2001 Census: Education 2001
Highlights
Introduction
In the 2001 Census, people aged 15 years and over were asked to provide information about their highest school qualification as well as the name and subject of their highest post-school qualification, where applicable. People were also asked about study course attendance as part of the activities question in 2001. The highlights presented here draw on the information collected in these questions to look at educational qualifications for the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over and how these qualifications have changed over the last five years. A discussion of the status of qualifications for Mäori people is included at the end of each section.
At the time of the 2001 Census, nearly 1.8 million people or 72.4 percent of the population held educational qualifications. This is an increase of 10.5 percentage points from the 1996 Census when 61.9 percent of the population held qualifications.
The increase in those with qualifications has been driven by a significant growth in those with school qualifications. In the 2001 Census, 995,895 people had school qualifications, (40.1 percent of the total population), an increase of 35.0 percent since the 1996 Census. In particular, there has been a notable increase in the number of people with overseas school qualifications.
Also contributing to the overall growth in those with qualifications was an increase in those with post-school qualifications, up 11.4 percent from 1996. Although there has been a decline in the number of people with skilled vocational qualifications, eg trade certificates and apprenticeships, there were offsetting increases in the numbers of people with bachelor and higher degrees.
More than half (56.4 percent) of Mäori people aged 15 years and over reported that they had a qualification in the 2001 Census. Of the 158,478 Mäori people who had a qualification, 62.4 percent had gained their highest qualification at school level, while the remaining 37.6 percent had gained their highest qualification after leaving school.
People With and Without Qualifications
Over a quarter (27.6 percent) of the population aged 15 and over held no qualifications (686,226). This is a decrease of 23.6 percent from the 897,699 people who had no qualifications at the time of the 1996 Census. As shown in figure 1, the proportion of people without qualifications generally increased with age.
Figure 1
People With and Without Qualifications by Age Group, 2001
Note: The line across the graph at 50 percent indicates the 50th percentile. It is the point at which the distribution of 'any qualifications' or 'no qualifications' for an age group would be evenly distributed.
Those in the Mäori or Pacific peoples ethnic groups were proportionately more likely to be without qualifications (43.6 percent of Mäori and 35.6 percent of Pacific peoples respectively). This compares with 26.3 percent of those in European ethnic groups, 14.2 percent in the Asian ethnic groups and 14.3 percent in other ethnicities. The younger age structure of the Mäori and Pacific peoples ethnic groups has contributed towards these proportional differences.
While the proportion of people without qualifications has decreased in the five years to 2001, there has been a corresponding increase in the proportion of people with qualifications. This partly reflects an increasing emphasis on gaining qualifications, but is also likely to reflect the changing characteristics of those born outside New Zealand. As noted in the 2001 Census report National Summary, there has been an increase in the proportion of the population born outside New Zealand in the five years to 2001, and an increase in the proportion of people from Asian countries, particularly in the student or young working-age groups. Ninety percent of recent arrivals (ie, four years or less) to New Zealand reported in the 2001 Census that they had a qualification.
Qualifications by Income and Labour Force Status
Qualifications and the labour force
Those with qualifications were more likely to be in paid employment than those without. More than two-thirds (70.5 percent) of those with qualifications were in paid employment compared with 48.9 percent of those without qualifications. The likelihood of being in paid employment also increased with the level of qualifications: 64.5 percent of those whose highest qualification was at school level were employed compared with 77.8 percent of those whose highest qualification was at post-school level.
In industry terms, people with qualifications were most likely to work in either education; finance and insurance services; or government administration and defence. Over 90 percent of employees in each of these industries had qualifications. Those with no qualifications were more prevalent in the mining; agriculture, forestry and fishery; and manufacturing industries. Over 30 percent of employees in each of these industries had no qualifications.
The occupational groups of professionals; technicians and associate professionals; and legislators, administrators and managers had the highest proportions of people with qualifications. Over 85 percent of people in each of these three occupational groups had qualifications. By comparison, the occupational groups of plant and machinery operators and assemblers; and elementary occupations had the highest proportions of employed without qualifications. Nearly a third (31.4 percent) of people with no qualifications worked in one of these two occupational groups.
Within the Mäori ethnic group, two-thirds (67.2 percent) of those with qualifications were in paid employment, while less than half (46.9 percent) of those without qualifications were in paid employment. Mäori people in paid employment were most likely to work in service and sales, clerical, or professional occupations if they had qualifications (46.4 percent of employed Mäori with qualifications). In comparison, those without qualifications were most likely to work as plant and machine operators and assemblers, elementary workers, or service and sales workers (59.1 percent of employed Mäori without qualifications).
Qualifications and income
Of those without qualifications, 8.2 percent received over $40,000 in income in the year to March 2001, compared with 15.3 percent of those whose highest qualification was at school level. Those who took their educational attainment beyond school level were more likely to receive higher incomes: 34.2 percent of those with post-school qualifications received over $40,000 in income. Men with post-school qualifications were more likely to receive higher incomes than women. Over two-fifths (45.2 percent) of men with post-school qualifications received over $40,000 in income, compared with 23.0 percent of women.
For the Mäori ethnic group, 5.0 percent of those without qualifications received over $40,000 in income in the year to March 2001, compared with 10.3 percent of those whose highest qualification was at school level and 22.6 percent of those whose highest qualification was at post-school level. It is likely that the younger age structure of the Mäori ethnic group has influenced these results.
Level of Qualification
School qualifications
In the five years since the 1996 Census, there has been an increase of 8.8 percentage points in the proportion of those who gained their highest qualification at school level (up 258,099). In 2001, 995,895 people had gained their highest qualification at school level, compared with 737,796 at the time of the 1996 Census. As indicated in figure 2, the most common qualification was a fifth form qualification.
The biggest increase among those who gained their highest qualification at school level was for those with overseas secondary school qualifications (up 4.1 percentage points). Close to 30 percent (30.7 percent) of those with a highest qualification of 'overseas school' had arrived in New Zealand within the last four years. There were also increases for fifth form qualifications (up 2.5 percentage points), sixth form qualifications (up 1.3 percentage points) and higher school qualifications (up 0.7 percentage points).
Figure 2
Highest Qualification Gained at School Level, 1996 and 2001
Close to half (46.9 percent or 142,770 people) of all Mäori people aged 15 years and over reported that they had a school qualification in the 2001 Census and for 69.3 percent of these people, this was their highest qualification. Around a third (32.7 percent) of those whose highest qualification was at school level were aged 15-24 years.
Post-school qualifications
As shown in figure 3, the largest increases in the proportion of the population with post-school qualifications since the 1996 Census were for bachelor degree or higher qualifications, up 2.2 percentage points. All other levels of attainment increased over the same period except for skilled vocational qualifications, eg trade certificates and apprenticeships, which decreased by 1.7 percentage points. Further information on the level of attainment classification can be found in the Explanatory Notes.
Of the 799,977 people that gained their qualification after leaving school, the most common post-school level of attainment was an advanced vocational qualification, eg undergraduate diploma or certificate; or a New Zealand diploma or certificate.
Figure 3
Highest Post-School Qualifications, 1996 and 2001
Those age groups with the highest proportion of people holding post-school qualifications were 25-29 years (42.2 percent) and 40-44 years (40.4 percent). The age groups with the lowest proportions of people holding post-school qualifications were 15-19 years (6.5 percent) and 85 years and over (12.8 percent).
Men were marginally more likely than women to have a post-school qualification: 33.6 percent of men had a post-school qualification compared with 30.9 percent of women. However, as figure 4 shows, there are differences between younger men and women, with women aged between 15 and 34 years more likely to have post-school qualifications than men in this age group (32.1 percent of women compared with 29.1 percent of men). From 35 years to 80 years of age, more men hold post-school qualifications than women. This is a shift from the 1996 Census where men were more likely to hold post-school qualifications than women from the age of 25 years on.
Figure 4
Post-School Qualifications by Sex, 2001
Note: The line across the graph at 50 percent indicates the 50th percentile. It is the point at which the distribution of 'post-school qualifications' between men and women would be evenly distributed.
Women in the 15-34 years age group were also more likely to hold a bachelor or higher degree than men in this age group, with 13.7 percent of younger women having qualifications at this level compared with 11.0 percent of younger men.
Almost two-thirds (64.9 percent) of those with advanced vocational qualifications were women, making this the most common level of attainment for women. For men, the most common level of attainment was a skilled vocational qualification.
In terms of ethnicity, those most likely to have post-school qualifications were in the 'other' ethnic group (40.8 percent). This compares with 34.1 percent of those in the European ethnic groups and 34.2 percent of those in the Asian ethnic groups having post-school qualifications. Those in the Mäori and Pacific peoples ethnic groups were less likely to have post-school qualifications: 21.2 percent and 17.0 percent respectively, although the younger age structure of these ethnic groups impacts on these rates.
Mäori women were more likely to have a post-school qualification than Mäori men (22.3 percent versus 20.0 percent). Younger Mäori women (those aged 15-34 years) were more likely than Mäori men in this age group to have a post-school qualification (22.3 percent versus 18.2 percent). Younger Mäori women were also more likely to have a degree or higher level qualification than younger Mäori men (5.1 percent versus 3.8 percent).
The most common post-school qualification levels for Mäori people were basic and advanced vocational qualifications (5.4 percent and 4.8 percent respectively). Mäori men were more likely to have a basic or skilled vocational qualification, while Mäori women were more likely to have a basic or advanced vocational qualification.
Post-school Qualification Field of Study
Information about field of study (or subject) is available for people who answered the post-school qualification question in the census. Most fields of study showed an increase in numbers between 1996 and 2001. The greatest percentage increase was in the field of information technology, where numbers almost doubled (up 97.7 percent or 11,865). The second and third biggest percentage increases were in the creative arts field of study (up 32.8 percent or 8,238), and the society and culture field of study (up 23.8 percent or 23,589).
However, there were decreases in two fields of study: engineering and related technologies (down 20,709 or 12.2 percent); and architecture and building (down 7,437 or 13.1 percent). The broad field of engineering and related technologies includes detailed fields such as electrical engineering, vehicle mechanics and communications equipment installation, while the broad field of architecture and building includes detailed fields such as carpentry and joinery, and plumbing and gas fitting.
The most common fields of study for those who had completed a post-school qualification were management and commerce (150,666) and engineering and related technologies (149,352). More than half (56.2 percent) of those with qualifications in management and commerce were women.
Figure 5 shows that some fields of study were dominated by men, while others were dominated by women, eg 82.7 percent (95,244) of those with a post-school qualification in health were women while 93.5 percent (139,659) of those with a post-school qualification in engineering and related technologies were men. The distribution of post-school qualifications by field for men and women reflects employment in occupations traditionally held by men and women.
Figure 5
Post-School Qualifications Broad Field of Study by Sex, 2001
The most common fields of study for those identifying with the Mäori ethnic group were society and culture, and management and commerce: 35.5 percent of Mäori people aged 15 years and over with post-school qualifications held them in either or both of these two fields. These were also the most common fields of study for Mäori women, accounting for 43.8 percent of the post-school qualifications held by Mäori women. For Mäori men the most common fields of study were engineering and related technologies, and society and culture (41.1 percent). (The broad field of study of society and culture includes the detailed fields of study of tikanga (Mäori custom) and social work.)
Study Course Attendance
In the four weeks preceding the 2001 Census, 394,521 people reported that they were studying, equating to 15.0 percent of the total population aged 15 and over. Over half (51.5 percent) of those studying were aged between 15 and 24 years. The majority
(235,380 people or 59.7 percent) of those studying were doing so on a full-time basis (more than 20 hours a week); and 159,141 on a part-time basis (less than 20 hours a week).
Figure 6 shows that younger women were more likely to be studying than younger men; 46.5 percent of women aged under 25 years of age were studying, compared with 41.8 percent of men in this age group. The finding that younger women are more likely to be studying than younger men is consistent with findings in the Level of Qualifications section (above) which showed that younger women are more likely to hold a post-school qualification than younger men.
Figure 6
Total Studying by Sex and Age Group, 2001
Of those studying, the majority were likely to be doing so concurrently with paid employment: 29.3 percent were working full time in the seven days prior to the 2001 Census, while 25.8 percent were working part time. The remainder of those studying were either outside the labour force (36.2 percent) or unemployed (8.8 percent). Those working in paid employment while studying were most likely to be working as either services and sales workers (25.0 percent), professionals (20.1 percent) or clerks (14.6 percent).
In terms of the Mäori ethnic group, close to one-fifth said they were studying in the four weeks preceding the 2001 Census (56,250 people). The majority (38,040 or 67.6 percent) of these people were studying full time. Full-time study was most common in the 15-24 years age group (58.8 percent were in this age group), and most common for Mäori women (59.9 percent of Mäori studying full time were women). The remaining 18,207 people who were studying were doing so on a part-time basis. However, only 29.6 percent of those studying part time were in the 15-24 years age group, with a further 51.7 percent in the 25-44 years age group. Mäori women accounted for 61.3 percent of those studying part time.