RDA Darling Downs and South West Region
Local workers - Qualifications - All industries
In the RDA Darling Downs and South West Region, the workforce has a lower proportion with tertiary qualifications compared to Queensland.
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 Occupation data for a full education analysis for RDA Darling Downs and South West Region.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2011 (experimental imputed) & 2016 – by place of work
Please note – The 2016 Census used a new methodology to “impute” a work location to people who didn’t state their workplace address. As a result, 2016 and 2011 place of work data are not normally comparable. To allow comparison between 2011 and 2016, .id has sourced a 2011 dataset from the ABS which was experimentally imputed using the same methodology. To provide this detail, RDA Darling Downs and South West Region in 2011 had to be constructed from a best fit of Work Destination Zones (DZNs). While it may not be an exact match to the LGA or region boundary, it is considered close enough to allow some comparison. Users should treat this time series data with caution, however, and not compare directly with 2011 data from any other source.
| Local workers qualifications | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RDA Darling Downs and South West Region - All industries | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | Queensland % | Number | % | Queensland % | 2011 to 2016 | |
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 22,912 | 19.7 | 25.1 | 19,065 | 16.6 | 21.5 | +3,847 | 25001 |
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 11,635 | 10.0 | 10.9 | 9,578 | 8.3 | 9.3 | +2,057 | 25002 |
| Certificate I and II Level | 1,869 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 2,064 | 1.8 | 1.5 | -195 | 25005 |
| Certificate III & IV Level | 28,758 | 24.7 | 23.0 | 24,905 | 21.7 | 21.6 | +3,853 | 25006 |
| Certificate Level, nfd | 2,446 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1,943 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +503 | 25007 |
| No qualification | 45,350 | 39.0 | 35.0 | 52,891 | 46.1 | 40.6 | -7,541 | 25008 |
| Inadequately described or not stated | 3,327 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4,324 | 3.8 | 3.8 | -997 | 25009 |
| Total persons | 116,297 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 114,770 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +1,527 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 and 2016. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window), the population experts.
Dominant groups
Analysis of the qualifications of the in the RDA Darling Downs and South West Region in 2016 compared to Queensland 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, 33.4% of the held educational qualifications, and 39.0% had no qualifications, compared with 39.3% and 35.0% respectively for Queensland.
The major differences between the qualifications held by the workforce in the RDA Darling Downs and South West Region and Queensland were:
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualifications (39.0% compared to 35.0%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Levels (24.7% compared to 23.0%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degrees (19.7% compared to 25.1%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (10.0% compared to 10.9%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in the RDA Darling Downs and South West Region between 2011 and 2016 were:
- No qualifications (-7,541 local workers)
- Certificate III & IV Levels (+3,853 local workers)
- Bachelor or Higher degrees (+3,847 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+2,057 local workers)