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Qualifications

Profile of the highest levels of qualification of the North East working age population

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Qualification levels in the North East

The latest data about the highest level of qualification covers the calendar year 2023. In the North East, among working age (16-64) people:

  • Just over 40% of residents had a qualification at level 4 or above
  • this was a smaller percentage than for England excluding London and was the second lowest among the eight core city areas
  • at local authority area level, the percentage was highest among Newcastle residents and lowest among Sunderland residents
  • at constituency area level, the percentage was highest in Hexham, one of six where more than half of residents had a level 4+ qualification
  • about 8.6% of North East residents had no qualifications, a higher percentage than for England excluding London and the third highest percentage among the core city areas
  • among local authority areas, Sunderland had the highest percentage of residents with no qualifications, with Gateshead having the lowest.

The introduction of the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) in 2022 means that the latest data can only be directly compared that of the previous year. Earlier trends can be charted using the NVQ framework. Between 2022 and 2023:

  • the percentage of North East residents with a level 4+ qualification increased by 2.3 percentage points (pp)
  • this was a larger pp increase than for England excluding London and continued the fairly constant upward trend in the decade to 2021
  • the percentage of North East residents with no qualifications increased by 0.7 pp, contrasting with a 0.3 pp decrease for England excluding London
  • the increase differed from the broad North East downwards trend in the years up to 2021, although there was also an increase in the percentage between 2020 and 2021.

Qualification levels by age and sex

Among 16-64 year olds in the North East in 2023:

  • A higher percentage of females than males were educated to level 4 and above (41.0% compared to 39.5%)
  • this was also true for England excluding London, where the gap was wider than in the North East
  • a higher percentage of males than females had no qualifications
  • again, this was also true for England excluding London but, in this case, the gap was wider in the North East
  • the percentage of people with qualifications at level 4 and above was highest in the 25 to 29 age group, where the rate was higher than for England excluding London
  • the percentages with this level of qualification in the three 30+ age groups were all lower than in England excluding London 
  • the percentage of people with no qualifications was highest among the youngest (16 to 19) and oldest (50 to 64) age groups
  • among the 25 to 64 age group, those aged 50 to 64 made up 48% of residents with no qualifications but only 34% of those with a level 4+ qualification.

Economic activity rate by qualification level

In 2023, among North East residents aged 16 to 64:

  • The economic activity rate for people with a level 4+ qualification was twice the rate for those without qualifications
  • the rates for those with qualifications at levels 1 and 2 were both about 1.5 times higher than the rate for those without qualifications
  • the level 4+ rate was almost 11 percentage points (pp) higher than the overall rate
  • the economic activity rate was lower than for England excluding London for all qualification levels with the gap fairly similar across all qualification levels
  • the male economic activity rate was higher than the female rate for all levels, with the gap being narrowest at level 4+.

Defining qualification levels

The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) includes eight levels, the five highest of which are combined in the published data:

  • Level 1: GCSEs grades 3-1 and equivalent; NVQ1; other level 1 qualifications
  • Level 2: GCSEs grades 9-4 and equivalent; intermediate apprenticeships; NVQ2; other level 2 qualifications
  • Level 3: A levels grade A-E; AS levels; T levels; advance apprenticeships; NVQ3; other level 3 qualifications
  • Level 4: Certificates of higher education; HNCs; higher apprenticeships; NVQ4; other level 4 qualifications
  • Level 5: Diplomas of higher education; HNDs; foundation degrees; NVQ5; other level 5 qualifications
  • Level 6: Bachelor’s degree (with or without honours); degree apprenticeships; NVQ6; other level 6 qualifications;
  • Level 7:  Master’s degree, Postgraduate certificates including PGCE; NVQ7; other level 7 qualifications
  • Level 8: Doctorates; other level 8 qualifications.

The previous definition of qualification levels (NVQ) included an apprenticeship level. However,apprenticeship qualifications are split into four separate levels in the new RQF.