Education Young people from poorer households have lower qualifications
Statistically speaking, young people from low-income households have lower school-leaving qualifications than those from high-income families. This is according to a study by the Federal Statistical Office, which analyzed data from 82,000 young people.
20.03.2025, 09:42
SDA
According to this analysis, 8.2 percent of young people who turned 16 between 2011 and 2015 still did not obtain a secondary level ll qualification ten years later. 13 percent of them came from low-income households. Among those on social welfare, the figure was as high as 24 percent. The proportion of young people from the highest-income families is clearly the lowest at 5.1 percent.
The poorer, the lower the qualification
Pupils from poorer families were "significantly more likely" to complete a vocational certificate (formerly an apprenticeship) and "significantly less likely" to complete a baccalaureate, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) wrote in a press release on Thursday.
8.4 percent of vocational certificate graduates came from low-income households and 13.3 percent from households with social welfare benefits. Only 0.9 percent of young people from the wealthiest families completed a vocational certificate.
In contrast, 72.7 percent of school-leavers with a baccalaureate (grammar school, specialized baccalaureate and vocational baccalaureate) came from the highest-income families. Only 30.1 percent of students at this level came from poorer households. Among those on social welfare, the figure was 20.1 percent.
