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AustraliaCommunity profile

Regional NSW

Qualifications

24.4% of people in Regional NSW had a Vocational qualification in 2021, higher than Victoria. This represents an increase of 57,513 people since 2016.

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, Regional NSW'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
Regional NSW - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212016Change
Qualification levelNumber%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2016 to 2021
Bachelor or Higher degree413,73917.829.2311,93614.524.3+101,803
Advanced Diploma or Diploma202,9768.79.8176,4628.29.2+26,514
Vocational565,97724.416.7508,46423.616.9+57,513
No qualification907,90039.136.5900,78941.739.6+7,111
Not stated233,51010.07.9260,62512.110.0-27,115
Total persons aged 15+2,324,102100.0100.02,158,276100.0100.0+165,826
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 population in Regional NSW in 2021 compared to Victoria 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, 50.9% of the population aged 15 and over held educational qualifications, and 39.1% had no qualifications, compared with 55.6% and 36.5% respectively for Victoria.

The major differences between qualifications held by the population of Regional NSW and Victoria were:

  • A larger percentage of persons with Vocational qualifications (24.4% compared to 16.7%)
  • A larger percentage of persons with No qualifications (39.1% compared to 36.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Bachelor or Higher degrees (17.8% compared to 29.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons with Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (8.7% compared to 9.8%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the qualifications of the population in Regional NSW between 2016 and 2021 were in those with:

  • Bachelor or Higher degrees (+101,803 persons)
  • Vocational qualifications (+57,513 persons)
  • Advanced Diploma or Diplomas (+26,514 persons)
  • No qualifications (+7,111 persons)

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