Summary

Of the 62,400 15-year-olds living in New Zealand in 2009:

Where they went

• Ten years later, 15% were overseas, 60% were earning, 10% were in tertiary study, and 15% were in New Zealand neither earning nor in study.
• Over the 10-year period from 2009 to 2018, 78% had enrolled at a tertiary education provider at some point, and 26% had undertaken learning in the workplace towards a formal qualification.
• One in five had left school with no school qualifications, but a third of these then went on to get some form of tertiary qualification by the time they were 24 or 25, including some 150 who went on to gain a bachelors degree.
• Nearly 80% had gained at least a Level 2 school qualification, or a tertiary qualification at Level 3 or higher by the time they were 24 or 25.
• Around 45% had gained a Level 3 school qualification. More than three-quarters of these (77%) went on to gain a tertiary qualification. Around 55% of those with Level 3 school qualifications had gained a degree.
• Over 60% held a tertiary qualification by the time the cohort reached age 24 or 25.
• A quarter had gained a degree, and 30% had gained a certificate or diploma at Level 3 or higher.

Figure 1: 15-year-olds in 2009 – What they did over the next 10 years

What they earned

• Those who finished their education with a Level 2 school qualification were on average earning nearly 80% more annually at age 24 or 25, than their peers with no qualifications.
• Those who stayed on at school an extra year and entered the workforce with a Level 3 school qualification were earning 13% more annually by age 24 or 25, than their peers with a Level 2 school qualification.
• Those who went on to complete a Level 4 certificate were earning 16% more annually by age 24 or 25, than their peers who finished their education with a Level 2 school qualification.
• Those who went on to gain a degree had the highest annual earnings as well as higher earnings growth. By age 24 or 25, they were earning 17% more annually than their peers who finished their education with a Level 3 school qualification, and 30% more than those who finished with a Level 2 school qualification.
• But having spent less time in the workforce, their total cumulative earnings over the 10-year period 2009 to 2018 were still less than their peers who hadn’t done a degree, with the exception of those who had gained no qualification at all.
• By age 24 or 25, those with a Level 4 certificate had the highest cumulative earnings - 40% higher than someone of the same age with a degree. However, those with a degree were, on average, earning 14% more annually, and their earnings were growing at a faster rate.
• Those finishing their education with a Level 3 school qualification were, by age 24 or 25, earning 13% more a year than their peers who had left school a year earlier with a Level 2 school qualification. But having spent one less year in the labour market, their total cumulative earnings over the 10-year period were still 8% less than those who had left with a Level 2 school qualification.