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 Byron Shire.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work
Current industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Local workers qualifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Shire - All industries | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | New South Wales | Number | % | New South Wales | 2016 - 2021 | ||
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 5,704 | 34.3 | 38.4 | 3,597 | 27.8 | 32.6 | +2,107 | ||
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 2,156 | 12.9 | 11.0 | 1,618 | 12.5 | 11.1 | +538 | ||
| Certificate I and II Level | 206 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 179 | 1.4 | 1.2 | +27 | ||
| Certificate III & IV Level | 3,212 | 19.3 | 18.1 | 2,757 | 21.3 | 18.7 | +455 | ||
| Certificate Level, nfd | 325 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 357 | 2.8 | 2.3 | -32 | ||
| No qualification | 4,588 | 27.6 | 27.0 | 3,999 | 30.9 | 31.1 | +589 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 461 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 455 | 3.5 | 2.9 | +6 | ||
| Total Persons | 16,652 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 12,962 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +3,690 | ||
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 Byron Shire in 2021 compared to New South Wales shows that there was a lower proportion holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a similar proportion with no formal qualifications.
Overall, 69.7% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 27.6% had no qualifications, compared with 70.7% and 27.0% respectively for New South Wales.
The major differences between the qualifications held by the workforce of Byron Shire and New South Wales were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (34.3% compared to 38.4%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (12.9% compared to 11.0%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (19.3% compared to 18.1%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualification (27.6% compared to 27.0%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in Byron Shire between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+2,107 local workers)
- No qualification (+589 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+538 local workers)
- Certificate III & IV Level (+455 local workers)