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 University 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 Occupations data for a full education analysis for the RDA Darling Downs and South West Region.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2011 (experimental imputed) & 2016 – by place of work
Local workers qualifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RDA Darling Downs and South West Region - All industries | 2016 | 2011 | Change | ||||||
Qualification level | Number | % | Queensland | Number | % | Queensland | 2011 - 2016 | ||
Bachelor or Higher degree | 22,912 | 19.7 | 25.1 | 19,065 | 16.6 | 21.5 | +3,847 | ||
Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 11,635 | 10.0 | 10.9 | 9,578 | 8.3 | 9.3 | +2,057 | ||
Certificate I and II Level | 1,869 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 2,064 | 1.8 | 1.5 | -195 | ||
Certificate III & IV Level | 28,758 | 24.7 | 23.0 | 24,905 | 21.7 | 21.6 | +3,853 | ||
Certificate Level, nfd | 2,446 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1,943 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +503 | ||
No qualification | 45,350 | 39.0 | 35.0 | 52,891 | 46.1 | 40.6 | -7,541 | ||
Inadequately described or not stated | 3,327 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4,324 | 3.8 | 3.8 | -997 | ||
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 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 the RDA Darling Downs and South West Region in 2016 compared to Queensland shows that there was a higher proportion holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a lower proportion with no formal qualifications.
Overall, 58.1% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 39.0% had no qualifications, compared with 62.3% and 35.0% respectively for Queensland.
The major differences between the qualifications held by the workforce of the RDA Darling Downs and South West Region and Queensland were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (19.7% compared to 25.1%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualification (39.0% compared to 35.0%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (24.7% compared to 23.0%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (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 qualification (-7,541 local workers)
- Certificate III & IV Level (+3,853 local workers)
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+3,847 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+2,057 local workers)