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 Gold Coast City.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2011 (experimental imputed) & 2016 – by place of work
Current industry:
Current benchmark:
Gender:
Local workers qualifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gold Coast City - All industries | 2016 | 2011 | Change | ||||||
Qualification level | Number | % | Queensland | Number | % | Queensland | 2011 - 2016 | ||
Bachelor or Higher degree | 54,678 | 23.2 | 25.1 | 39,452 | 19.4 | 21.5 | +15,226 | ||
Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 29,733 | 12.6 | 10.9 | 22,209 | 10.9 | 9.3 | +7,524 | ||
Certificate I and II Level | 2,824 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2,947 | 1.4 | 1.5 | -123 | ||
Certificate III & IV Level | 52,200 | 22.2 | 23.0 | 43,177 | 21.2 | 21.6 | +9,023 | ||
Certificate Level, nfd | 5,690 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 3,896 | 1.9 | 1.7 | +1,794 | ||
No qualification | 83,486 | 35.4 | 35.0 | 83,075 | 40.8 | 40.6 | +411 | ||
Inadequately described or not stated | 6,915 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 8,964 | 4.4 | 3.8 | -2,049 | ||
Total Persons | 235,526 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 203,720 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +31,806 | ||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2011 and 2016. 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 Gold Coast City in 2016 compared to Queensland shows that there was a similar proportion holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a similar proportion with no formal qualifications.
Overall, 61.6% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 35.4% had no qualifications, compared with 62.3% and 35.0% respectively for Queensland.
The major differences between the qualifications held by the workforce of Gold Coast City and Queensland were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (23.2% compared to 25.1%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (12.6% compared to 10.9%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (22.2% compared to 23.0%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualification (35.4% compared to 35.0%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in Gold Coast City between 2011 and 2016 were:
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+15,226 local workers)
- Certificate III & IV Level (+9,023 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+7,524 local workers)
- Certificate Level, nfd (+1,794 local workers)