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South West Group

The workforce

The workforce is presented in two sections to answer the following questions:

  • What are the characteristics of the workers in each industry sector?
  • Where do the workers come from?

The workforce data represents characteristics of all people who are employed in the LGA, regardless of where they live. The characteristics of the workforce in an area are indicative of the structure of the local economy and the employment opportunities on offer. It is also indicative of the socio-demographic characteristics of the population in the local area and the broader region (that is, the local and regional skills on offer).

Data are presented for the total LGA workforce and for the workforce constituting each industry sector (Who are our workers?). This reveals the extent to which the workforce characteristics vary between each industry sector, which is indicative of specific industry sector workforce requirements.

Data are also presented for where each industry sector is deriving its workforce (Where do our workers come from?). This data reveals the extent to which each industry sector derives its workforce from outside the local area, that is, the level of self-containment of each industry sector and the overall level of self-containment of the total LGA workforce. This is important as many Local Governments have a policy objective of maximising the level of workforce self-containment.

Field of qualification

Derived from the Census question, "What is the main field of study for the person’s highest qualification completed?"

Educational Qualifications are one of the most important indicators of socio-economic status. With other data sources, such as Income and Occupation, Educational Qualifications help to evaluate the economic opportunities and socio-economic status of workers in a particular industry. The field of qualification information indicates, for the highest qualification the person has received, what was the primary field of study. This is likely to have some relationship to the current occupation, but this is not necessarily the case. The field of study relates to a number of factors, such as:

  • the age of the workforce;
  • the type of qualification required to enter an industry;
  • the availability of jobs related to fields of qualification already studied;
  • the types of occupations which are available in an area or industry;

The fields of qualification possessed by employed people in a particular industry are likely to show the type of skills required in that industry. Large numbers of a particular field of qualification in an industry may indicate that it is a pre-requisite for that industry. The presence of fields of qualification outside the main range of qualifications used in that industry may indicate that the industry values employees of a broad educational background, or that people haven’t been able to find employment in their chosen field.

Educational Qualification information should be looked at in conjunction with Occupation data for a clearer picture of the skills available in the workforce.

Data options:
Select gender:
Select an ANZSIC industry classification:
The workforce (all industries)

Includes the sum of all industry categories.

Industries are classified according to an industry coding system. The 1993 Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) is not the lastest standard but provides a comparable classification for time-series data. This standard was used to code industry data for the 1996, 2001 and 2006 censuses, (2006 industry data was coded to both the 1993 and the 2006 standards).

For more information please refer to the 2006 Census Dictionary, and ANZSIC classification.

Field of qualification of the workforce (all industries) (ANZSIC 1993 - Time series industry classification)

Field of qualification of the All industries workforce by gender, South West Group20062001Change
Gender Field of studynumber%City of Melville %number%City of Melville %2001 to 2006
Persons01Natural and Physical Sciences2,2782.13.51,8542.03.6424
Persons02Information Technology1,2341.21.57320.81.2502
Persons03Engineering and Related Technologies15,64314.78.113,09914.49.72,544
Persons04Architecture and Building3,1302.92.42,6582.92.5472
Persons05Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies1,2661.21.01,0451.11.1221
Persons06Health6,9436.58.85,4296.07.51,514
Persons07Education6,1455.87.04,7545.26.11,391
Persons08Management and Commerce9,5269.011.07,0097.79.72,517
Persons09Society and Culture5,7405.46.54,0724.55.51,668
Persons10Creative Arts1,8371.72.21,2401.41.6597
Persons11Food, Hospitality and Personal Services3,5373.33.72,6792.93.4858
Persons12Mixed Field Programmes740.10.1180.00.056
Persons91Not stated or inadequately described3,8273.63.13,4353.83.3392
Persons93No qualification45,21042.541.043,21347.444.81,997
PersonsTotalTotal106,390100.0100.091,237100.0100.015,153

The abbreviation 'nfd' stands for Not Further Described, and relates to the situation where a response on the Census form could be coded to a broad category but not to a more specific sub-grouping within that category

NOTE: Table totals may not equate with other similar tables due to randomisation of small numbers.

Field of qualification of the workforce, South West Group and City of Melville 2006 Natural and Physical Sciences, City of Melville: 3.5% Information Technology, City of Melville: 1.5% Engineering and Related Technologies, City of Melville: 8.1% Architecture and Building, City of Melville: 2.4% Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies, City of Melville: 1.0% Health, City of Melville: 8.8% Education, City of Melville: 7.0% Management and Commerce, City of Melville: 11.0% Society and Culture, City of Melville: 6.5% Creative Arts, City of Melville: 2.2% Food, Hospitality and Personal Services, City of Melville: 3.7% Mixed Field Programmes, City of Melville: 0.1% Not stated or inadequately described, City of Melville: 3.1% Natural and Physical Sciences, South West Group: 2.1% Information Technology, South West Group: 1.2% Engineering and Related Technologies, South West Group: 14.7% Architecture and Building, South West Group: 2.9% Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies, South West Group: 1.2% Health, South West Group: 6.5% Education, South West Group: 5.8% Management and Commerce, South West Group: 9.0% Society and Culture, South West Group: 5.4% Creative Arts, South West Group: 1.7% Food, Hospitality and Personal Services, South West Group: 3.3% Mixed Field Programmes, South West Group: 0.1% Not stated or inadequately described, South West Group: 3.6%
Change in field of qualification of the workforce, South West Group 2001 to 2006 Natural and Physical Sciences: 424 Information Technology: 502 Engineering and Related Technologies: 2,544 Architecture and Building: 472 Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies: 221 Health: 1,514 Education: 1,391 Management and Commerce: 2,517 Society and Culture: 1,668 Creative Arts: 597 Food, Hospitality and Personal Services: 858 Mixed Field Programmes: 56 Not stated or inadequately described: 392

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2001 and 2006.

Please refer to the specific data notes for more information.