More of town’s school leavers are getting job
MORE pupils in Rochdale are getting a job after leaving school, official figures reveal.
The latest data from the Department for Education shows that 250 of the young people finishing Key Stage 5 in schools and colleges in 2016, about 20% of the total, entered the labour market after completing A-levels or similar qualifications. That compares with 198 a year earlier.
The National Union of Students pointed to high university tuition fees as one of the factors deterring pupils from continuing to study.
Some other students may get a job to help fund their degrees.
Boys are more likely than girls to look for a job immediately after school - 22% compared with 17 %.
In Rochdale 61 per cent continued studying after Key Stage 5 but it is below the rate a year earlier, when 67pc of the students stayed in education.
A spokesperson for the NUS said: “Tuition fees and loss of financial support is putting kids off. The dismantling of the maintenance grants system has led to students struggling to make ends meet and a rise in drop-out rates.”
The rate of young workers in Rochdale is below the average for England, where 22% of the students finishing KS5 got a job for at least six months after leaving school, a slight fall compared with the previous year. A total of 1,250 pupils finished school in Rochdale in the school year 2015-16.
Most of the pupils who continued their studies opted to go to university, with 10% of them going to the 24 leading universities which make up the Russell Group.
The data shows that only 6% of KS5 pupils in Rochdale started apprenticeships after school.
An apprentice will typically spend one day a week studying at a college or training organisation, while spending the rest training on the job under the guidance of experienced employees.