QUALITY DECLARATION
INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs) are released in accordance with the conditions specified in the Statistics Determination section of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (CSA). This ensures that confidentiality is maintained whilst enabling micro level data to be released. More information on the confidentiality practices associated with CURFs can be found at the About CURF Microdata page.
For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.
RELEVANCE
Microdata from the Survey of Education and Work 2011 are available as a Basic CURF and in TableBuilder. The microdata contains information about a range of key indicators relating to the educational participation and attainment along with data on people's transition between education and work for all persons aged 15 to 64 years and persons aged 65 to 74 who are employed or marginally attached to the labour force.
As a result of this survey being supplementary to the LFS, persons excluded from the LFS were also excluded from this survey (see Explanatory Notes of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) for standard LFS exclusions). Additional exclusions from this survey were persons aged 75 or older, persons aged 65-74 years who were not intending to work, persons permanently unable to work, institutionalised persons, and boarding school pupils. Persons in very remote areas that are not part of the Indigenous Community Frame (ICF) were included for the first time in 2009. Nationally, approximately 0.5% of persons in scope for SEW live in very remote areas that are not part of the ICF. In the Northern Territory, this proportion is 6%.
The type of information collected included: participation in education in the year prior to the survey, and in the survey month; labour force characteristics; type of educational institution; level of education of current and previous study; highest year of school completed; level and main field of highest non-school qualification; transition from education to work; unmet demand for education; and selected characteristics of apprentices.
The Australian Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0) was used to classify education. The ASCED is a national standard classification which can be applied to all sectors of the Australian education system including schools, vocational education and training and higher education. The ASCED comprises two classifications: Level of Education and Field of Education.
For more information, see Microdata: Education and Work, Australia, May 2011 (cat. no. 6227.0.30.001).
TIMELINESS
The most recent survey of Education and Work was conducted throughout Australia in May 2011 as a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). The ABS has been conducting similar surveys annually since 1964. Data from the most recent survey (in the form of html and data cubes) were released on 30 November 2011. A CURF for this survey is available every second year. The microdata products are released approximately 12 months after enumeration is completed.
ACCURACY
The microdata contains finer levels of detail of data items than what is otherwise published in other formats, for example, in Education and Work, Australia, May 2011 (cat. no. 6227.0). For more information on the level of detail provided, please see the associated data item lists.
Steps to confidentialise the data made available on the CURF are taken in such a way as to maximise the usefulness of the content while maintaining the confidentiality of respondents selected in the survey. As a result it may not be possible to exactly reconcile all the statistics produced from the microdata with other published statistics. Further information about the steps taken to confidentialise the microdata is available through the following links:
CURF confidentiality
TableBuilder confidentiality
COHERENCE
Results from the previous survey on this topic were published in Education and Work, Australia, May 2010 (cat. no. 6227.0). Data on earlier topics can be found on the Past and Future Releases page or by contacting the Nation Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
The ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey; sound survey practice requires ongoing development to maintain the integrity of the data. Minor changes were made to the survey in 2011 to enhance the quality of the data and to reflect any changes in the education or other relevant system.
In 2009 the scope of the survey was extended to include persons aged 65 to 74 years who are employed or marginally attached to the labour force. Persons are determined to be marginally attached to the labour force if they were not in the labour force in the reference week, wanted to work and: were actively looking for work but did not meet the availability criteria to be classified as unemployed; or were not actively looking for work but were available to start work within four weeks or could start work within four weeks if child care was available.
The Explanatory Notes section of Education and Work, Australia, May 2011 (cat. no. 6227.0) provides more detailed information on the differences between the ABS Education surveys over time.
INTERPRETABILITY
The information within this product should be referred to when using the microdata. It contains information including Survey methodology, File structure, Using the CURF, Using the TableBuilder, Conditions of use and the Data item lists.
The Explanatory Notes section of the Education and Work, Australia, May 2011 (cat. no. 6227.0) includes information on survey objectives, survey methods and design, data quality and interpretation, output data items, information about the availability of results and comparability with previous surveys.
ACCESSIBILITY
Microdata products are available to approved users. Users wishing to access the microdata should read the How to apply for Microdata web page, before applying for access through MiCRO. Users should also familiarise themselves with information available via the Microdata web pages.
A full list of available microdata can be viewed via the List of Expected and available Microdata. More detail regarding types and modes of access to CURFs can be found on the CURF Access Modes and Levels of Detail web page.
SEW 2011 can be accessed using TableBuilder. The Basic CURF can be accessed on CD-ROM, through the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL) and the ABS Data Laboratory (ABSDL).
Any questions regarding access to microdata can be forwarded to microdata.access@abs.gov.au or phone (02) 6252 7714.
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