YOUTH COHORT STUDY: EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OF 16-18 YEAR OLDS IN ENGLAND AND THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH NON-PARTICIPATION
1 This bulletin examines the participation and non-participation in education, employment and training of 16 to 18 year olds, among groups of young people of different backgrounds and experiences. It also looks at those not participating both at 16 and 17 and highlights factors associated with this group. Its coverage is England. 2 The bulletin contains data from a range of sources. It draws extensively on the findings, analysed for England only, from the latest Youth Cohort Studies (YCS) for each of the ages surveyed. These are the first and second surveys of the ninth cohort, conducted in 1998 and 1999 for 16 and 17 year olds respectively, and the second survey of the eighth cohort, conducted in 1998 for 18 year olds. Findings from the 1998 surveys were published in Statistical Bulletins 4/99: The activities and experiences of 16 year olds: England and Wales 1998 and 5/99: The activities and experiences of 18 year olds: England and Wales 1998. The 17 year old survey is the first one to be conducted for six years and the findings from it had not been published prior to this bulletin. 3 The text of this bulletin represents a summary of the main findings. A set of reference tables are included at the end and are descriptive in nature.
4 The Department's official estimates show that 75 per cent of 16-18 year olds, in England, in 1998, were participating in some form of education or training. Sixteen per cent were in employment without training and 9 per cent were not in education, training or employment. Participation in education and training decreases with age and, conversely, the proportions of those in employment without training and of those not in any form of education, training or employment increase by age. 5 Women who are 16-18 are more likely to be in full-time education than men in the same age group. Men are more likely than women to be in government or work based training. Eighteen year old women have a slightly greater likelihood of being not in education, employment or training than their male counterparts. 6 The YCS data show that participation in full-time education increases as prior attainment level increases for each age. Over three quarters of 16 and 17 year olds at level 2 and two thirds of those qualified to level 3, at 18, are in full-time education. 7 White people are less likely to be in full-time education than people from other ethnic groups at 16, 17 and 18. Indian young people have the highest participation rates with over 90% in education or training. 8 Participation in education and training is related to the family background of young people. Those with at least one parent in full-time employment, with parents in non-manual occupations and those who live in owner-occupied housing, all have a higher likelihood of being in education and training than those not in these categories. However, at 18 many people at university or college live away from their parents, resulting in a high proportion of people of that age living with neither parent being in full-time education, when compared to those aged 16 and 17. 9 Some 173,000 16-18 year olds were classified as being not in education, employment or training (NEET) in 1998. Of these 104,000 were ILO (International Labour Organisation) unemployed (most of whom were male) and 69,000 were economically inactive (the majority being female). 10 Official estimates are that 8 per cent of both 16 and 17 year olds are NEET, and that at 18 the figure is 12 per cent. The latest YCS estimates for being NEET are 6 per cent at 16, 8 per cent at 17 and 11 per cent at 18. There is little difference between genders at 16 and 17, both for official and YCS estimates. At 18, nine per cent of men and 12 per cent of women are NEET according to the YCS. Authoritative sources estimate these figures to be 11 and 14 per cent. 11 The YCS data shows that there are a number of social, economic and personal factors that are associated with being NEET. These factors mainly relate to the respondents' living arrangements, qualifications, school attendance records and parental backgrounds. 12 Over a quarter of 16 and 17 year olds and over a third of 18 year olds with no or unknown qualifications were NEET. The likelihood of being NEET increases markedly as qualifications decrease. However, at least three quarters of all that were classified as NEET have some form of qualification. At 18, thirty-nine per cent of the NEET group were qualified to at least level 2. Just over 10 per cent at 16 and nearly 25 per cent at 17 are qualified to this level. This infers that some 18 year olds in this position may be in a gap year from studies. 13 At each age, living in council rented housing, having parents in manual occupations and having neither parent in full-time work all increase the likelihood of a young person being NEET. However, significant proportions of the NEET category come from more advantaged backgrounds. For all ages, at least 60 per cent have one or more parents in full-time employment, more than 15 per cent are from non-manual parental backgrounds and about half are from owner-occupied housing. 14 About a third of those living with neither parent are NEET at 16 and 17, with women having the greater chance of being in that position. Among 18 year old women who are living with a spouse or partner, one third are NEET and among those living with their own children over 80 per cent are NEET. The latter account for nearly a third of women who were NEET at 18. 15 A third of those who played truant for several days or weeks at a time in year 11 and approximately the same proportion of those who had been excluded in years 10 or 11 were NEET at 17. 16 For each age, the probability of being in the NEET group rises as the number of factors that are associated with being NEET increases. Nearly half of 17 year olds with three or more factors are NEET. However, not everyone who is NEET has these characteristics. At each age, around a quarter of the NEET group display none of these factors. At 18, the majority of those having no factors are qualified to at least level 2. There is a strong possibility that many of these are on a gap year or career break. 17 Half of those who were NEET at the time of the 16 year old survey were also NEET at the time of the time of the 17 year old survey. Of these, 60 per cent were female, 34 per cent had no or unknown qualifications and 20 per cent lived with their own children. It is estimated that just over 1 per cent of all 17 year olds remained NEET for the whole period between the YCS surveys for 16 and 17 year olds. 18 At 17, the main reasons young people gave for being NEET were 'need more qualifications or skills' (over a quarter), with over 20 per cent stating 'there are no decent jobs or courses' and a similar percentage saying they 'have not decided what sort of course or job to do'.
19 The focus of the bulletin is on 16-18 year olds, i.e. those in the first three years following compulsory education. Information on the status and activities of this group of people, in terms of participation in education, training and employment, is published regularly. Sources include the Schools' Census, the Individualised Student Record (ISR) of the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record for education statistics. The Labour Force Survey is the main authoritative source of data on those in employer funded training. Figures for Government Supported Training come from TEC Management Information. 20 The information published in the range of data sources mentioned in the previous paragraph is combined by the Department to produce official authoritative estimates of the participation of 16-18 year olds by route. The latest publication providing this information is the Statistical First Release: SFR13/1999: Participation in Education and Training by 16-18 Year Olds in England: 1988 to 1998. In addition, Statistical Bulletin 11/99: Education and Labour Market Status of Young People in England aged 16-18:1992-1998 provided more detailed information on not only the education and training status but also the labour market status of these young people. 21 Information about participation in education, training and employment is available from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS), which is a series of sample surveys of young people. Each survey contacts a sample of the year 11 academic group or 'cohort' in the spring following completion of compulsory education; these young people are referred to as 16 year olds. Further sweeps have, in the past, been carried out at 17 and 18. However, for cohorts 7 and 8, the second sweep was carried out at 18. The YCS allows analysis of participation by socio-economic and other factors that are not possible with authoritative estimates. Surveys of new cohorts are usually started every two years. 22 This bulletin uses the most up to date authoritative data to give an overview of the official published numbers of young people involved in education, training and employment. The latest 16, 17 and 18 year old surveys of the YCS are drawn upon to give information on participation and its relationship to a range of socio-economic and other factors. The findings from the latest 16 and 18 year old surveys have already been published in Statistical Bulletins 4/99 and 5/99 respectively. A 17 year old survey had not been carried out for six years prior to the cohort 9, sweep 2 survey, which was performed in spring 1999. Over 14,600 postal self-completion questionnaires were sent out to each respondent from the cohort 9, sweep 1 survey. The response rate was just over 65 per cent and resulted in 9,710 completed replies. The results of this 17 year old sweep are published here for the first time. The bulletin examines information for England only. 23 The YCS uses different definitions and methods to the official measures and its results are subject to sampling and response error. The YCS data for each sweep have been weighted to take account of variation in non-response between different groups. Despite this weighting, bias still occurs and increases with later surveys of each cohort. In particular, the surveys of 18 year olds overestimate participation in full-time education compared with administrative sources. Further details are given in the Technical Note.
Participation in education, training and employment among 16-18 year olds 24 Of a total of 1,840,000 16-18 year olds in England at the end of 1998, the vast majority (1,369,000 or 75 per cent) were participating in some form of education or training. Those participating include those who are in part-time education or employer-funded training as well as those in full-time education or government-supported training. Of the remaining 470,000 16-18 year olds not participating in education and training at the end of 1998, 297,000 (16 per cent of all 16-18 year olds) were in employment without training and 173,000 (9 per cent of all 16-18 year olds) were not in education, training or employment. Further information about trends in the number of young people in education, training and employment was published in Statistical Bulletin 11/99. 25 Young women are more likely than young men to be in full-time education, although the difference is much smaller at 18 than at 16 and 17, whereas young men are more likely than young women to be in government-supported training or work based training. The proportions not in education, training or employment are almost the same for men and women aged 16-17, but 18 year old women have a slightly greater likelihood of being outside education, training and work than their male counterparts. (Table 1). 26 Participation in education and training declines with age. Eighty-six per cent of young people are in education or training at 16, this percentage drops to 78 at 17 and 60 at 18. Conversely, the proportion in employment without training increases from 7 per cent at 16 to 28 per cent at 18. As a result, the proportion of people not in any form of education, training or employment is 8 per cent both at 16 and 17 and 12 per cent at 18. (Table 1).
Factors affecting participation in education, employment and training 27 The following section uses data from the latest available information from the Youth Cohort Study for 16, 17 and 18 year olds. The first sweep of the ninth cohort, which covered 16 year olds, was carried out in 1998. The 17 year old sweep of this cohort was carried out the following year. The 18 year old information comes from cohort 8 and was performed in 1998. Therefore the YCS data used in this bulletin does not track one particular cohort and it does not represent a cross-section from one particular point in time. However, it still provides a means for comparison across the age groups. 28 Secondary analysis of the YCS, for example Payne 1998: Routes At Sixteen: Trends and Choices in the Nineties, shows that prior attainment is the single biggest predictor of post-16 participation in education and training. 29 Among 16 and 17 year olds, the vast majority of those qualified to level 2 or above are in full-time education and very few are not in any form of education or training at both ages. Among those with some qualifications (but not as high as level 2) around half are in full-time education and four fifths are in some form of education and training, at 16. By 17, the proportions are approximately one third and two thirds respectively. (Table 2). 30 At 18 the picture is different, as more young people have left full-time education and training and their main activity is within the labour market. Rates of participation remain high for those who by 18 are at level 3, with over 80 per cent still in education and training, mainly on courses of higher education. (Table 2). 31 Differences between the main activities of men and women are apparent. It is generally the case that the proportion of women in full-time education is higher than for men for the majority of levels of qualification and age. (Table 2). 32 According to the YCS, young people from all ethnic minority groups are more likely to be in full-time education at 16, 17 and 18 than their white counterparts, even though some groups (Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi young people) traditionally tend to do less well at GCSE at year 11. White young people are more likely than other ethnic groups to be in government supported training and other employment. Indian young people have particularly high rates of participation in education and training, with over 95 per cent at 16 and over 90 per cent at 17 and 18. (Table 3). 33 Young people reporting a disability or health problem are less likely to be participating in full-time education at 16, 17 and 18. For example, a total of 60 per cent of 16 year olds and 33 per cent of 18 year olds reporting a disability or health problem were in full-time education, compared with 70 per cent and 43 per cent respectively of those without a disability or health problem. The likelihood of young people with a disability or health problem being in government-supported training or in employment (with or without training) is similar to those without a disability or health problem. (Table 4). 34 Young people with at least one parent in full-time employment are more likely to be in full time education than those whose parents were not in full-time employment. At all ages, the differences are greater for young women than for young men. (Table 5). 35 Rates of participation in full-time education post-16 show a strong relationship with parents' occupations. For example, among those with parents in managerial and professional occupations, an estimated 85 per cent were in full-time education at 16. At 17 and 18, the corresponding figures were 76 per cent and 56 per cent. These figures compare with 48 per cent, 33 per cent and 29 per cent respectively among respondents with parents in unskilled manual occupations. Although young people with parents in manual occupations are more likely to be in government or employer supported training, overall participation in any form of education and training is highest among those with parents in non-manual occupations and increases as skill levels increase in manual categories. (Table 6). 36 The YCS asks 16 year olds about the type of housing they live in, which in most cases will represent the housing arrangements of the respondents' parents rather than the respondents themselves. Participation in full-time education and in all education and training is markedly higher among those living in owner occupied accommodation than rented accommodation. (Table 7). 37 Sixteen and 17 year olds living with both parents are more likely to be in education and training than those living with one or neither parent. Where young people are living with one parent, those living with their mother are more likely to be participating than those living with their father. The largest differences, however, are between those living with at least one parent and those living with neither parent. Only a half of those living with neither parent at 16 or 17 are in education or training and almost a third are not in education, training or work. At age 18 the picture is complicated by the fact that many young people are living away from their parents to study full-time in higher education. Therefore rates of participation in full-time education among those living with no parents are higher at 18 than 16 or 17. (Table 8). 38 There is a strong association between attendance in school and participation in education and training post-16. For example, 56 per cent of those who played truant for several days or weeks at a time in year 11 and just over a half of those who had been excluded in years 10 or 11 were not in education and training at 17, compared to just 21 per cent of all 17 year olds. The most noticeable difference for persistent truants is the low proportions in full-time education at all ages. (Table 9).
Young people not in education, training or employment 39 The previous paragraphs have shown that rates of participation in education, training and employment vary considerably between different groups of young people according to their qualifications, characteristics and personal/family situations. There has been considerable interest in the issue of those not participating in any form of education, training or employment. A report by the Social Exclusion Unit, in July 1999: Bridging The Gap: New Opportunities For 16-18 Year Olds Not In Education, Employment Or Training, examined this group of people. It met the Social Exclusion Unit's remit from the Prime Minister to: "work with other departments to assess how many 16-18 year olds are not in education, work or training, analyse the reasons why, and produce proposals to reduce the numbers significantly." The following paragraphs look in more detail at the numbers and characteristics of 16-18 year olds not in any kind of education, employment or training. This group of people will be referred to as 'NEET' in the remainder of the bulletin. 40 There were 173,000 16-18 year old who were NEET in England at the end of 1998. Of these, 104,000 were unemployed according to the ILO definition and 69,000 were economically inactive. Of those who were NEET, the majority of males were ILO unemployed and the majority of females were economically inactive. (Table 10).
Characteristics of young people not in education, training or employment 41 The Department's latest official estimates, based largely on administrative data sources and published in October 1999, are that 9 per cent of 16-18 year olds were not in education, employment or training (NEET) at the end of 1998. At both 16 and 17, eight per cent were NEET and at 18 the figure was 12 per cent. The latest YCS estimates for being NEET are 6 per cent at 16, 8 per cent at 17 and 11 per cent at 18. There is little difference in the occurrence of being NEET between genders at 16 and 17, both for official and YCS estimates. At 18, nine per cent of men and 12 per cent of women were NEET according to the YCS. Official estimates of these figures were 11 and 14 per cent. 42 According to the YCS, over a quarter of 16 and 17 year olds and over a third of 18 year olds with no or unknown qualifications were NEET. The likelihood of being NEET increases markedly as qualifications decrease. However, the proportions of low achieving women who are NEET are significantly higher than those of low achieving men. (Table 2). 43 Despite the above, many of the NEET group are relatively well qualified. Around one tenth are qualified to level 2 and at least three quarters have some qualifications. Eighteen per cent of 18 year olds were qualified to level 3. Nearly 40 per cent were qualified to at least level 2 compared with one in ten at 16 and one in four at 17. This suggests the possibility that a number of the 18 year olds who are NEET, at any one time, are having a break from study (a gap year) or are taking time to settle on their future career. (Table 11). 44 Although samples are small and should be treated with caution, the indications are that relatively high proportions of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Black young people experience some time NEET at the ages of 16 to 18. However, Indian people are extremely unlikely to be NEET at each age. (Table 3). 45 For each age, people with a disability or health problem are about twice as likely to be NEET as those without a disability or health problem. (Table 4). Young people reporting a disability or health problem account for about 8 or 9 per cent of the 16 to 18 year olds who are NEET. (Table 11). 46 The likelihood of being NEET is lowest for those with parents in managerial/professional occupations and is higher for those with parents in manual occupations. It is also related to whether or not parents are working, with those having no parents in full-time employment being about twice as likely as those with at least one parent working to be NEET at each age point. Those in council rented housing had more than a one in seven chance at 16 and greater than a one in five chance at 17 and 18 of being NEET. (Tables 5-7). 47 The indication is that those who are NEET in the 16 to 18 age group are much more likely than other 16 to 18 year olds to have parents in manual occupations, have neither parent in full-time employment or live in rented accommodation. However, it is important to note that not all are in this position. Among 16 and 17 year olds in the NEET group, over 60 per cent have at least one parent working, about one in five is from a managerial/ professional or other non-manual background and about half come from owner-occupied accommodation. For the 18 year old NEET group, these proportions are higher, possibly in part reflecting the numbers on gap years, as discussed in paragraph 43. (Table 11). 48 At 16, those living with no parent are nearly 3 times as likely to be NEET as those living with only one parent and over 6 times as likely to be NEET as those living with both parents. This difference is much smaller at 18. For those living with neither parent, the likelihood of being NEET is greater for young women than it is for young men. For 18 year old women, the most important aspects of their living arrangements is whether they are living with a partner or their own children. Among 18 year old women who are living with a spouse or partner, one third are NEET and among those living with their own children over 80 per cent are NEET. (Table 8). 49 The importance of living arrangements for females is demonstrated by the fact that young women living with neither parent accounted for 23 per cent of females in the NEET group at 16, increasing to 27 per cent at 17 and 37 per cent at 18. The corresponding figures for males were 7, 3 and 11 per cent respectively. Young women living with their own children accounted for only about six per cent of those who were NEET at 16 and roughly a quarter of those who were NEET at 17. However, by 18, they accounted for nearly a third. The increase in the proportion of females in the NEET group from 16 to 18 can, in the main, be attributed to the general increase in teenage births at the age of 18, when compared with 16 and 17 year olds. (Table 12). 50 Persistent truants and those who were excluded from school have a much greater likelihood than others of being NEET. About a quarter of those playing truant for days or weeks at a time are NEET at 16 and about a third are NEET both at 17 and 18. A third of those who had been excluded in years 10 or 11 were NEET at 17. (Table 9). 51 However, 17 per cent of 16 year olds, 15 per cent of 17 year olds and 12 per cent of 18 year olds, who were NEET, had been persistent truants in year 11 and over 20 per cent had been excluded from school in years 10 or 11 both at 16 and 17. (Table 11). 52 The previous paragraphs highlight characteristics of young people not in education, training or work. Ten factors can be identified from these, which can be associated with the NEET group. They are:
This is not an exhaustive list of factors that could influence whether or not someone is in this group. These are the main characteristics on which the YCS reports. They also may not be independent from each other. A question on exclusion was not asked at cohort 8, therefore this factor cannot be considered for the 18 year olds. 53 At each age, the probability of being in the NEET group rises as the number of factors present increases. For example, at 17, just over 3 per cent of those with none of the factors were NEET. The percentage rises to nearly 9 with one factor present, and further increases to 19 and 45 with two and three or more factors present respectively. In general there is no particular combination of factors that stand out when examining the NEET group by each age and number of factors present. However, at 18, of those with three or more factors, over half are women living with their own children. 54 For each of the sweeps approximately a quarter of those in the NEET group have none or just one of the factors. Between quarter and a third have three or more factors. At 18, the majority of the NEET group with no factors are qualified to at least level 2, which suggests people on career breaks or gap years are included here.
Those not participating in education, employment or training both at 16 and 17 55 The findings for 16 and 17 year olds come from the first two sweeps of the ninth cohort of the Youth Cohort Study. This enables an analysis of those people who were NEET at both 16 and 17. The YCS estimates that 6 per cent were in this category at 16 and by 17 there were 8 per cent. About half of those who were NEET at 16 were also NEET at 17. There was a similar finding when the previous 17 year old YCS sweep was carried out. 56 The characteristics associated with the group who are NEET at both 16 and 17 are broadly similar to the ones highlighted when looking at each separate age group, in the previous section. However, the proportions of people exhibiting these characteristics were higher for those who have been NEET at both 16 and 17. For example, 34 per cent had no or unknown qualifications, 14 per cent had health or disability problems, 20 per cent were living with their own children and 30 per cent lived with neither parent or only their father. It is also worth noting that females consisted of 60 per cent of the group who were NEET at both 16 and 17. (Table 13). 57 A month-by-month diary of the main activity of respondents was completed for each of the past Youth Cohort Studies. For cohort 9, the diary covered the period from January 1998 to April 1999 inclusive. An analysis of the diary allows an examination as to whether those that were NEET both at 16 and 17 remained in this status between the time of the surveys. The derivation of NEET from the diary is slightly different from the one used in the rest of the bulletin (See the Technical Note). An analysis of the diary question for cohorts 3 and 8 was published in a report by the Policy Studies Institute (Payne 2000): Young people not in education, employment or training: Data from the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. 58 The diary was used to determine what proportion of the respondents, who were NEET at both 16 and 17, were of the same status for the whole period between the sweep 1 and 2 surveys. This revealed just over 1 per cent of all 17 year olds remained NEET for the whole period from June 1998 until April 1999 (inclusive). A further breakdown of this group is not possible due to small sample sizes.
Reasons for being outside education, training and work 59 Statistical Bulletin 11/99 reports reasons for 16-18 year olds being not in education or training and economically inactive (not active in the labour market, that is neither in GST, other employment, nor ILO unemployed). Some 69,000 16-18 year olds were in this category at end 1998, of which 25,000 would like work but are not seeking work, and 40,000 would not like to work. 60 The YCS estimates that at 18, about a third of women in the NEET category live with their own children, which could indicate that their family responsibilities are either a top priority or they are unable to work because of these responsibilities. 61 A question asking for the reasons for being outside education, training and work was asked at cohort 9, sweep 2, and will be asked in subsequent surveys. (See the Technical Note for further details). 62 The most popular reasons given for being in this position were they 'need more qualifications or skills' (over a quarter of the group). One in five said that 'there are no decent jobs or courses available', with a similar proportion saying they 'have not decided what sort of job or course to do'. 63 Of those who said that they 'needed more qualifications' and quoted at least one other reason, nearly 40% also said there were 'no decent jobs or courses available', nearly 30% had 'transport problems', and just over a quarter said that 'have not decided what sort of job or course to do'. Further information 64 Enquiries on the contents of this Bulletin should be addressed to YFE5, Analytical Services, Room W609, Department for Education and Employment, Moorfoot, Sheffield, S1 4PQ (tel. 0114 259 4587). Press enquiries should be made to the Department's Press Office at Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith St., Westminster, London SW1P 3BT (tel. 020 7925 5368).
Background 1 While the YCS is a powerful source of information on the activities of young people. It uses slightly different definitions of education, training and employment to those used by administrative sources and so the results do not correspond exactly.
Definitions- Authoritative 2 Tables 1 and 10: Data for these tables are taken from school, college and trainee records & the Labour Force Survey and use the following definitions: Full-time education: those at school, college or (mainly for 18 year olds) university, including those in full-time education who are in government supported training. Government supported training: this comprises Modern Apprenticeships, National Traineeships and other training for young people. Employer-funded training: those who have undertaken on or off-the-job training in a particular four week period prior, who were funded or mainly funded by an employer. Other education and training: those in education and training not covered above. The largest component is part-time education but the category also includes those studying for qualifications or in training not related to current employment and learning in independent colleges. 3 All young people can be classified into three categories of economic status using the following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. In employment: those who are employed, self-employed, in government supported training or an unpaid family worker. ILO Unemployed: those who are not employed but are available to start work in the next two weeks and have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job they have already obtained. Economically Inactive: those not in employment or ILO unemployed. Those who are either in employment or ILO unemployed are referred to as economically active. YCS Definitions 4 Participants have been defined from the YCS as being those who are in one of the following categories (in priority order, to avoid overlapping categories). Full-time education: those reporting their main activity as full-time education at school, college or (mainly for 18 year olds) university. Government supported training: those reporting their main activity as government supported training plus those reporting that government supported training is part of their current job. Employer supported training: those who say that they are currently in a job and that they are an apprentice or have received on or off the job training in the last four weeks. Other education and training: those who report they are on a part-time education course or that they are studying for a qualification, and are not in any of the above categories. Total education and training: those who are in any of the above categories. Employed without training: those who are currently in a job and are have not received on or off the job training in the last four weeks. Not in education, training or employment: those who are not in any of the above categories.
YCS Estimates 5 The YCS data for each sweep have been weighted to take account of variation in non-response between different groups. YCS estimates of those in full-time education, government supported training and the labour market, based on young people's main activity when they were surveyed, together with the authoritative participation estimates, split by gender are shown in Table A. Despite weighting the data, recent YCS surveys have over-estimated the percentage of young men in government and other training compared with administrative sources. The result of this is that the YCS does not show the differences between men and women in total participation in education and training indicated by the administrative sources. However, at 16 and 17, the differences in participation in full-time education are confirmed by the YCS. At 18, the YCS over-estimates participation in full-time education when compared with official estimates by about four percentage points for men and five for women, probably owing to differential response rates between groups of young people. At 16 and 17, the official estimates and YCS results are very similar for each gender. It may be that young people use different definitions of full-time education (as opposed to part-time education) to those used to construct the participation estimates. There are also differences in population coverage (the YCS excludes those who attended special schools in year 11) and study in independent further education establishments is excluded from the official participation estimates of full-time education. TABLE
A: End 1997 - 16 year olds End 1998 - 17 year olds End 1997 - 18 year olds
Notes: The YCS estimates are based on respondents main activity. All figures are for England only. Participation estimates include special schools. Source: YCS cohort 8 sweep 2, cohort 9 sweep 1, cohort 9 sweep 2; SFR13/1999: June 1999
Main Activity Diary 6 Respondents were asked to complete a retrospective month-by-month diary of their main activity. It was completed by ticking a box next to the option that best describes the main activity at the time. For cohort 8 and the first sweep of the ninth cohort, it was not possible to determine whether a respondent was on summer vacation from full-time education or doing some other activity. These people ticked the 'doing something else' option. 7 The second sweep of cohort 9 (17 year olds) included 'on holiday' as an option, so that these could be distinguished from those with other activities. The categories that were possible responses were:
8 To determine those who were continuously NEET between 16 and 17, the categories 'out of work/unemployed', 'looking after home' and 'doing something else' were taken. Some of those 'doing something else' may be in some form of part-time education course, but they cannot be readily identified. (Payne's analysis (2000), on cohort 8, removed summer months because it could not be determined whether 'doing something else' was a holiday or another activity.) This definition differs from the one used in the majority of the tables for this bulletin, which are taken from questions on education, training and work, whereas the diary is not such a thorough examination of these factors, and relies on an accurate recall of past activity. Question on the Reasons for Not being in Education, Training or Employment 9 This question has more detailed categories of answers than for previous surveys. It was answered based on the respondent classifying themselves as being NEET. Similarly to the diary question, this definition differs from the one used in the majority of the tables for this bulletin, which are taken from questions on education, training and work. More than one answer could be ticked from the list of 13 reasons. The options were:
The respondent was not asked to give any further details if ticking the 'Other reason' option. 10 Those who described themselves as NEET at 17 amounted to a weighted total of 686. However, the total weighted number of this category based on the definitions used in the rest of the bulletin was 764. Of the 764, 93 either did not answer the self-defined question or described themselves as being in part-time work. Sixteen of the 686 self-classified were actually defined as being in other education and training. It was decided to examine those who were consistently classified as NEET based on both methods. This amounted to 670 (weighted) respondents (7% of total).
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