Australians believe in education, with 66 per cent of people aged 20-64 having a post-school qualification, up 10 per cent since 2004 according to Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday. The ABS also reports the per centage of graduates grew from 21 per cent to 31 per cent in the same period. And women have opened a decisive lead in university education. In May this year 35 per cent of working age women had a bachelor degree compared to 28 per cent of men. In 2004 the figure was 22 per cent women and 20 per cent men.

But not everybody has drunk the campus Koolaid. For a start, 7 per cent of people who completed a post-school qualification in 2016 were unemployed in the middle of the year. The ABS also states that 82 per cent of 2016 school leavers had completed Year 12 and 59 per cent of that group were studying. Of the 40 per cent not studying, 25 per cent were working fulltime, 36 per cent part time and the remaining 39 per cent were not employed. Say hello to the next generation of long-term welfare recipients.