LEADING economist Saul Eslake has used his inaugural Tasmania Report to put a spotlight on the state's education system.
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The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's report, written by Mr Eslake, was released on Wednesday and provided a detailed analysis of the state's economy over several sectors.
Mr Eslake was in Launceston on Wednesday to discuss the report, its contents, and policy options he believed were beneficial to Tasmania.
The report revealed the state's educational participation and attainment rates were significantly lower than the Australian average in almost every area.
It was found that of the Tasmanian population between aged 15 and 75, the state was 11.5 percentage points above the national average for those with no qualification beyond year 10.
Tasmania was 7.6 points below the national average for those who held a bachelor's degree or higher, and the year 12 retention rate was 13.1 points below the national average.
He said that if Tasmanians started to increase their learning, it would lead to increased work opportunities and a higher income.
"The theme of learning more, working more to earn more is what I'm saying in the report," he said.
"We have a much higher rate of youth unemployment than in other states and we also have a higher proportion of people 15 to 25 who are neither in the workforce or in full-time education, so what are they doing?
"There's no policy of the present government that I support more than the one of extending high school in rural and regional areas to year 11 and 12 and that's the right place to start."
Mr Eslake said he would like to see this rolled out to more schools as the divide between year 10 and 11 sent a message that it was "OK to drop out at year 10".
