LONDON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Britain has one of the highest rates of teenage dropouts in the developed world, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says.
An OECD report found only Turkey, Israel, Spain and Brazil have more 15- to 19-year-olds not going to school or working at jobs, The Times of London reported Tuesday.
The group found Britain also has comparatively low graduation rates for vocational training courses and is among the worst countries for students who fail to complete college, the newspaper said.
The findings indicate British youth are particularly ill-prepared to weather the global economic downturn, Andreas Schleicher of the OECD education directorate told The Times.
"Those with better qualifications have better life prospects," Schleicher said. "At the other end (among those with fewer qualifications) there is rapid deterioration. It will get more difficult. Young people who become unemployed, stay unemployed. If you get out of the labor market it's going to be hard to return if you don't have qualifications."
