Qualification levels help to evaluate the economic opportunities and socio-economic status of local workers in a particular industry.
The level of qualifications in a workforce relate to a number of factors including:
- The age of the workforce;
- The skill and qualification level required to enter an industry;
- The professional or working ambitions of people (to seek education as youth or retraining as adults);
- The opportunities afforded to people to continue studying beyond compulsory schooling.
Educational Qualification statistics should be looked at in conjunction with Field of qualification and Occupations data for a full education analysis for the Shire of Ashburton.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work
Current industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Local workers qualifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shire of Ashburton - All industries | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | Western Australia | Number | % | Western Australia | 2016 - 2021 | ||
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 1,875 | 13.7 | 31.1 | 2,845 | 12.1 | 27.4 | -970 | ||
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 1,293 | 9.4 | 10.9 | 1,984 | 8.5 | 10.8 | -691 | ||
| Certificate I and II Level | 236 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 235 | 1.0 | 1.4 | +1 | ||
| Certificate III & IV Level | 5,860 | 42.7 | 21.8 | 10,925 | 46.6 | 21.9 | -5,065 | ||
| Certificate Level, nfd | 187 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 393 | 1.7 | 2.1 | -206 | ||
| No qualification | 3,961 | 28.9 | 30.1 | 6,517 | 27.8 | 33.6 | -2,556 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 305 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 550 | 2.3 | 2.8 | -245 | ||
| Total Persons | 13,717 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 23,449 | 100.0 | 100.0 | -9,732 | ||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions) Please refer to specific data notes for more information | |||||||||
Dominant groups
Analysis of the qualifications of the in the Shire of Ashburton in 2021 compared to Western Australia shows that there was a higher proportion holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a lower proportion with no formal qualifications.
Overall, 68.9% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 28.9% had no qualifications, compared with 67.4% and 30.1% respectively for Western Australia.
The major differences between the qualifications held by the workforce of the Shire of Ashburton and Western Australia were:
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (42.7% compared to 21.8%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (13.7% compared to 31.1%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (9.4% compared to 10.9%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with No qualification (28.9% compared to 30.1%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in the Shire of Ashburton between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Certificate III & IV Level (-5,065 local workers)
- No qualification (-2,556 local workers)
- Bachelor or Higher degree (-970 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (-691 local workers)