idc-logo
svg rectangle color
AustraliaCommunity profile

22.1% of people in Queensland had a Vocational qualification in 2021, higher than Greater Sydney. This represents an increase of 375,862 people since 2006.

Educational Qualifications relate to education outside of primary and secondary school and are one of the most important indicators of socio-economic status. With other data sources, such as Employment Status, Income and Occupation, Queensland's Educational Qualifications help to evaluate the economic opportunities and socio-economic status of the area and identify skill gaps in the labour market.

Learn more about planning education provision here.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What is the level of the highest qualification the person has completed?'

Highest qualification achieved
Queensland - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212006Change
Qualification levelNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2006 to 2021
Bachelor or Higher degree918,46621.933.4404,61013.120.0+513,856
Advanced Diploma or Diploma395,6159.49.7203,3776.68.1+192,238
Vocational927,89422.114.8552,03217.914.9+375,862
No qualification1,573,15037.534.21,531,71249.642.7+41,438
Not stated376,6859.08.0394,56812.814.3-17,883
Total persons aged 15+4,191,810100.0100.03,086,299100.0100.0+1,105,511
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2006 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 population in Queensland in 2021 compared to Greater Sydney shows that there was a lower proportion of people holding formal qualifications (Bachelor or higher degree; Advanced Diploma or Diploma; or Vocational qualifications), and a higher proportion of people with no formal qualifications.

Overall, 53.5% of the population aged 15 and over held educational qualifications, and 37.5% had no qualifications, compared with 57.8% and 34.2% respectively for Greater Sydney.

The major differences between qualifications held by the population of Queensland and Greater Sydney were:

  • A larger percentage of persons with Vocational qualifications (22.1% compared to 14.8%)
  • A larger percentage of persons with No qualifications (37.5% compared to 34.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Bachelor or Higher degrees (21.9% compared to 33.4%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the qualifications of the population in Queensland between 2006 and 2021 were in those with:

  • Bachelor or Higher degrees (+513,856 persons)
  • Vocational qualifications (+375,862 persons)
  • Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+192,238 persons)
  • No qualifications (+41,438 persons)

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices. Stats NZ Data and the copyright in the Stats NZ Data remains the property of the Statistics New Zealand.

The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the Stats NZ Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. Stats NZ Data can be accessed on the Statistics New Zealand website at www.stats.govt.nz. Unless otherwise specified, content that Stats NZ produce is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. For further information see https://www.stats.govt.nz/about-us/copyright/.