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 2016 & 2021 – by place of work
Current industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Local workers qualifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith City - All industries | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | New South Wales | Number | % | New South Wales | 2016 - 2021 | ||
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 21,198 | 27.1 | 38.4 | 15,769 | 23.0 | 32.6 | +5,429 | ||
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 8,378 | 10.7 | 11.0 | 7,015 | 10.2 | 11.1 | +1,363 | ||
| Certificate I and II Level | 1,024 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 946 | 1.4 | 1.2 | +78 | ||
| Certificate III & IV Level | 16,989 | 21.7 | 18.1 | 14,792 | 21.6 | 18.7 | +2,197 | ||
| Certificate Level, nfd | 1,581 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1,603 | 2.3 | 2.3 | -22 | ||
| No qualification | 27,398 | 35.0 | 27.0 | 26,521 | 38.7 | 31.1 | +877 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 1,778 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1,945 | 2.8 | 2.9 | -167 | ||
| Total Persons | 78,346 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 68,591 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +9,755 | ||
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 Penrith City 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, 62.8% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 35.0% 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 Penrith City and New South Wales were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (27.1% compared to 38.4%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualification (35.0% compared to 27.0%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (21.7% compared to 18.1%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (10.7% compared to 11.0%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in Penrith City between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+5,429 local workers)
- Certificate III & IV Level (+2,197 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+1,363 local workers)
- No qualification (+877 local workers)