Levels of Highest Qualification held by Working Age Adults, 2009

Statistics on qualification levels include data for Wales and all other UK countries for the period up to the end of December 2009. The latest bulletin provides further information on the Headline Statistics previously released on 28th July 2010.

The key points for 2009 are:

• Overall, qualification levels in Wales increased in 2009, continuing the general increase seen in recent years.
• An estimated 14 per cent of working age adults in Wales reported having no qualifications, the same as 2008.
• 71 per cent of working age adults in Wales held at least level 2 qualifications compared with 70 per cent in 2008.
• The proportion holding degree-level qualifications (NQF levels 4 or above) was 30 per cent compared with 28 per cent in 2008.
• Persons with a disability are more likely to hold no qualifications than non-disabled persons, and less likely to hold qualifications at level 2 or above. Since 2005, the gap between disabled and non-disabled persons holding no qualifications has narrowed slightly from 18 percentage points to 16 percentage points.
• The proportion with no qualifications in employment in 2009 was 42 per cent compared with 50 per cent in 2001. The change in employment rates between 2001 and 2009 is less for higher qualification levels.
• In general, qualification levels in Wales were lower than in England, Scotland and the UK as a whole, but higher than in Northern Ireland.

The Annual Population Survey has been reweighted in line with the latest population estimates. Therefore estimates of qualification levels of working age adults for the years 2006 to 2008 have been revised accordingly. The size of these revisions are negligible.

Further information

StatsWales website.

Contact

Tel: 029 2082 5378
E-mail: post16ed.stats@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next update

October 2011 (provisional - to be confirmed on the 'Due Out Soon' page)