Qualifications of the Adult Population
4.48 Lack of skills and low educational achievement have been cited as one of the primary reasons behind the gap in productivity between the UK and its competitors such as the United States, Germany and France. Education and skills are recognised to be a key productivity in modern, knowledge-based economies.
4.49 Skills Levels of the Region's Workforce - Although an imperfect proxy, the usual way of identifying skills levels is through the analysis of academic and vocational qualification levels within the workforce. Commonly, these qualifications are reported in levels of 1 through to 5, which are broadly in line with a wider standard qualification definition of the National Qualification Framework (NQF) level or equivalent.
4.50 The working age population of the South West is generally well qualified. It has the third highest proportion of the working age population qualified to Level 4 and above, behind London and the South East but above the national average. The South West also has the highest proportion qualified to Level 3 of the English regions. The region has the second highest proportion qualified to Level 2 and the lowest proportion without any qualifications at well below the national average of just over 13.6%.
|
|
Level 4+ |
Level 3 |
Level 2 |
Level 1 |
No qualifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
South West |
27.3% |
20.7% |
22.7% |
19.5% |
9.8% |
|
England |
27.1% |
18.6% |
21.5% |
19.1% |
13.6% |
| Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec 2006, NOMIS | |||||
4.51 Note: the data presented in these tables will not directly match the raw data outputs from NOMIS. DfES assume that people with trade apprenticeships are split evenly between Level 2 and Level 3. DfES also assign people with "other professional/vocational qualifications" as their highest qualification, as follows:
- 10% are assumed to be at Level 3
- 35% are assumed to be at Level 2
- 55% are assumed to be below Level 2
4.52 The qualification levels of the population in the South West have been increasing overtime. The proportion qualified to Level 4 and above has gone from 24.6% in 1999 to 27.3% by 2006. The proportion with Level 2 and above qualifications has increased from 66% in 2001 to nearly 71% in 2006. The proportions either without qualifications or with Level 1 have declined steadily over time.
4.53 All county/unitary authority areas in the South West have proportions of working age adults without qualifications below the national average. The highest levels are seen in Bristol, Dorset and Somerset.
4.54 The geographical disparity in qualifications in the region has a number of causes, some of which may be particular to the local area. However, the effect of the local industrial and occupational make up is likely to be significant. Those industries that require a high level of knowledge and are more knowledge intensive tend to parallel geographical areas with higher skills levels and, within the region, these areas are mainly located towards the north and east.
4.55 Although at a regional level, the working age population looks well qualified, the nature of averages means that wide ranging disparities can be hidden. Looking at higher level skills (Level 4+), eight of the fifteen county/unitary authority areas within the region have proportions of qualified working age adults below the national average.