Canberra Region

Resident workers - Qualifications

66.1% of the resident workers (All industries) in the Canberra Region have qualifications, compared to 70.7% for NSW.

Education is an essential means of building the knowledge and skill levels of the labour force, which is a key factor in achieving future economic and social development.

The level of educational attainment for the Canberra Region's resident workforce relates to a number of factors including:

  • The age structure of the resident workforce;
  • The professional or social ambitions of people to obtain qualifications (that is, to seek education and retraining);
  • The opportunities afforded to people to continue studying beyond compulsory schooling, and;
  • The knowledge and skill requirements of the local industries.

Qualification should be looked at in conjunction with Income , Occupations and Field of qualification for a clearer picture of the knowledge and skill level of the Canberra Region's local resident workers.

When comparing the Qualifications of local resident worker with local workers, Qualifications statistics indicates whether an economy draws on the skills offered by its own residents or on a different set of skills imported from elsewhere in the region.

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 and 2021 – by usual residence

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Resident workers qualifications
Canberra Region - Persons20212016Change
Qualification levelNumber%. NSWNumber%. NSW2016 - 2021
Bachelor or Higher degree37,49226.438.427,34622.132.6+10,146
Advanced Diploma or Diploma15,80311.111.013,58811.011.2+2,215
Certificate I and II Level2,1141.51.21,9951.61.2+119
Certificate III & IV Level35,39925.018.230,94425.018.7+4,455
Certificate Level, nfd2,9832.11.93,1702.62.3-187
No qualification44,70631.527.042,92834.631.1+1,778
Inadequately described or not stated3,3562.42.33,9603.22.9-604
Total Persons141,853100.0100.0123,931100.0100.0+17,922

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions)

Did you know? By clicking/tapping on a category in the chart below you will be able to drilldown to the sub categories.
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Dominant groups

Analysis of the qualifications of the resident workers (All industries) in the Canberra Region in 2021 compared to NSW shows that there was a higher proportion of resident holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a lower proportion of males with no formal qualifications.

Overall, 66.1% of the resident workers (All industries) held educational qualifications, and 31.5% had no qualifications, compared with 70.7% and 27.0% respectively for NSW.

The major differences between qualifications held by the resident workers (All industries) of the Canberra Region and (NSW) were:

  • A smaller percentage of resident workers (All industries) with Bachelor or Higher degree (26.4% compared to 38.4%)
  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) with Certificate III & IV Level (25.0% compared to 18.2%)
  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) with No qualification (31.5% compared to 27.0%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the qualifications held by the resident workers (All industries) in the Canberra Region between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Bachelor or Higher degree (+10,146 persons)
  • Certificate III & IV Level (+4,455 persons)
  • Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+2,215 persons)
  • No qualification (+1,778 persons)

Canberra Region Joint Organisation area

economic profile