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 Gunnedah Shire.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work
Current industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Local workers qualifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunnedah Shire - All industries | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | New South Wales | Number | % | New South Wales | 2016 - 2021 | ||
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 911 | 17.3 | 38.4 | 770 | 15.8 | 32.6 | +141 | ||
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 446 | 8.5 | 11.0 | 455 | 9.4 | 11.1 | -9 | ||
| Certificate I and II Level | 103 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 93 | 1.9 | 1.2 | +10 | ||
| Certificate III & IV Level | 1,530 | 29.0 | 18.1 | 1,214 | 25.0 | 18.7 | +316 | ||
| Certificate Level, nfd | 136 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 152 | 3.1 | 2.3 | -16 | ||
| No qualification | 1,992 | 37.8 | 27.0 | 1,965 | 40.4 | 31.1 | +27 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 152 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 216 | 4.4 | 2.9 | -64 | ||
| Total Persons | 5,270 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 4,865 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +405 | ||
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 Gunnedah 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 higher proportion with no formal qualifications.
Overall, 59.3% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 37.8% 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 Gunnedah Shire and New South Wales were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (17.3% compared to 38.4%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (29.0% compared to 18.1%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualification (37.8% compared to 27.0%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (8.5% compared to 11.0%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in Gunnedah Shire between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Certificate III & IV Level (+316 local workers)
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+141 local workers)
- No qualification (+27 local workers)
- Certificate Level, nfd (-16 local workers)