Foreign Workers Have More Qualifications - ABS
2 December 2013 at 9:33 am
People born overseas are more likely to have a degree or certificate than people born in Australia, new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures on education and training have shown.
The Education and Training Statistics survey revealed that while overall attainment rates have increased, the proportion of people born overseas that had a non-school qualification (either a degree or certificate) was 63 per cent, compared with 55 per cent for those born in Australia.
"Overall, 25 per cent of people had a Bachelor degree or above, which is up from 17 per cent in 2001,"ABS Director of Education and Training Statistics, Myles Burleigh, said.
"27 per cent of women have a Bachelor degree or above compared to 22 per cent for men."
The survey also revealed that in May 2013, there were 1.2 million people aged 15-64 years who had completed the non-school qualification in which they were enrolled in 2012.
More than four-fifths (81 per cent) of these were employed in May 2013, while 6.6 per cent were unemployed.
Employment rates for those aged 25-44 and 45-64 were 82 per cent and 85 per cent respectively.
The ABS survey found that nearly 3 million Australians aged 15 to 64 were enrolled in a course of study.
"Of these, over half are female, and students born overseas make up around a quarter of those studying,” Burleigh said
He said the survey revealed 58 per cent of students were working while studying, with 25 per cent working full time.
"The proportion of people studying Information Technology has decreased since 2001, while Management and Commerce remained the most popular field of study,” he said.
Of those people who had left school in the last year, 59 per cent were enrolled in further study.
To view the report, click here.
