Scotland
Not in education, employment or training
Key points
- Around one in eight 16- to 19-year-olds are not in education, employment or training. This proportion is similar to a decade ago.
- The proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training in Scotland is similar to most of the rest of the United Kingdom.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: Compared to the United Kingdom
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (sometimes referred to as NEETs).
The second graph shows how proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training in Scotland compares with the rest of the United Kingdom. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.
The data source for both graphs is the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The reason for the 16- to 19-year-old grouping, rather than the traditional 16- to 18-year-old grouping, is that the publicly available version of LFS now only includes age by band rather than by individual year. The figures for each year are the average for the four quarters of the relevant year. Note that the figures are not precisely the same as those in official government publications, partly because of the age group used and partly because government publications are typically based on analysis of the fourth quarter data for each year only.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: limited. The LFS is a large, well-established, quarterly government survey designed to be representative of the population as a whole but nevertheless the sample sizes for this age group are small. Furthermore, the number of NEETs is estimated by deducting those in education, employment or training from the total population and LFS may not always capture all types of education or training that a person is engaged with.
External links
- See the Scottish Government's strategy for young people not in education, employment or training.