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 Wollongong 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 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wollongong City - All industries | 2016 | 2011 | Change | ||||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | New South Wales | Number | % | New South Wales | 2011 - 2016 | ||
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 21,037 | 26.6 | 32.6 | 17,702 | 22.6 | 27.9 | +3,335 | ||
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 9,438 | 11.9 | 11.1 | 8,164 | 10.4 | 10.5 | +1,274 | ||
| Certificate I and II Level | 1,124 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1,293 | 1.7 | 1.4 | -169 | ||
| Certificate III & IV Level | 18,653 | 23.5 | 18.7 | 18,527 | 23.6 | 18.8 | +126 | ||
| Certificate Level, nfd | 2,064 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1,725 | 2.2 | 1.9 | +339 | ||
| No qualification | 24,748 | 31.2 | 31.1 | 27,539 | 35.1 | 34.9 | -2,791 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 2,162 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3,412 | 4.4 | 4.5 | -1,250 | ||
| Total Persons | 79,226 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 78,362 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +864 | ||
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 Wollongong City in 2016 compared to New South Wales shows that there was a similar proportion holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a similar proportion with no formal qualifications.
Overall, 66.0% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 31.2% 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 Wollongong City and New South Wales were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (26.6% compared to 32.6%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (23.5% compared to 18.7%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Advanced Diploma or Diploma (11.9% compared to 11.1%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate Level, nfd (2.6% compared to 2.3%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in Wollongong City between 2011 and 2016 were:
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+3,335 local workers)
- No qualification (-2,791 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+1,274 local workers)
- Certificate Level, nfd (+339 local workers)