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 2016 & 2021 – by place of work
Current industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Local workers qualifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wollongong City - All industries | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||||
| Qualification level | Number | % | New South Wales | Number | % | New South Wales | 2016 - 2021 | ||
| Bachelor or Higher degree | 27,028 | 31.2 | 38.4 | 21,037 | 26.6 | 32.6 | +5,991 | ||
| Advanced Diploma or Diploma | 9,922 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 9,438 | 11.9 | 11.1 | +484 | ||
| Certificate I and II Level | 1,229 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1,124 | 1.4 | 1.2 | +105 | ||
| Certificate III & IV Level | 20,355 | 23.5 | 18.1 | 18,653 | 23.5 | 18.7 | +1,702 | ||
| Certificate Level, nfd | 1,873 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2,064 | 2.6 | 2.3 | -191 | ||
| No qualification | 24,569 | 28.4 | 27.0 | 24,748 | 31.2 | 31.1 | -179 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 1,598 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2,162 | 2.7 | 2.9 | -564 | ||
| Total Persons | 86,574 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 79,226 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +7,348 | ||
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 Wollongong City in 2021 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 higher proportion with no formal qualifications.
Overall, 69.8% of the workers who held educational qualifications, and 28.4% 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 Wollongong City and New South Wales were:
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Bachelor or Higher degree (31.2% compared to 38.4%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with Certificate III & IV Level (23.5% compared to 18.1%)
- A larger percentage of local workers with No qualification (28.4% compared to 27.0%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers with Inadequately described or not stated (1.8% compared to 2.3%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the qualifications held by the workforce in Wollongong City between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Bachelor or Higher degree (+5,991 local workers)
- Certificate III & IV Level (+1,702 local workers)
- Advanced Diploma or Diploma (+484 local workers)
- Certificate Level, nfd (-191 local workers)