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STUDENTS considering a gap year are being urged to realistically consider their job prospects before delaying study.
Despite nine out of 10 students taking gap years to save money, only 38.7 per cent of last year’s Warrnambool school-leavers found full-time employment within six months, the government’s 2014 On Track survey found.
A little more than half were working part-time, while just under 10 per cent were unemployed at the time of the study.
The same survey, which measured the destinations of about 300 students leaving school, also found 34 per cent of all employed school-leavers worked 24 hours or less each week.
South West LLEN chief executive officer Toni Jenkins said school-leavers who had difficulty finding work fell into the region’s under-reported youth unemployment rate.
“They would be added to the youth unemployment numbers but most of them are not counted as they come in under the income and assets test and are assessed against parental income and asset tests, and therefore get no assistance whatsoever,” she said.
“When we are reporting 19 per cent unemployment, we are probably under-reporting by a large number.
“Many continue part-time work that they already had. Many, unfortunately languish at home with no job and no prospects of going anywhere as they have no money.”
Warrnambool College careers counsellor Peter Bollard said many students unsure about their futures eventually decided to take up university offers due to problems finding enough work.
“A big danger is students thinking their part-time job will become a full-time job, but they don't talk to their employer until the last minute,” he said.
“A lot of our students will eventually decide to go to uni next year when they can't get the right job.”
Mr Bollard said Warrnambool College had about 40 per of students taking gap years over the past eight to 10 years.
”Statewide studies show that out of the gap year students in country areas, 80 to 90 per cent take up their offer or go off to further training,” he said.
“It could be a generational thing that kids don't want to make commitments and they get bamboozled by the choice. No one really knows what they want to do until they start doing it.”
The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria found almost 40 per cent of those deferring failed to take up university offers after a gap year with between 11 and 16 per cent in vocational education and training.
Up to 12.7 per cent work full-time, while as many as 10 per cent are classified as “at risk”, listing themselves as part-time employed, unemployed or “inactive”.