6227.0 - Education and Work, Australia, May 2012 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/11/2012   
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ATTAINMENT


LEVEL OF HIGHEST NON-SCHOOL QUALIFICATION

The proportion of people aged 15–64 years with a non-school qualification increased from 47% in May 2001 to 59% in May 2012, with the proportion of people with a Bachelor Degree or above increasing from 17% in May 2001 to 25% in May 2012. Over the same period, the proportion of people whose highest non-school qualification was an Advanced Diploma or below increased from 29% to 32%. The proportion of people aged 55–64 years with a non-school qualification increased from 42% in May 2001 to 58% in May 2012. The proportion of people aged 25–34 years with a non-school qualification increased from 59% to 72% over the same time period. (Table 8)

PROPORTION OF PEOPLE AGED 20–64 YEARS WITH A NON-SCHOOL QUALIFICATION, May 2001 to May 2012
Graph: PROPORTION OF PEOPLE AGED 20–64 YEARS WITH A NON-SCHOOL QUALIFICATION, May 2001 to May 2012


Among the 8.7 million people aged 15–64 years in May 2012 with a non-school qualification, the most commonly reported main fields of education for their highest non-school qualification were Management and commerce (2.1 million or 24%) and Engineering and related technologies (1.4 million or 16%). (Table 12)


LEVEL OF HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Just over a quarter (27%) of people aged 15–64 years reported their level of highest educational attainment as Year 11 or below and 20% reported Year 12. Additionally, 18% had a highest level of attainment of a Certificate III or IV and 18% had a Bachelor degree. The number of people whose highest educational attainment was a Postgraduate Degree increased from 283,900 in May 2001 to 754,800 in May 2012. Two-fifths (40%) of people in the ACT had a Bachelor Degree or above as their highest level of educational attainment, the highest of all Australian states and territories. (Tables 9 and 14)

In May 2012, more males than females aged 15–64 years had a non-school qualification (4.2 million and 4.1 million respectively). A higher proportion of males than females reported their level of highest educational attainment as Certificate III or IV, with 22% of all males reporting this qualification, compared with 13% of females. However, a higher proportion of females (27%) than males (24%) had obtained a Bachelor Degree or higher qualification. (Tables 12 and 14)

In May 2012, of the 1.8 million people aged 65–74 years, 382,800 (22%) were in the labour force or marginally attached to the labour force. Of these, 23% had a Bachelor Degree or higher qualification. Almost two-fifths (39%) reported their level of highest educational attainment as Year 11 or below. (Table 15)