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Why should a person keep studying beyond his/her mid-20s? After all, education and training at a younger age provide for the longest period over which the return on the investment can be harvested. On the other hand, individuals in their 40s (or even 50s) can expect to work for another 20 years or so, allowing plenty of time to recoup the cost of the investment in education and training. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and the Survey of Education and Training (SET), this study investigates what prompts people to participate in education and training at more mature ages, and the impact of this participation on their labour markets outcomes. The report describes the main characteristics of Australians who choose to participate in formal education at more mature ages, investigates a number of potential outcomes of such investments and explores why Australian participation rates are higher than those in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The authors find that more educated individuals are more likely to undertake further education or training. They conclude that the positive effects of mature-age education are quite modest, although there are clear examples of positive payoff--women who are not employed, for example. They suggest this supports the notion of targeted, as opposed to universal, government support. Additional tables are appended. (Contains 1 figure, 26 tables, and 18 footnotes.) [Funding for this paper was provided through the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.]

Working in some capacity is almost considered de rigueur for tertiary students. The reasons for working and the impact this has on both an individual's ability to complete their studies and on their post-study labour market outcomes are only recently receiving attention. Using the 1995 and 1998 cohorts of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this study investigates the motivations for and the education and employment outcomes from working while studying for both vocational education and training (VET) and higher education students. The authors find that income is an important motivating factor: those in receipt of income support are less likely to work while studying, although this is dependent on whether the student is still living at home. Key messages from this study include: (1) For those studying full-time, working impacts on completion--the more hours worked, the greater the effect; (2) Finding work in a job considered a "career" job while studying has a significant and positive impact on course completion for both VET and higher education students; (3) For all tertiary students, being employed in the final year of study improves the chances of finding full-time employment, even three years after completing the course; and (4) Interestingly, for both full- and part-time students, the longer they have been employed in a job, the greater the likelihood of course completion, while past work experience also increases the likelihood of completion for full-time students (2.5 percentage points per year of employment). Thus it is clear that combining study and work does have significant effects on completion and future employment prospects. Too much work negatively impacts on study completion, but on the other hand work experience does benefit future job prospects. The ideal combination would be modest hours of work in a job relevant to a future career--but this will be difficult to achieve for many students. An appendix is included. (Contains 16 tables, 1 box and 20 footnotes.)