QUALITY DECLARATION
INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
TableBuilder files 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 TableBuilder can be found at the Survey Confidentiality 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
Aggregated population estimates from the 2012 Survey of Education and Work are available from the underlying microdata in TableBuilder. The microdata contain information about a range of key indicators relating to 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 years who were employed or marginally attached to the labour force.
The type of information collected includes: participation in education in the year prior to the survey, and in the survey month; labour force characteristics, type of educational institution attended; 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 and trainees.
The Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (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.
As a result of this survey being supplementary to the Labour Force Survey (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 years or older, persons aged 65 to 74 years who were not intending to work, persons permanently unable to work, institutionalised persons, and boarding school pupils. Very remote areas, excluding Indigenous communities, have been included in the survey since 2009.
TIMELINESS
The Survey of Education and Work is collected annually with the most recent survey conducted throughout Australia in May 2012. The ABS has been conducting similar surveys since 1964. Initial results from the May 2012 survey were released on 29 November 2012 in Education and Work, Australia, May 2012. A TableBuilder product for the SEW is expected to be available annually while a CURF is available every second year. The microdata products are released approximately 12 months after enumeration is completed.
ACCURACY
The microdata generally contains finer levels of detail for data items than what is otherwise published in other formats, for example, in Education and Work, Australia, May 2012 (cat. no. 6227.0). For information on the level of detail provided, please refer to the data item list in the Downloads tab.
Steps to confidentialise the data made available in TableBuilder 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 TableBuilder with other published statistics. Further information about the steps taken to confidentialise the microdata is available through the Survey Confidentiality Page.
COHERENCE
Results from the previous survey on this topic were published in Education and Work, Australia, May 2011 (cat. no. 6227.0). Data on earlier series can be found on the Past and Future Releases page or by contacting the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
The ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey. Minor changes were made to the survey in 2012 to enhance the quality of the data and to reflect changes in the education system. Sound survey practice requires ongoing development to maintain the integrity of the data.
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 defined as being 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 2012 (cat. no. 6227.0) provides more detailed information on differences between ABS Education surveys over time.
INTERPRETABILITY
The information within this product is the key source for reference when using TableBuilder. Included is information about survey objectives, methodology and design, survey content, data quality and interpretation and information about the file structure of the microdata.
The Explanatory Notes section of Education and Work, Australia, May 2012 (cat. no. 6227.0) should also be referred to as it includes further information on survey methods and design, comparability with previous surveys and summary results.
ACCESSIBILITY
Microdata products are available to approved users. Users wishing to access TableBuilder should read the Registration basics and How to register web pages, before applying for access through the Registration page. Users should also familiarise themselves with information available via the Microdata web pages.
A full list of all available microdata can be viewed via the List of expected and available Microdata.
Any queries regarding access to microdata can be forwarded to microdata.access@abs.gov.au or phone (02) 6252 7714.
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