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 Penrith 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 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith City - All industries | 2016 | 2011 | Change | ||||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | New South Wales | Number | % | New South Wales | 2011 - 2016 | ||
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 15,769 | 23.0 | 32.6 | 11,977 | 19.8 | 27.9 | +3,792 | ||
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 7,015 | 10.2 | 11.1 | 5,504 | 9.1 | 10.5 | +1,511 | ||
| Certificate I and II Level | 946 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 961 | 1.6 | 1.4 | -15 | ||
| Certificate III & IV Level | 14,792 | 21.6 | 18.7 | 12,621 | 20.9 | 18.8 | +2,171 | ||
| Certificate Level, nfd | 1,603 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1,165 | 1.9 | 1.9 | +438 | ||
| No qualification | 26,521 | 38.7 | 31.1 | 25,502 | 42.1 | 34.9 | +1,019 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 1,945 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2,795 | 4.6 | 4.5 | -850 | ||
| Total Persons | 68,591 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 60,525 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +8,066 | ||
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 Penrith City in 2016 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, 58.5% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 38.7% had no qualifications, compared with 65.9% and 31.1% respectively for New South Wales.
The major differences between the qualifications held by the workforce of Penrith City and New South Wales were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (23.0% compared to 32.6%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualification (38.7% compared to 31.1%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (21.6% compared to 18.7%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (10.2% compared to 11.1%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in Penrith City between 2011 and 2016 were:
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+3,792 local workers)
- Certificate III & IV Level (+2,171 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+1,511 local workers)
- No qualification (+1,019 local workers)