Taking time off between high school and postsecondary education: Determinants and early labour market outcomes

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Darcy Hango
Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics
Statistics Canada

Background characteristics of gappers and non-gappers

• Demographic characteristics
• Province of high school
• Family characteristics
• Educational characteristics during high school

What happens to gappers and non-gappers in the labour market?

• Employment rate per pathway
• Earnings per pathway

Conclusion

Young adults can take many different educational paths from high school through to the labour market. One of these is whether they delay their postsecondary studies following high school graduation. Whether it is to shore up needed finances or to give themselves time to decide what to do or simply to give themselves time away from school, many youth do not go directly to a postsecondary (PSE) program. Research in the United States suggests that taking time off can be detrimental for eventual completion of a postsecondary credential in that many youth who take time off simply do not return.¹ In contrast, taking time off to gain work experience may benefit youth in the early labour market by supplying them with job-ready skills.

In a recent report, published jointly with Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN), Statistics Canada researchers Darcy Hango and Patrice de Broucker examined different paths that young people take from high school to the labour market, who takes these paths, and what labour market outcomes are associated with them.² As part of their analysis, the authors addressed the following question: what effect, if any, does delaying postsecondary studies following high school graduation (gappers) versus going straight on to PSE (non-gappers) have on the early labour market experiences of Canadian youth? This article summarizes their findings as it pertains to this question.

The original report excluded young adults who were still in school December 2003, focussing instead on the early labour market outcomes of 22 to 24 year-olds who were no longer in school. The analysis reported in this article includes students in order to provide information on the educational pathways of all 22 to 24 year-olds in December 2003. The analysis is based on the 2004 Youth in Transition Survey (YITS). A brief overview of the YITS data is given in Box 1, while Box 2 provides a definition of what we mean by the terms "gappers" and "non-gappers"

Background characteristics of gappers and non-gappers

This section describes the background characteristics of young adults who delayed going directly to postsecondary studies following high school and those who did not delay, focusing on 1) demographic characteristics, 2) province of high school, 3) family characteristics and 4) educational characteristics during high school. Information is also included for young adults who had not pursued postsecondary studies.

Demographic characteristics

Table 1 shows that about 40% of young adults had gone directly to postsecondary studies following high school graduation, while about equal proportions (30% each) had either delayed more than four months after high school graduation or had high school or less. These patterns do not hold across all background demographic characteristics, however. For instance, females were much more represented among non-gappers than males (44% versus 35%). There was no gender difference among gappers, with that group accounting for about 30% of both males and females. Overall, about 75% of female 22 to 24 year-olds had pursued a postsecondary education by December 2003, compared to 64% of males.

Table 1:
Background demographic characteristics, by educational status, 22 to 24 year-olds,¹ as of December, 2003

	Less than postesecondary	Postsecondary participants		Total
		Non-gappers	Gappers
	Percent
Total	30.6	39.4	30.0	100.0
Sex
Female	25.4	44.2	30.4	100.0
Male	35.6	34.8	29.6	100.0
Birthplace
Canada	31.0	39.6	29.4	100.0
Elsewhere	27.3	36.8	35.9	100.0
Urban residence in Cycle 1 2
Yes	28.7	40.2	31.1	100.0
No	37.9	36.3	25.9	100.0
Presence of long-term limiting condition, Cycle 12
Yes	49.4	25.1	25.5	100.0
No	29.1	40.5	30.3	100.0

¹ Includes both students and nonstudents in December 2003
²The analysis reported here is based on the cohort who turned 18 to 20 years old during 1999, the reference year for Cycle 1 of the survey. The first follow-up interview with the YITS participants took place in early 2002 (Cycle 2) when this cohort was age 20 to 22. The second follow-up interview (Cycle 3) took place two years later when respondents were between the ages of 22 and 24.
Note: Percentages in table may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Source: Statistics Canada and Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2004 Youth in Transition Survey.

In terms of place of birth, we observe a larger difference between pathways for youth born in Canada than for youth born outside Canada. For example, there is about a 10 percentage-point difference between gappers and non-gappers among Canadian-born youth (29.4% versus 39.6%), while the difference among non Canadian-born youth is negligible, at about 36% each.

There appears to be little difference between urban and rural youth with regard to the pathway followed to postsecondary studies: in both populations, it was more common to not take time off between high school graduation and starting a postsecondary program. We do note, however, the typical finding that rural youth were less likely to go on to postsecondary education than their urban counterparts (62% compared to 71%).

Finally, the presence of a long-term limiting condition can hamper PSE participation. Close to 50% of young adults with a long-term limiting condition had not gone beyond high school by the ages of 22 to 24. These young adults were also less likely to go directly to a postsecondary program following high school graduation (25% compared to 40% for young adults without a long-term limiting condition).

Province of high school

Table 2 shows that youth in Quebec were much more likely than youth in other provinces to follow a non-gapper than a gapper pathway. This is due in part to the structure of Quebec's educational system. Prior to entering university, youth in Quebec are required to attend a CÉGEP following completion of Grade 11 at around age 17. The vast majority go on to CÉGEP directly, without a gap. The non-gapper pathway was also more common in the Atlantic Provinces, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The exceptions were Ontario where a higher proportion of youth delayed starting PSE (at 43%) compared those who went directly to PSE following high school (30%) and Alberta where the proportions were about the same (at 29%).

Table 2:
Province of high school by educational status, 22 to 24 year-olds¹, as of December, 2003

Last province of high school	Less than postesecondary	Postsecondary participants		Total
		Non-gappers	Gappers
	Percent
Newfoundland and Labrador	26.8	42.7	30.5	100.0
Prince Edward Island	37.7	43.0	19.3	100.0
Nova Scotia	25.2	55.0	19.8	100.0
New Brunswick	31.2	46.0	22.8	100.0
Quebec	30.1	55.4	14.6	100.0
Ontario	27.0	30.0	43.0	100.0
Manitoba	35.8	36.5	27.7	100.0
Saskatchewan	31.7	40.2	28.1	100.0
Alberta	41.2	29.4	29.4	100.0
British Columbia	33.0	39.2	27.8	100.0

¹ Includes both students and nonstudents in December 2003
Note: Percentages in table may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Source: Statistics Canada and Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2004 Youth in Transition Survey.

Family characteristics

It was more common for youth from all family types (intact, lone-parent and other family types) who went on to PSE to follow a non-gapper than a gapper path, mirroring what we observe in the overall sample. Meanwhile, youth from step-parent families were significantly more likely than those from lone-parent or other family types to delay the start of a postsecondary program after finishing high school. However, we also observe that youth from non-intact families are significantly more likely to only have a high school diploma or less and to not go onto postsecondary studies.

There is a strong intergenerational education link as well: 50% of youth whose parents had less than high school did not go beyond high school. In contrast, less than 20% of youth whose parents had completed either college or university had high school or less. However, for PSE participants with parents who had less than high school but who themselves did go on to PSE, the non-gapper pathway was more common than the gapper route. Finally, a slightly larger proportion of youth whose parents had not completed their postsecondary studies followed the gapper pathway.

Overall, the largest difference between gappers and nongappers was observed for youth whose parents had completed PSE: close to 50% of these youth went directly to a postsecondary program after high school graduation, while about 33% delayed their postsecondary attendance by more than four months.

Educational characteristics during high school

Educational factors during high school can also have a significant impact on later educational outcomes.

Not surprisingly, marks in the last year of high school are closely related to which educational pathway is followed after high school. Close to 90% of youth whose grade-point average was less than 60% did not continue their education beyond high school, whereas close to 90% of their counterparts with high average marks (above 80%) went on to postsecondary studies. It was also much more common for students with high marks to go directly to postsecondary studies after high school graduation rather than delay (59% versus 29%).

Similar to past work, we observe a positive relationship between working few hours during the last year of high school and the likelihood of going directly to a postsecondary program after high school graduation.³ About 46% of teens who worked less than ten hours per week during their last year of high school did not delay their PSE attendance following high school graduation. In contrast, teens who worked a great deal during high school (over 20 hours per week) were less represented among non-gappers than youth who worked less than 20 hours (26% versus over 40%). Youth who worked a large number of hours were also more represented among those had not gone on to PSE.

Parental expectations also play an important role. For instance, close to 80% of young adults who reported that their parents felt that it was 'not at all' important that their child go beyond high school had not gone on to PSE or, if they did, they were more likely to follow the gapper pathway. In contrast, only 20% of youth who reported that their parents felt that it was 'very' important that their child pursue PSE had not done so by ages 22 to 24. Furthermore, youth who did go to PSE after high school were more likely to follow the non-gapper route if their parents' expectations were high.

What happens to gappers and non-gappers in the labour market?

Do labour market outcomes differ for gappers and non-gappers? For this part of the analysis, we exclude young adults who were still in school on either a full-time or part-time basis in December 2003. (Students accounted for about 34% of 22 to 24 year-olds in December 2003.) We also distinguish between type of institution attended (trade/vocational/other, college or university) and whether the degree or diploma was completed.

We assess labour market status in two ways: employment rate per pathway and total earnings from all jobs held in December 2003.

Employment rate per pathway

Table 3 shows the employment rate for all non-student 22 to 24 year-olds in December 2003, as well as for each pathway. Overall, the employment rate was close to 80%. But this rate varied depending on which education-to-labour market pathway was followed. High school droppers had the lowest employment rate at 71%, followed by 2nd chancers at 72% and gappers-PSE leavers at 73%. Interestingly, non-gapper PSE leavers had a higher employment rate than gapper-PSE leavers (79% versus 73%). In contrast, the highest employment rates were found for youth who had followed the college route (either with a gap or without) and for youth who had followed the gapper-university pathway: all were above 85%. These results are consistent with the results of other studies that have found a close link between educational attainment and success in the labour market.

Table 3:
Respondent's employment status in December 2003, by education-to-labour market pathway

	Employed	Median weekly earnings
	Percent	Dollars
2nd chancers – High school completion or more1	72.0	450.00
Gappers – Postsecondary leavers	73.3	460.00
High school droppers	71.4	480.00
Nongappers – Postsecondary leavers	78.9	480.00
High school completion	79.6	500.00
Gappers and nongappers – Trade/other certificate	82.8	539.00
Gappers – University degree	87.5	540.00
Gappers – College diploma or certificate	86.2	550.00
Nongappers – College diploma or certificate	85.1	552.00
Nongappers – University degree	79.6	625.00

¹ Youth who at one point had dropped out of high school but who returned prior to December 2003 and obtained their high school diploma or more.

Furthermore, gappers (either university or college graduates) had a higher employment rate than non-gappers; the difference is especially notable for university graduates. What might account for this difference? One explanation is that gappers may enjoy a greater employment-experience premium in the labour market than non-gappers, since they had had more opportunity to work between completing high school and starting PSE. Moreover, we know that youth who leave school much earlier, including those who had dropped out of high school, have had a greater amount of time and opportunity to gain work experience than those who have been in continuous schooling since high school (the non-gappers, for example).

Earnings per pathway

Table 3 also shows median weekly earnings across all jobs held in December 2003 by employed nonstudents. Overall, median earnings were approximately $500 per week; however, this amount varied a great deal across pathways, ranging from highs of $625 for the non-gapper university pathway and $552 for the non-gapper college pathway to lows of $450 per week for 2nd chancers and $460 per week for gapper-postsecondary leavers. It is noteworthy that the latter group was earning $20 less per week than high school dropouts. These findings suggest that when not controlling for time spent outside education, individuals with a high school diploma who delayed going to a postsecondary program after high school graduation, and who then left their postsecondary program without finishing, were earning less than those who had never obtained a high school diploma. Again, this result can be explained in part by the earnings premium for individuals who have spent more time in the labour market. It also points to the labour market importance placed upon the completion of a postsecondary credential.

It is interesting to note that while gappers with either college or university completion had a slightly higher employment rate than non-gappers, we observe the opposite with regard to median earnings, especially for university graduates. While non-gappers with a university degree had an employment rate about 8 percentage points less than gappers with a university degree, the former earned about $85 more per week across all jobs worked. This difference may be due to the fact that gappers have had less time in the labour market following completion of their postsecondary education and therefore less time to develop an earnings trajectory.

Conclusion

This article highlights the differences between youth who follow different pathways after high school, focussing on those who delayed versus those who did not delay the start of a postsecondary program following high school graduation. Among young adults between the ages of 22 and 24 in December 2003, it was more common to go directly (within four months) to a postsecondary program after graduating high school.

However, the likelihood of following a particular pathway varied, as we saw, by numerous background and educational factors during high school. For example, having good marks in high school was closely associated with following a pathway that led directly to PSE, without a gap. Similarly, it was more common for young adults with highly educated parents to follow a direct path to postsecondary studies as opposed to taking more than four months off after high school graduation.

Early labour market success for those who delayed versus those who did not is related to the credential obtained. On the one hand, employment rates varied little between college completers, whether they had experienced a gap or not. On the other hand, university graduates who did not delay earned considerably more per week than university graduates who had delayed.

One commonality across gappers and non-gappers, however, is the poor early labour market performance of PSE leavers. Individuals who left a PSE program without graduating had a lower employment rate as well as lower earnings than youth who had graduated with a PSE credential. Further, their earnings were lower than those of youth who had dropped out of high school.

Finally, it is important to bear in mind that at 22 to 24 years old, young adults who are no longer in school are still in the earliest stages of their labour market trajectories. Some will be very recent graduates who have had little labour market experience or who may still be searching for employment. Others who may have dropped out of high school before completion may have had several years of full-time work experience. It is likely that these differences in the opportunity to gain work experience will play a role in early patterns in employment and earnings levels. Additional longitudinal data are needed in order to track the subsequent experiences of this age cohort as they continue their transition into the labour market.

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References and notes

1. For example, see Bozick, Robert and DeLuca, Stefanie. 2005. 'Better late than never? Delayed enrolment in the high school to college transition.' Social Forces 84(1): 527-550.

2. See Hango, Darcy and Patrice de Broucker, Patrice. 2007 Education-to-Labour Market Pathways of Canadian Youth: Findings from the Youth in Transition Survey. Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics Research Paper Series, Statistics Canada, 81-595-MIE, Number 054.

3. See Tomkowicz, Joanna and Bushnik, Tracey. 2003. Who Goes to Post-Secondary Education and When: Pathways Chosen by 20 Year-Olds. Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics Research Paper Series, Statistics Canada, 81-595-MIE, Number 006. Tomkowicz and Busknik also found this relationship using a different definition of gapper. In their case, they defined youth who went to postsecondary studies within 12 months as 'right-awayers' and youth who delayed more than 12 months as 'delayers'. They found that 26% of delayers had worked more than 20 hours per week, while only 16% of right-awayers had worked the same amount.