Western Downs Regional Council area

Local workers - Field of qualification - All industries

Engineering and Related Technologies is the most common qualification for workers in the Western Downs Regional Council area.

Field of Qualification presents the primary field of study for the highest qualification the person has received. While this is likely to have some relationship to the current occupation, this is not necessarily the case.

The field of study relates to a number of factors, such as:

  • The age of the workforce;
  • The type of qualification required to enter an industry;
  • The availability of jobs related to fields of qualification in the Western Downs Regional Council area;
  • The types of occupations which are available in an area or industry.

The fields of qualification held by local workers in a particular industry are likely to show the type of skills required in that industry. Large numbers of a particular field of qualification in an industry may indicate that it is a pre-requisite for that industry. The presence of fields of qualification outside the main range of qualifications used in that industry may indicate that the industry values employees of a broad educational background, or that people haven't been able to find employment in their chosen field.

Field of Qualification information should be looked at in conjunction with Level of qualification and Occupation data for a clearer picture of the skills available for the local workers in the Western Downs Regional Council area.

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work

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Local workers field of qualification - Summary
Western Downs Regional Council area - All industries20212016Change
Field of qualification (Click rows to view sub-categories)Number%. QueenslandNumber%. Queensland2016 - 2021
Natural and Physical Sciences1270.771.821120.681.67+15
Information Technology1040.632.07820.501.79+22
Engineering and Related Technologies2,74616.6610.952,90117.8411.44-155
Architecture and Building5803.524.556433.954.81-63
Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies8184.961.497404.551.49+78
Health1,0106.138.878795.407.70+131
Education1,0226.205.899105.595.63+112
Management and Commerce1,71810.4214.691,4949.1913.55+224
Society and Culture9015.469.117424.567.95+159
Creative Arts1210.732.57840.512.22+37
Food, Hospitality and Personal Services6453.914.215873.614.00+58
Mixed Field Programmes140.080.0980.040.10+6
Not stated or inadequately described5763.492.965433.342.57+33
No qualification6,09136.9730.666,52840.1635.00-437
Total Persons16,473100.00100.0016,253100.00100.00+220

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 fields of qualifications of the All industries shows that the three largest fields of qualification were:

  • Engineering and Related Technologies (2,746 people or 16.7%)
  • Management and Commerce (1,718 people or 10.4%)
  • Education (1,022 people or 6.2%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 5,486 people in total or33.3% of All industries.

In comparison, Queensland employed 11.0% in Engineering and Related Technologies; 14.7% in Management and Commerce and 5.9% in Education.

The major differences between the fields of qualifications of the workforce in Western Downs Regional Council area and Queensland were:

  • A larger percentage of local workers qualified in the field of Engineering and Related Technologies (16.7% compared to 11.0%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers qualified in the field of Management and Commerce (10.4% compared to 14.7%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers qualified in the field of Society and Culture (5.5% compared to 9.1%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers qualified in the field of Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies (5.0% compared to 1.5%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in fields of qualifications of the total workforce in Western Downs Regional Council area between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Management and Commerce (+224.00 local workers)
  • Society and Culture (+159.00 local workers)
  • Health (+131.00 local workers)
  • Education (+112.00 local workers)

RDA Darling Downs and South West Region

economic profile