leaving school (refer to Table 1).
Figure 2
Proportion of early school leavers whose final year at school was Year 10, 11 or 12
A detailed outline of the survey method, including eligibility guidelines and the selection process,
can be found in the technical report.

Table 1
Top 7 reasons early school leavers left before completing Year 12
School leavers
Reason for leaving Number %
Work reasons / career reasons 6,809 26.8
School not for me / not good environment for learning 4,419 17.4
Did not like school / teachers 3,266 12.9
Mental health issues 2,070 8.2
Was not interested in going / bored 2,062 8.1
Not coping well at school / failed / failing subjects / too hard 1,663 6.5
Other 5,106 20.1

Destinations of NSW school leavers
in 2022
Figure 3
Estimated proportion of most recent NSW school leavers in education, training or employment
6 to 12 months in the year after leaving or completing Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022
Of 89,083 NSW school leavers, 9 in 10 school leavers were estimated to be in

education, training or employment in 2022.5 Two-thirds of this category were
in education or training, of which the most popular destination was enrolment in
a bachelor’s degree (38.7%). Apprenticeship (13.8%) and VET certificate (8.3%)
were the second and third preferred options, with traineeships (6.0%) closely
following the latter. One-quarter of school leavers were in paid work only in 2022,
with 14.9% in part-time employment and 10.0% in full-time employment.
One in 40 school leavers were not in employment, education or training (NEET),
with 5.8% stating they were looking for work and 2.5% categorised under NILFET.
Refer to the 2022 NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey technical report
for more information on estimates.

Destinations of NSW school leavers in 2022
Historical destinations of NSW school leavers
Figure 4
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in education, training or employment
6 to 12 months in the year after leaving or completing Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022
In 2022, 91.7% of all leavers were in education, training or employment, which is the
highest level since data collection for the Destinations survey began. For all leaver
types, 2022 saw the highest proportion of school leavers in education, training
or employment since 2014, with 91.7% of all leavers, 94.2% of Year 12 completers
and 85.6% of early school leavers in education, training or employment (refer to
Figure 3). Except for 2020, the greatest increase in proportion of school leavers
in education, training, or employment since 2014 was for early school leavers in
comparison to Year 12 completers, gradually increasing from 2014 to 2022 by 9.1 pp.
With 71.5% of school leavers having completed Year 12 (refer to Figure 1), the
historical trend of all leavers in education, training and/or employment was similar
to Year 12 completers. For all leavers, the increase from 2014 to 2022 was 3.1 pp,
and for Year 12 completers the increase was 2.3 pp.
A notable drop was observed for all school leaver types in 2020 due to the impact
of COVID-19. Two years after this, the proportion of school leavers in education,
training or employment has recovered and exceeded previous years.

Figure 5
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in education, training, employment only,
looking for work or NILFET 6 to 12 months in the year after leaving or completing Year 10,
11 or 12, 2014 to 2022
Between 2014 and 2022, the main post‑school destinations differed slightly between
early school leavers and Year 12 completers (refer to Figure 5). A higher proportion
of Year 12 completers were in education or training than early school leavers and
a higher proportion of early school leavers were looking for work than Year 12
completers, with both leaver types having similar proportions in employment only
over time.

Among early school leavers, 3 in 5 (58.1%) school leavers were undertaking some
form of education or training in 2022, while for Year 12 completers this was slightly
higher (70.4%). The proportion of early school leavers and Year 12 completers in
education or training was stable with a slight decline in 2020 followed by an increase
in 2021. Between 2021 and 2022 there has been a slight decrease in the proportion of
Year 12 completers in education or training (-2.8 pp.) but no change for early leavers.
There was also a gradual decline in early school leavers looking for work and NILFET
from 2014 to 2022, with the lowest proportion of early school leavers looking for
work or NILFET in 2022 than previous years, reducing by 6.3 and 2.8 pp respectively
since 2014.
Simultaneously, there was an increase in the proportion of early school leavers in

employment-only destinations since 2014 with the highest proportion of early school
leavers in employment only in 2022 in comparison to previous years, increasing by
6.9 pp since 2014.
For Year 12 completers, the proportion of school leavers looking for work or NILFET
remained stable with a slight decline between 2014 and 2022. In contrast, Year 12
completers in employment only increased by 7.8 pp between 2014 and 2020 to 26.9%
before declining in 2021 to 20.2% and increasing to 23.8% in 2022.

School leavers in education or training
Figure 6
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in education or training 6 to 12 months in the
year after leaving Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022
Education and training destinations of NSW students who left in or after completing
Year 10, 11 or 12 differed slightly by leaver type, with a higher proportion of Year 12
completers moving on to a bachelor’s degree than early school leavers and a higher
proportion of early school leavers moving on to VET certificates or apprenticeships than
Year 12 completers. For both leaver types, participation in VET certificate courses that do
not form part of an apprenticeship or traineeship has gradually decreased over time – by
9.3 pp for early school leavers and 4.6 pp for Year 12 completers from 2014 to 2022.

Year 12 completers in education and training
53.6% 4.0% 1.7% 0.8% 5.7% 4.6%

Bachelor VET cert IV+ VET cert III VET cert I–II Apprenticeship Traineeship
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▲
down 1.3 pp down 0.6 pp down 0.3 pp down 0.3 pp down 0.4 pp up 0.1 pp
since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021
Bachelor’s degrees continue to be the most popular destination among Year 12

completers. However, this post-school destination has dropped 1.3 pp since 2021.
Of the Year 12 completers undertaking a bachelor’s degree in 2022, 27.4% were
undertaking a double degree. Of the Year 12 completers who were enrolled to study
in 2022 (both current and deferred), 80.4% enrolled at university and 13.9% enrolled
through TAFE or a government VET provider.
The most common study areas in the education categories were:

• bachelor’s degree – health (22.1%)
• VET certificate IV+ – creative arts (18.0%)
• VET certificate III – health (16.8%)
• VET certificate I–II – health (17.5%).
Early school leavers in education and training
1.5% 5.0% 5.5% 2.4% 34.3% 9.4%

Bachelor VET cert IV+ VET cert III VET cert I–II Apprenticeship Traineeship
▲ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▲
up 0.3 pp down 0.1 pp down 1.1 pp down 0.1 pp down 0.6 pp up 1.6 pp
since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021
The most popular destination among early school leavers was apprenticeships,
increasing by 8.7 pp between 2014 and 2021, with the proportion of early school
leavers in apprenticeships remaining stable thereafter in 2022. Early school leavers
taking up traineeships has remained stable from 2014 to 2020 with 2 consecutive
increases in 2021 and 2022 of 1.4 and 1.6 pp respectively, providing an overall increase
of early school leavers taking up traineeships by 2.9 pp between 2014 to 2022.
Of the early school leavers who were enrolled to study in 2022 (both current and
deferred), 80.4% enrolled through TAFE or a VET provider and 11.1% were enrolled
through a private training college or adult and community education provider.

Year 12 completers who deferred further education

Over 1 in 5 (22.5%) Year 12 completers who were NILFET indicated they were
enrolled in a course of study but had deferred it in 2022. Comparative rates of
deferment were higher for those in employment only and slightly lower for those
looking for work. The percentage of Year 12 completers in full-time work, part-time
work and NILFET who have deferred further education has increased since 2021.
27.6% 28.7% 17.4% 22.5%

Full-time work Part-time work Looking for work NILFET
▲ ▲ ▼ ▲
up 1.4 pp up 3.1 pp down 0.4 pp up 3.0 pp
since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021
Early school leavers who deferred further education

Approximately 7% of early school leavers who were NILFET indicated they were
enrolled in a course of study but had deferred it in 2022. Lower rates of deferment
were found for those in employment only or looking for work compared with those
who were NILFET. The percentage of early leavers in full-time work who have
deferred further education has increased since 2021. For part-time work, looking for
work and NILFET this percentage has decreased since 2021.
5.3% 4.7% 4.8% 7.0%

Full-time work Part-time work Looking for work NILFET
▲ ▼ ▼ ▼
up 1.2 pp down 1.3 pp down 1.4 pp down 2.4 pp
since 2021 since 2021 since 2021 since 2021

School leavers in employment only
Figure 7
Estimated proportion of NSW school leavers in full-time or part-time employment only
6 to 12 months in the year after leaving Year 10, 11 or 12, 2014 to 2022
Full-time employment Part-time employment

30%
20%
10%
0%
2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Calendar year after leaving or completing Year 10, 11 or 12
Early school leavers Year 12 completers
A similar proportion of school leavers from both leaver types were in full-time or
part-time employment only after leaving school. Almost one-quarter (23.8%) of
Year 12 completers and just over one-quarter (27.4%) of early school leavers were
employed and not in education or training in 2022. Since 2021, participation in
full‑time or part-time employment has increased respectively by 2.0 and 1.5 pp
for all school leavers. In addition, 48.8% of Year 12 completers and 53.7% of early
school leavers whose main destination was part-time work would prefer to be
working more hours.
10.0% 14.9%
Full-time work Part-time work
▲ ▼
up 2.0 pp down 1.5 pp
since 2021 since 2021

Methodology
This report provides a brief overview of the main findings of the 2022 NSW
Post‑School Destinations and Experiences Survey. Several points should be kept
in mind when considering the findings.
How respondents are assigned into their main

post‑school destination
Respondents are assigned to one of 10 post-school destinations based on
their survey responses to a series of questions about education, training and
work. Where respondents indicate several destination choices, a hierarchical
system facilitates prioritisation of education-related post-school destinations
over participation in employment. As such, it represents a young person’s main
destination since leaving school. The post‑school destinations include: bachelor’s
degree, VET certificate IV+, VET certificate III, VET certificate I–II, apprenticeship,
traineeship, full‑time work, part-time work, looking for work, and not in the
labour force or further education or training (NILFET). A full discussion of the
classification system can be found in the 2022 technical report.
The weighting of data to ensure results represent

the population
All data was weighted to match relevant population parameters. Refer to the 2022
technical report for full details.
Additional points to note

• In some cases, values may differ from the apparent sum of their component
elements. This is due to the effects of rounding.
• Where appropriate, comparisons have been made to previous survey waves.
• Education and occupation coding: ‘field of education’ was coded using the
Australian Standard Classification of Education (Australian Bureau of Statistics
catalogue number 1272.0). ‘Occupation’ was coded to the Australian and New
Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (Version 1.3, Australian Bureau
of Statistics catalogue number 1220.0).
For further information about the survey background and method, please refer to
the 2022 technical report.

Appendix:
Main destinations tables
Table 2
All school leavers by year, 2014 to 2022
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Main destination % % % % % % % % %
Population estimates
for all leavers (N) 80,204 84,419 86,267 86,821 87,252 87,429 84,688 88,051 89,080
Bachelor’s degree 41.5 40.7 38.5 37.7 37.7 36.5 34.2 40.8 38.7
VET cert IV+ 7.4 9.1 7.1 6.3 6.2 5.3 5.4 4.7 4.3
VET cert III 3.1 3.1 3.0 2.7 3.4 3.4 3.7 3.2 2.8
VET cert I–II 2.9 3.2 1.5 1.9 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.3
Apprenticeship 9.4 9.8 11.2 12.0 12.7 11.2 10.4 13.6 13.8
Traineeship 4.9 4.1 4.8 5.2 4.6 4.7 4.4 5.4 6.0
Full-time work 6.9 7.6 9.0 8.9 9.7 8.7 8.0 8.0 10.0
Part-time work 12.4 11.2 13.3 13.9 13.8 17.0 18.5 13.4 14.9
Looking for work 8.0 7.7 7.8 7.1 7.2 8.3 10.0 6.6 5.8
NILFET 3.4 3.4 3.8 4.2 3.2 3.2 4.0 2.9 2.5
Table 3
Year 12 completers by year, 2014 to 2022
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

for all Year 12
completers (N) 63,161 64,272 64,392 64,555 64,381 65,151 63,879 64,966 63,685
VET cert IV+ 7.3 8.9 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.1 5.2 4.6 4.0
VET cert III 1.9 2.1 1.7 1.8 2.4 2.1 2.3 2.0 1.7
VET cert I–II 1.8 2.7 1.0 1.7 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.8
Apprenticeship 4.9 4.7 5.5 5.8 5.7 5.1 4.8 6.1 5.7
Traineeship 4.4 3.6 4.3 4.3 3.8 3.9 3.7 4.5 4.6
Full-time work 6.6 7.0 8.6 8.5 9.3 8.4 7.8 7.5 9.3
Part-time work 12.5 10.7 13.2 13.8 13.8 17.7 19.1 12.8 14.5
Looking for work 5.5 5.0 5.2 4.6 5.2 5.7 7.7 4.5 3.8
NILFET 2.6 2.1 2.8 3.4 2.5 2.5 3.3 2.2 2.1

Appendix: Main destinations tables
Table 4
Early school leavers by year, 2014 to 2022
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

for all early
school leavers (N) 17,043 20,147 21,875 22,266 22,871 22,278 20,809 23,085 25,395
VET cert IV+ 7.8 9.6 9.1 7.3 8.0 5.9 5.8 5.1 5.0
VET cert III 7.6 6.4 6.6 5.5 5.9 7.3 7.7 6.6 5.5
VET cert I–II 7.0 4.9 3.0 2.7 2.7 3.2 2.6 2.6 2.4
Apprenticeship 26.2 26.0 27.8 30.0 32.4 29.1 27.7 34.9 34.3
Traineeship 6.5 5.8 6.5 8.1 6.9 7.1 6.4 7.8 9.4
Full-time work 8.3 9.7 10.1 9.9 11.1 9.8 8.8 9.4 11.6
Part-time work 12.2 12.6 13.5 14.2 13.7 15.2 16.7 15.0 15.8
Looking for work 17.2 16.4 15.3 14.2 12.9 15.7 17.3 12.6 10.9
NILFET 6.4 7.6 6.9 6.3 5.2 5.2 5.9 4.8 3.6
Table 5
All school leavers by gender, 2022
Female Male
Main destination % %
Population estimates for all leavers (n) 43,295 45,785
Bachelor’s degree 44.8 33.0
VET cert IV+ 5.1 3.5
VET cert III 3.8 1.9
VET cert I–II 1.5 1.1
Apprenticeship 3.4 23.8
Traineeship 7.5 4.5
Full-time work 9.3 10.6
Part-time work 16.9 12.9
Looking for work 5.4 6.2
NILFET 2.3 2.7

Table 6
Year 12 completers by gender, 2022
Female Male
Population estimates for all Year 12 completers (n) 33,138 30,547
Traineeship 5.2 4.0
NILFET 1.7 2.5
Table 7
Early school leavers by gender, 2022
Female Male
Population estimates for all early school leavers (n) 10,157 15,238
Traineeship 15.3 5.5
NILFET 4.3 3.1

Table 8
All school leavers by socioeconomic status (SES) quartile, 20226
Higher parental SES Lower parental SES

Highest Upper Subtotal Lower Lowest Subtotal
middle middle
Main destination % % % % % %
for all leavers (n) 36,454 21,816 58,270 15,796 12,494 28,290
Bachelor’s degree 53.5 33.9 46.2 26.1 20.6 23.6
VET cert IV+ 3.9 4.6 4.2 4.9 3.9 4.5
VET cert III 1.8 3.2 2.3 3.8 3.7 3.8
VET cert I–II 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.5
Apprenticeship 8.9 17.7 12.2 18.9 17.1 18.1
Traineeship 4.3 7.5 5.5 8.2 6.3 7.4
Full-time work 7.9 11.1 9.1 12.4 12.4 12.4
Part-time work 13.4 13.7 13.5 15.4 17.6 16.3
Looking for work 3.4 5.0 4.0 6.4 12.5 9.1
NILFET 1.6 2.1 1.8 2.5 4.4 3.4
Table 9
Year 12 completers by SES quartile, 20227

middle middle
Population estimates for
all Year 12 completers (n) 30,727 14,873 45,600 9,698 6,783 16,481
Bachelor’s degree 62.9 48.8 58.3 42.0 37.5 40.2
VET cert IV+ 3.3 4.3 3.6 5.0 5.2 5.1
VET cert III 1.1 1.7 1.3 2.9 2.5 2.7
VET cert I–II 0.6 1.1 0.7 0.9 1.5 1.1
Apprenticeship 3.9 8.5 5.4 7.5 7.5 7.5
Traineeship 3.7 6.0 4.5 7.2 3.9 5.8
Full-time work 7.8 10.9 8.8 12.4 10.8 11.7
Part-time work 13.0 13.4 13.1 15.8 17.1 16.4
Looking for work 2.5 3.7 2.9 3.8 9.0 5.9
NILFET 1.2 1.6 1.3 2.5 4.9 3.5
As parental SES questions formed part of a module for Year 12 completers in 2022, population
weights had to be multiplied by separate design weights for the Year 12 completer subsample when
calculating estimates for all recent school leavers. Refer to the technical report for further details.
There were an additional estimated 1,604 Year 12 completers whose parental SES measures could not
be calculated.

Table 10
Early school leavers by SES quartile, 20228

middle middle
all early school leavers (n) 5,728 6,942 12,670 6,098 5,710 11,808
Bachelor’s degree 3.0 1.8 2.4 <1.0 <1.0 <1.0
VET cert IV+ 7.6 5.3 6.3 4.7 2.4 3.6
VET cert III 5.7 6.2 6.0 5.2 5.3 5.2
VET cert I–II 4.4 1.9 3.0 <3.0 <2.0 <2.0
Apprenticeship 35.6 37.4 36.6 37.0 28.4 32.9
Traineeship 7.7 10.7 9.3 9.9 9.2 9.6
Full-time work 8.5 11.4 10.1 12.5 14.2 13.3
Part-time work 15.8 14.4 15.0 14.7 18.0 16.3
Looking for work 8.0 7.7 7.8 10.5 16.8 13.5
NILFET 3.8 3.1 3.4 2.5 3.8 3.1
Table 11
All school leavers by school sector, 2022
Government Non-government
Catholic Independent Subtotal

Main destination % % % %
for all leavers (n) 54,156 15,297 19,628 34,924
Bachelor’s degree 31.2 43.5 55.8 50.5
VET cert IV+ 4.2 4.7 4.1 4.4
VET cert III 3.3 2.3 1.9 2.1
VET cert I–II 1.5 0.8 0.9 0.9
Apprenticeship 15.0 15.2 9.6 12.1
Traineeship 6.3 6.7 4.5 5.5
Full-time work 10.7 10.1 7.7 8.8
Part-time work 16.5 13.0 11.7 12.3
Looking for work 8.1 2.4 2.2 2.3
NILFET 3.2 1.2 1.4 1.3
There were an additional 917 early school leavers for whom SES quartile could not be calculated.

Table 12
Year 12 completers by school sector, 2022


all Year 12 completers (n) 35,080 12,199 16,406 28,605
Bachelor’s degree 47.5 54.4 65.9 61.0
VET cert IV+ 4.4 4.1 2.9 3.4
VET cert III 2.2 1.5 0.8 1.2
VET cert I–II 1.1 0.5 0.4 0.4
Traineeship 4.6 5.7 3.8 4.6
Full-time work 9.8 10.1 7.5 8.6
Part-time work 16.3 13.5 11.4 12.3
NILFET 2.7 1.3 1.2 1.2
Table 13
Early school leavers by school sector, 2022


all early school leavers (n) 19,076 3,098 3,221 6,319
Bachelor’s degree 1.1 <2.0 <5.0 2.7
VET cert IV+ 3.9 6.9 10.2 8.5
VET cert III 5.3 5.5 6.8 6.2
VET cert I–II 2.3 2.0 3.6 2.9
Traineeship 9.4 10.6 8.1 9.3
Full-time work 12.4 10.4 8.7 9.5
Part-time work 17.0 11.0 13.3 12.2
NILFET 4.1 <2.0 <3.0 1.8

Table 14
All school leavers by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, 2022
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Yes No
NILFET 3.6 2.4
Table 15
Year 12 completers by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, 2022
Yes No
NILFET 3.5 2.0

Table 16
Early school leavers by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, 2022
Yes No
Bachelor’s degree <2.0 <2.0
VET cert IV+ <3.0 <6.0
NILFET 3.8 3.5
Table 17
All school leavers by language background other than English (LBOTE) status, 2022
Language background other than English
Yes No
Traineeship 3.4 6.8
NILFET 2.6 2.4

Table 18
Year 12 completers by LBOTE status, 2022
Yes No
Traineeship 2.8 5.4
NILFET 2.2 2.0
Table 19
Early school leavers by LBOTE status, 2022
Yes No
Traineeship 7.1 9.8
NILFET 5.0 3.3

Table 20
Early school leavers by minimum school leaving age, 2022
Aged under 17 years Aged 17 years and over

NILFET 2.8 4.4
Table 21
All school leavers by Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness, 2022
Major Cities Inner Regional Outer Regional,

Remote or
Very Remote
Main destination % % %
for all leavers (n) 67,299 17,715 4,066
Bachelor’s degree 45.1 20.1 14.2
VET cert IV+ 4.7 2.9 2.7
VET cert III 2.5 4.0 3.1
VET cert I–II 1.2 1.5 1.5
Apprenticeship 12.0 19.0 21.2
Traineeship 5.0 9.0 8.8
Full-time work 8.3 14.5 16.8
Part-time work 13.7 18.8 17.9
Looking for work 5.1 7.3 10.3
NILFET 2.3 3.0 3.4

Table 22
Year 12 completers by ASGS Remoteness, 2022

Remote or
Very Remote

all Year 12 completers (n) 51,291 10,295 2,099
Bachelor’s degree 58.6 33.8 27.1
VET cert IV+ 4.1 3.1 3.6
VET cert I–II 0.8 <2.0 <2.0
NILFET 2.0 <3.0 <3.0
Table 23
Early school leavers by ASGS Remoteness, 2022

Remote or
Very Remote

all early school leavers (n) 16,008 7,420 1,967
Bachelor’s degree 1.8 <2.0 <2.0
VET cert IV+ 6.6 <3.0 <2.0
VET cert I–II 2.7 2.0 2.5
NILFET 3.3 3.9 4.1

Table 24
All school leavers by NSW region (Statistical Area Level 4 cluster), 2022
NSW Sydney Sydney Sydney Sydney Sydney Sydney Central North North South South
total Inner North North South South West Coast East West East West
West West Hunter NSW NSW NSW NSW
Main destination % % % % % % % % % % % %
for all leavers (n) 89,080 8,624 10,604 7,261 8,048 9,647 9,037 11,563 7,329 3,747 7,302 5,918
Bachelor’s degree 38.7 56.9 59.7 44.4 49.1 41.9 46.7 24.3 19.0 14.4 25.5 20.6
VET cert IV+ 4.3 5.5 3.7 4.7 5.0 5.5 5.0 4.1 2.5 2.1 3.6 3.2
VET cert III 2.8 2.1 1.4 2.2 1.7 2.9 2.6 3.9 4.7 2.6 3.3 3.8
VET cert I–II 1.3 0.9 0.9 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.1 2.6 1.6 1.5 1.2 1.2
Apprenticeship 13.8 6.9 6.8 14.7 12.6 13.3 10.1 18.2 14.9 20.7 19.8 22.3
Traineeship 6.0 2.4 3.4 5.7 4.6 4.8 4.7 8.4 8.6 7.7 9.3 8.7
Full-time work 10.0 6.1 7.0 8.0 7.5 8.8 8.5 11.7 13.7 17.9 10.9 16.3
Part-time work 14.9 12.7 12.7 13.5 11.3 12.5 12.4 17.8 23.0 18.3 16.6 16.1
Looking for work 5.8 4.1 2.5 4.2 5.0 6.8 6.2 6.8 8.0 12.1 6.5 5.7
NILFET 2.5 2.4 1.9 1.6 2.3 2.6 2.7 2.3 4.2 2.7 3.1 2.0

Table 25
Year 12 completers by NSW region (Statistical Area Level 4 cluster), 2022

all Year 12 completers (n) 63,685 7,233 9,392 5,435 6,376 7,301 7,098 6,605 4,309 1,998 4,479 3,459
VET cert IV+ 4.0 4.0 2.7 4.0 4.4 5.2 5.0 4.2 2.6 3.1 4.2 3.1
VET cert III 1.7 0.9 0.9 1.6 1.2 2.2 1.5 1.8 2.8 1.9 3.4 2.7
VET cert I–II 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 1.7 1.2 1.0 0.7 0.7
Apprenticeship 5.7 3.4 3.3 5.9 5.6 6.1 5.7 7.6 6.2 9.2 7.0 8.1
Traineeship 4.6 2.6 3.1 4.7 3.2 3.8 4.0 6.0 7.2 7.3 6.5 8.4
Full-time work 9.3 5.2 7.0 7.4 6.3 7.8 7.0 11.5 15.0 21.2 11.7 19.0
Part-time work 14.5 11.8 12.4 13.0 11.8 11.6 11.2 19.1 24.3 20.7 17.5 17.7
Looking for work 3.8 2.7 1.8 2.6 3.5 4.9 3.6 4.4 6.0 7.0 5.4 3.8
NILFET 2.1 1.9 1.5 1.2 1.9 2.5 2.2 2.1 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.1

Table 26
Early school leavers by NSW region (Statistical Area Level 4 cluster), 2022

all early school leavers (n) 25,395 1,391 1,212 1,826 1,672 2,346 1,939 4,958 3,020 1,749 2,823 2,459
VET cert IV+ 5.0 13.5 11.0 6.8 7.4 6.5 5.2 4.1 2.5 0.9 2.7 3.5
VET cert III 5.5 8.4 5.5 3.9 3.7 5.2 6.6 6.6 7.3 3.5 3.2 5.4
VET cert I–II 2.4 2.8 3.3 2.3 1.7 1.5 2.1 3.8 2.1 2.1 2.1 1.9
Apprenticeship 34.3 25.2 34.5 41.1 39.6 35.5 26.0 32.4 27.3 33.7 40.1 42.3
Traineeship 9.4 1.8 5.7 8.6 10.0 7.7 7.4 11.6 10.4 8.1 13.8 9.2
Full-time work 11.6 10.7 7.7 9.7 12.2 11.8 14.2 11.9 11.9 14.3 9.6 12.7
Part-time work 15.8 17.0 14.6 15.0 9.3 15.3 16.9 16.1 21.0 15.6 15.2 13.8
Looking for work 10.9 11.5 7.8 9.0 10.7 12.7 15.8 9.9 10.7 17.9 8.3 8.3
NILFET 3.5 5.1 4.7 2.7 3.7 3.0 4.3 2.4 6.1 2.7 3.8 2.0

Table 27
All school leavers by disability and/or additional learning needs status, 2022
Identified disability and/or additional learning needs9
Yes No
Traineeship 6.0 6.0
NILFET 5.6 1.7
Table 28
Year 12 completers by disability and/or additional learning needs status, 2022
Identified disability and/or additional learning needs
Yes No
Population estimates for Year 12 completers (n) 10,861 52,824
Traineeship 5.1 4.5
NILFET 4.9 1.5
All survey respondents were asked whether they had a disability and/or additional learning needs.
Recent leavers who responded that they were unsure or preferred not to say were recoded as no for
analysis and reporting. Schools for specific purposes were not included in the sample frame for Year 12
completers or early school leavers in the 2022 survey.

Table 29
Early school leavers by disability and/or additional learning needs status, 2022
Identified disability and/or additional learning needs
Yes No
Population estimates for early school leavers (n) 6,591 18,804
NILFET 6.6 2.5

Table 30
Early school leavers’ reasons for leaving
Early school leavers
Reason for leaving Number %
Work reasons / career reasons 6,809 26.8
School not for me / not good environment for learning 4,419 17.4
Did not like school / teachers 3,266 12.9
Mental health issues 2,070 8.2
Was not interested in going / bored 2,062 8.1
Not coping well at school / failed / failing subjects / too hard 1,663 6.5
Study elsewhere / TAFE / different course 911 3.6
I was bullied 725 2.9
COVID-19 404 1.6
School did not offer subject choices I wanted 392 1.5
Asked to leave / expelled / got in trouble 387 1.5
Physical illness or sickness 266 1.0
Refused 251 1.0
Other 238 0.9
Family commitments (not including pregnancy) 223 0.9
Moved away from area 222 0.9
School did not offer VET options 212 0.8
I felt I would not meet the HSC minimum standard 203 0.8
Disability / school could not cater for my disability 170 0.7
Don’t know 125 0.5
Financial hardship 110 0.4
Pregnancy 93 0.4
Personal reasons – no further information (NFI) 75 0.3
Ill health / sickness 58 0.2
Travel time / too long a commute sp10 <0.2
No main reason sp <0.2
In Table 30, ‘sp’ means suppressed data. Suppression was used to protect the privacy of respondents in
categories with low cell counts.

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NSW Department of Education

2022 NSW Post-School Destinations

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation

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Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 2

Introduction and summary 7

Who are our NSW 2022 school leavers? 9

Destinations of NSW school leavers in 2022 12

Historical destinations of NSW school leavers 13

School leavers in education or training 16

Year 12 completers in education and training 17

Early school leavers in education and training 17

Year 12 completers who deferred further education 18

Early school leavers who deferred further education 18

School leavers in employment only 19

Appendix: Main destinations tables 21

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 3

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 4

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 5

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 6

The NSW Department of Education considers school-to-work transition as one of

School leavers in post-school destinations in 2022 were not impacted by COVID-19

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 7

Improvements in post-school outcomes of school leavers who participated in the 2022

Key results from the 2022 Destinations survey include:

• Approximately one-quarter of Year 12 completers and early school leavers

Most school leavers continued to remain in education, training or employment

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 8

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 9

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 10

Reason for leaving Number %

Work reasons / career reasons 6,809 26.8

Did not like school / teachers 3,266 12.9

Mental health issues 2,070 8.2

Was not interested in going / bored 2,062 8.1

Other 5,106 20.1

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 11

Of 89,083 NSW school leavers, 9 in 10 school leavers were estimated to be in

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 12

Historical destinations of NSW school leavers

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 13

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 14

Simultaneously, there was an increase in the proportion of early school leavers in

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 15

School leavers in education or training

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 16

Year 12 completers in education and training

53.6% 4.0% 1.7% 0.8% 5.7% 4.6%

Bachelor’s degrees continue to be the most popular destination among Year 12

The most common study areas in the education categories were:

Early school leavers in education and training

1.5% 5.0% 5.5% 2.4% 34.3% 9.4%

Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation 17

Year 12 completers who deferred further education

27.6% 28.7% 17.4% 22.5%

Early school leavers who deferred further education

5.3% 4.7% 4.8% 7.0%