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Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful for the support and assistance of Barry Stalker, Project Manager for the study within the Scottish Executive Education Department, along with members of the Research Advisory Group. We would also, of course, like to thank the many young people who gave time to help with the development of the questionnaires or to participate in the main survey itself.

Summary of Findings

1.1.1 Introduction

The Scottish School Leavers Survey ( SSLS) series aims to describe the experiences of young people at school, the decisions they make about staying on or leaving, and their transitions and experiences after leaving school. The Scottish Centre for Social Research (formerly NatCen Scotland) has run the SSLS since the early 1990s when the series succeeded the Scottish Young Persons Survey ( SYPS). This summary provides findings from the second survey sweep of the forth cohort, based on young people aged 19 in 2005.

1.1.2 Method and Sample

The sample was originally drawn from lists held by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and a 20% sample of all eligible young people was selected to take part in the survey. Self-completion Questionnaire were only mailed to young people who had completed a questionnaire in 2003.

Before fieldwork started, addresses were checked for correct postcode and, where telephone numbers could be matched, telephoned to make sure the respondent still lived at that address. If the respondent had moved, correct contact details were collected, where possible.

Having checked addresses, the questionnaire was mailed to 5,073 young people on 18th April 2005. Those who had not responded within two weeks were sent a reminder postcard, then those who did not response within a further two weeks were sent a second copy of the questionnaire along with a reminder letter. Finally, attempts were made to contact non-respondents by telephone in order to encourage them to either return their questionnaire or to answer questions over the phone. Telephone chasing continued until the middle of July 2005.

Questionnaires were eventually completed by 3,245 young people: 2382 were received by post and a further 863 completed over the phone. This represents 68% of those remaining in the cohort following the last sweep in 2003, taking account of those for whom no valid contact information was available.

1.1.3 Key findings

Main Activity

• Around half (45%) of the sample were in full-time education in Spring 2005, and one quarter (26%) were in full-time employment. The main activity of one in ten respondents was a GTP. Females were more likely to be in full-time higher education than males (38% compared with 32%) and males were more likely to be undertaking a GTP (12% compared with 5%).
• S4 leavers were the most likely to be out of work (18% compared with 4% of after S5 leavers) and most likely be looking after the home or family (5% compared with 1%).
• The likelihood of being in full-time education at the age of 18-19 was strongly linked to parental social class, with respondents from lower socio-economic groups less likely to have continued to further or higher education - 32% from routine & semi-routine occupations compared with 70% from professional backgrounds.
• Of those who were studying or taking part in a training course just under half (45%) were studying at university, 39% at further education colleges and 16% at some other institution. Females were more likely to be undertaking a degree course than males (47% compared with 37%).
• The most common industry respondents were likely to be working in (whose main activity was full-time, part-time work or GTP) was the wholesale, retail or repair sector (24%). However, the proportion was significantly larger in part-time employment than full-time (43% compared with 18%), suggesting that jobs in this sector tend to be seen as an add-on to other activities, rather than as a career in their own right.
• Men, working full-time, were more likely than women to be working in the construction and manufacturing industries (26% compared with 2% and 13% compared with 6% respectively), whereas women were more likely to found in education/health social services (21% compared with 1%).
• One quarter (25%) of respondents who said their main activity was either full-time/part-time work or a GTP were working with a temporary contract, with no variation by gender.
• In all types of employment ( i.e. full-time, GTP, part-time and overall total) young men were significantly more likely to work more than 39 hours per week than young women.
• The majority (91%) of those in employment (full-time or part-time) or on a GTP in Spring 2005 were receiving some kind of on-the-job or off-the-job training. There was a significant difference between men and women who said they received training at college with 27% of males receiving such training in comparison with 10% of females.
• Over a quarter of respondents (27%) said they had a student loan and/or other debts from studying at college or university. The average total amount of combined student debt from a student loan or other studying debt was £2173; 16% of students had debts over £3001at age 19.
• Respondents working full-time had the highest weekly income, with a mean figure of £155 in comparison to the mean figure of £54 for those not working. Men working full-time were also more likely to earn more than £201 per week than women (19% compared with 13%). Nearly half (45%) of those not working had a weekly income of less than £50.

Domestic circumstances

• The proportion of respondents who had a child by 18/19 in 2005 had declined when compared with previous cohorts of the same age; 2% in 2005, 3% in 2001 and 5% in 1999. This suggests that the number of young people with children at 18-19 is declining.
• There was an association between young people who truanted for several days or weeks at a time and having a child by 18/19 than those who did not truant (1% compared with 11% who truanted for several days and 6% who truanted for several weeks).
• The number of respondents who had a computer (not just for games) and access to the internet had increased by 26% and 21% respectively when compared with 19 in 2001.

The future

• Around half (49%) of all respondents expected to be in full-time education in one year's time.
• While the majority (77%) of those in full-time employment still expected to be in work in one year's time it, 17% thought they would have moved into education by then.
• While those with parents in professional occupations were significantly more likely than other groups to expect to be in education in one year's time, those with parents in manual occupations were more likely to expect to be in employment by then. This was also the case when asked about expected activity in four years' time.
• Respondents with children were significantly less likely than those without children to expect to be in education in one year's time, and significantly more likely to be looking after the home or family.
• When asked what they expected to be doing in four years' time, three-quarters expected to be in work and 16% expected to be in full-time education.
• One in ten of those in full-time employment and 15% of those in part-time employment thought they would have moved into education in four year's time.
• Respondents with children were significantly less likely than those without children to expect to be in work in four years' time.
• Respondents were asked a series of questions which were analysed to create an index of how much 'control' they felt they had over there lives. On the whole respondents were fairly positive about the amount of control they had over their lives. Three-quarters disagreed with the statements 'I have little control over things that happen to me' and 'there is really no way I can solve some of the problems I have.'
• Respondents with parents in professional occupations felt they had more control over their lives than other groups.
• There was an association between feelings of control over life and whether a respondent has a child or not. For example, around a quarter (26%) of those with children felt there was no way they could solve all the problems they had compared with 15% of those without children.

Qualifications

• The majority of young people had already attained a significant level of qualification success by age 18/19 having achieved qualifications at Level 3 or above.
• Around half had achieved or were expecting to achieve a qualification equating to Level 4 or above.
• Over half were still studying towards a qualification at 18/19 - the majority of whom were studying in higher education, although a significant minority were studying towards higher vocational qualifications.
• Although there was a strong relationship between Standard Grade performance and further qualifications, poor Standard Grade performance was not necessarily an automatic barrier to high level educational achievement.
• Among those in full-time employment most received some form of training. Large employers were more likely to rely more on in-house training and less likely than small employers to provide training leading to a recognised qualification
• Males were much more likely to receive training leading to a recognised qualification, compared to females and this gap was widest among larger employers.

The Disadvantaged

• This chapter has summarised patterns of disadvantage among 19 year-olds, highlighting disadvantages associated with family circumstances, educational outcomes and labour market experiences.
• For many young people, the past 18 months were eventful. One in five had been unemployed on at least one occasion while 7 per cent had been unemployed for six months or more. More than one in ten were NEET and three in ten held temporary jobs. Interventions in the form of Government sponsored training programmes had been relatively common: experienced by one in five males and one in ten females over the last 18 months.
• While many 19 year olds were still participating in full-time education, attendance was not so common among those with various disadvantages. Moreover, rates of unemployment and the prevalence of NEET were related to disadvantage. There was evidence to show that a substantial proportion of those who become NEET (and most of these are unemployed and seeking work) find it difficult to move on into education or jobs.
• Those who were NEET tended to explain their situation in terms of a lack of job opportunities while some were trying to arrive at decisions regarding jobs or courses. A significant proportion recognised a need for more qualifications while a group of females had problems relating to family or childcare that hindered the search for jobs or courses. A large proportion of those who were NEET had received advice from a range of sources, such as Jobcentre Plus and Careers Scotland, that was regarded as helpful.
• There is a relatively small group of young women who are outside of the labour market, usually because of family or childcare commitments. These young women, who tend to be very disadvantaged, are faced with a specific set of barriers to accessing jobs or courses.
• Finally, many of those who are in full-time employment at age 19 work in low skill jobs, often held on temporary contracts. Levels of dissatisfaction are higher than among those in more skilled work, although many hope that they will develop skills that will allow them to improve their positions.

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