An image

Qualifications

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

Education and skills Newcastle North Tyneside South Tyneside Durham Gateshead Sunderland Northumberland
Download as a PDF

Qualification levels in the North East

38.0%

level 4 and above

% of N.E. population (16-64)
England excl. London 42.2%
Level 4 qualifications include
higher education certificates,
higher apprenticeships, NVQ4

48.9%

North Tyneside

% educated to level 4+
highest in the North East

61.1%

level 3 and above

% of N.E. population (16-64)
England excl. London 65.0%
Level 3 qualifications include
A levels, T levels, NVQ3,
advanced apprenticeships

7.9%

no qualifications

% of N.E. population (16-64)
England excl. London 6.7%

Key facts about North East qualification levels:

The latest data about the highest level of qualifications covers the calendar year 2022. In the North East, among working age (16-64) people:

  • The percentage with a level 4 qualification and above (38.0%) was the second lowest among the eight core city areas
  • the rate was highest among North Tyneside residents and lowest among Sunderland residents
  • the percentage with a level 3 qualification and above (61.1%)  was the third lowest of the core city areas
  • the rate was also highest in North Tyneside and lowest in Sunderland
  • the percentage with no qualifications (7.9%) was the fourth lowest among the core city areas and was highest in Newcastle
  • however, Newcastle also had the second highest percentage of people with level 4 and above qualifications.

The qualification levels in the latest data are based on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and the rates are not consistent with those in previous years. There is further information in the final section of this page.


Qualification levels by age and sex

Key facts:

The dataset provides two key breakdowns of qualification levels. One is by sex and the other is into six age groups. Three of these six groups cover the under-30s with the other covering the 30 to 64 age group.

In the North East in 2022:

  • A higher percentage of females (40.1%) than males (35.7%) were educated to level 4 and above
  • the same was true for the percentages with level 3+ qualifications, although the gap was smaller (females 62.0%, males 60.0%)
  • a higher percentage of males (8.9%) than females (6.9%) had no qualifications
  • the gap to the England excluding London level 4+ rates was similar for males and females but the gap in percentages with no qualifications was higher among males
  • the percentage of people with no qualifications was highest among the youngest (16 to 19) and oldest (50 to 64) age groups
  • it was lowest among 25 to 29 year olds
  • the percentage of people with qualifications at level 4 and above was highest in the 25 to 29 age group, as was the percentage  qualified to level 3 and above.

Economic activity rate by qualification level

Key facts:

The dataset incudes information about the percentages of economically active working age people within each qualification level as well as the same rates for all people in the age group. By combining the two indicators, a working age economic activity rate can be calculated for each qualificaion level.

In 2022 in the North East:

  • The working age economic activity rate for people with a level 4+ qualification was almost 1.9 times higher than the rate for those without qualifications
  • the rates for people 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 more than 10 percentage points (pp) higher than the overall rate
  • the economic activity rate was lower than for England excluding London for all qualification levels. The gap was narrowest among those with no qualificaions
  • the male economic activity rate was higher than the female rate, except for among those with qualifications outside of the RQF. The gap at level 4+ was narrower than for lower qualification levels.

About the data

Comparisons with previous years:

Because of the move from using NVQ based qualification levels to those based on the RQF, the 2022 statistics not directly comparable with those in earlier years. The main differences are that: 

  • The NVQ apprenticeships level has been removed, with the different levels of apprenticeship being allocated to different qualification levels
  • many of the qualifications classified as "other" in the NVQ hierarchy have been classified to a specific level using the RQF
  • in the North East, the percentage of people with level 1 or no qualifications  in the latest data was much lower than a year earlier (11.4% compared to 18.2%)
  • in contrast, the percentage with level 3+ qualifications in 2022 was much higher than 2021 (61.0% compared to 52.3%).

Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) levels:

The gov.uk website includes a detailed list of what is included in each level. in summary, the RQF levels are:

  • 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.