Quality Statement
A qualification is a formally recognised award for educational or training attainment. Formal recognition means that the qualification is approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority or any formally recognised existing approval body in New Zealand or overseas, or their predecessors or any previous approval body.
A qualification is defined as requiring full-time equivalent study of three months or more. Study time is an estimate of the typical time it takes a learner to achieve the learning outcomes of the qualification. This includes direct contact time with teachers and trainers, as well as time spent studying, assignments, and assessment.
The qualifications concept includes:
- highest secondary school qualification
- post-school qualification level of attainment
- post-school qualification field of study
- post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator
- highest qualification.
Post-school qualification level of attainment is the highest qualification a person aged 15 years and over has gained over and above their highest secondary school qualification. Included are qualifications awarded by educational and training institutions, as well as those gained from on-the-job training.
Post-school qualification field of study is the subject associated with the highest post-school qualification gained.
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator identifies whether a person 15 years and over attained their post-school qualification in New Zealand or overseas.
Post-school qualification level of attainment: Moderate quality
Post-school qualification field of study: Moderate quality
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator: Moderate quality
Priority level 2
A priority level is assigned to all census concepts: priority 1, 2, or 3 (with 1 being highest and 3 being the lowest priority).
Qualifications is a priority 2 concept. Priority 2 concepts cover key subject populations that are important for policy development, evaluation, or monitoring. These concepts are given second priority in terms of quality, time, and resources across all phases of a census.
The census priority level for qualifications remains the same as 2018.
The 2023 Census: Final content report has more information on priority ratings for census concepts.
Census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over
‘Subject population’ means the people, families, households, or dwellings that the variable applies to.
Post-school qualification level of attainment
Post-school qualification level of attainment is classified into the following categories:
Census post-school qualification level output classification V2.0.0 – level 1 of 2
Code | Category |
---|---|
000 | No post-school qualification |
001 | Level 1 Certificate |
002 | Level 2 Certificate |
003 | Level 3 Certificate |
004 | Level 4 Certificate |
005 | Level 5 Diploma |
006 | Level 6 Diploma |
007 | Bachelor Degree and Level 7 qualification |
008 | Post-graduate and Honours Degrees |
009 | Masters Degree |
010 | Doctorate Degree |
333 | Level not given (but subject given) |
999 | Not elsewhere included |
The level 1 residual category ‘Not elsewhere included’ contains the residual categories ‘Don’t know’, ‘Refused to answer’, ‘Response unidentifiable’, ‘Response outside scope’, and ‘Not stated’. Follow the link above the table to examine the classification in more detail.
Post-school qualification field of study
Post-school qualification field of study is classified into the following categories:
Census post-school qualification field of study 2 V3.0.0 – level 1 of 4
Code | Category |
---|---|
000 | No post-school qualification |
001 | Natural and physical sciences |
002 | Information technology |
003 | Engineering and related technologies |
004 | Architecture and building |
005 | Agriculture, environmental and related studies |
006 | Health |
007 | Education |
008 | Management and commerce |
009 | Society and culture |
010 | Creative arts |
011 | Food, hospitality and personal services |
033 | Field of study not given (although level of attainment given) |
099 | Not elsewhere included |
The level 1 residual category ‘Not elsewhere included’ contains the residual categories ‘Don’t know’, ‘Refused to answer’, ‘Response unidentifiable’, ‘Response outside scope’, and ‘Not stated’. Follow the link above the table to examine the classification in more detail.
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator is classified into the following categories
Census post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator V2.0.0 – level 1 of 2
Code | Category |
---|---|
00 | No post-school qualification |
01 | New Zealand |
02 | Overseas |
99 | Not elsewhere included |
The level 1 residual category 'Not elsewhere included' contains the residual categories ‘Response unidentifiable’ and ‘Not stated’. Follow the link above the table to examine the classification in more detail.
The 2023 Census classifications for post-school qualification level of attainment, post-school qualification field of study, and post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator are consistent with those used in 2018 Census.
Standards and classifications has more information on what classifications are, how they are reviewed, where they are stored, and how to provide feedback on them.
Post-school qualification data is collected from four questions on the individual form (questions 32 - 35 on the paper form). Question 32 is a routing question on whether a person has a post-school qualification or not. If a person answered yes, then they were directed to the subsequent post-school qualification questions.
There were differences in the way a person could respond between the modes of collection (online and paper forms).
On the online form:
- built-in routing functionality directed individuals to the appropriate questions:
- respondents aged under 15 years and overseas visitors were not presented with the post-school qualification questions
- the routing question ‘Apart from secondary school qualifications, do you have another completed qualification?’ only allowed a single response, preventing inconsistent responses. Only those who selected ‘Yes’ were presented with the questions highest post-school qualification attainment, highest qualification main subject, and location where highest qualification was gained.
- respondents aged under 15 years and overseas visitors were not presented with the post-school qualification questions
- the highest post-school qualification level of attainment and qualification location questions only allowed for single responses, preventing inconsistent residual responses. If a respondent selected ‘Other qualification’ for the highest level of attainment question, any other selection was cleared and a free text box presented.
- the highest qualification questions had as-you-type functionality which helped respondents provide valid responses in the text fields for ‘Other qualification’ for highest level of attainment, and subject of post-school qualification.
On the paper form:
- those outside the subject population (overseas visitors and respondents under 15 years) could answer the post-school qualifications questions. These are filtered out by using the correct subject population.
- respondents were able to tick multiple boxes and provide inconsistent responses, resulting in residual responses
Data from the online forms may therefore be of higher overall quality than data from paper forms. However, processing checks and edits were in place to improve the quality of the paper forms.
Stats NZ Store House has samples for both the individual and dwelling paper forms.
Data-use outside Stats NZ:
- to measure the impact of educational reforms on qualification attainment
- to identify potential gaps in the labour market and plan education and training programmes accordingly
- to track long-term changes in the levels of qualification in the general population
- to research differences in educational attainment between different demographic groups, and the link between educational attainment and socio-economic outcomes
- to identify mismatches in the economy between people’s qualifications and occupations.
Data-use by Stats NZ:
- by Labour market and Household statistics in both reference and analytical reports on various topics
en-NZ
Alternative data sources were used for missing census responses and responses that could not be classified or did not provide the type of information asked for. The table below shows the distribution of data sources for post-school qualification level of attainment data.
Data sources for post-school qualification level of attainment , as a percentage of the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census | ||
---|---|---|
Source of post-school qualification level of attainment data | Percent | |
2023 Census response | 82.6 | |
Historical census | 7.2 | |
2018 Census | 4.9 | |
2013 Census | 2.3 | |
Admin data | 5.3 | |
Deterministic derivation | 0.0 | |
Statistical imputation | 0.0 | |
No information | 4.9 | |
Total | 100.0 | |
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions |
The table below shows the distribution of data sources for post-school qualification field of study data.
Data sources of post-school qualification field of study data, as a percentage of census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census | ||
---|---|---|
Source of post-school qualification field of study data | Percent | |
2023 Census response | 82.4 | |
Historical census | 7.2 | |
2018 Census | 5.0 | |
2013 Census | 2.2 | |
Admin data | 5.4 | |
Deterministic derivation | 0.0 | |
Statistical imputation | 0.0 | |
No information | 4.9 | |
Total | 100.0 | |
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions |
The table below shows the distribution of data sources for post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator data.
Data sources of post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator data, as a percentage of census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census | ||
---|---|---|
Source of post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator data | Percent | |
2023 Census response | 83.2 | |
Historical census | 5.7 | |
2018 Census | 4.6 | |
2013 Census | 1.1 | |
Admin data | 4.4 | |
Deterministic derivation | 0.0 | |
Statistical imputation | 0.0 | |
No information | 6.7 | |
Total | 100.0 | |
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions |
Where appropriate, the 2018 and 2013 Censuses as well as admin data from the Ministry of Education were used to fill in missing information. If information varied across these data sources, the data source with the highest qualification was the one used.
Editing, data sources, and imputation in the 2023 Census describes how data quality is improved by editing, and how missing and residual responses are filled with alternative data sources (admin data and historical census responses) or statistical imputation. This webpage also contains a spreadsheet that provides additional detail on the admin data sources.
Missing and residual responses represent data gaps where respondents either did not provide answers (missing responses) or provided answers that were not valid (residual responses).
Where possible, alternative data sources have been used to fill missing and residual responses in the 2018 and 2023 Censuses.
Post-school qualification level of attainment and field of study – percentage of ‘Not stated’ for the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over:
- 2023: 4.9 percent
- 2018: 7.0 percent
- 2013: 10.3 percent
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator – percentage of ‘Not stated’ for the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over:
- 2023: 6.7 percent
- 2018: 9.2 percent
For output purposes, the residual category responses are grouped with ‘Not stated’ and are classified as ‘Not elsewhere included’.
Post-school qualification level of attainment – percentage of ‘Not elsewhere included’ for the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over:
- 2023: 5.0 percent
- 2018: 7.1 percent
- 2013: 13.1 percent
Post-school qualification field of study – percentage of ‘Not elsewhere included’ for the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over:
- 2023: 5.0 percent
- 2018: 7.1 percent
- 2013: 12.5 pecent
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator – percentage of ‘Not elsewhere included’ for the census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over:
- 2023: 6.7 percent
- 2018: 9.3 percent
Note that the post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator was a new variable in the 2018 Census.
Overall quality ratings:
- Post-school qualification level of attainment: Moderate
- Post-school qualification field of study: Moderate
- Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator: Moderate
Data has been evaluated to assess whether it meets quality standards and is suitable for use.
Three quality metrics contribute to the overall quality rating:
- data sources and coverage
- consistency and coherence
- accuracy of responses.
The lowest rated metric determines the overall quality rating.
Data quality assurance in the 2023 Census provides more information on the quality rating scale.
Data sources and coverage:
- Post-school qualification level of attainment: Moderate quality
- Post-school qualification field of study: Moderate quality
- Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator: Moderate quality
The quality of all the data sources that contribute to the output for the variable has been assessed. To calculate the data sources and coverage quality score for a variable, each data source is rated and multiplied by the proportion it contributes to the total output.
The rating for a valid census response is defined as 1.00. Ratings for other sources are the best estimates available of their quality relative to a census response. Each source that contributes to the output for that variable is then multiplied by the proportion it contributes to the total output. The total score then determines the metric rating according to the following range:
- 0.98–1.00 = very high
- 0.95–<0.98 = high
- 0.90–<0.95 = moderate
- 0.75–<0.90 = poor
- <0.75 = very poor.
Post-school qualification level of attainment
For post-school qualification level of attainment, the proportion of data received from 2023 Census forms alongside the moderate quality of alternative data sources resulted in a score of 0.91, leading to the quality rating of moderate.
Data sources and coverage rating calculation for post-school qualification level of attainment data, census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census | |||
---|---|---|---|
Source of post-school qualification level of attainment data | Rating | Percent | Score contribution |
2023 Census response | 1.00 | 82.59 | 0.83 |
2018 Census | 0.88 | 4.91 | 0.04 |
2013 Census | 0.68 | 2.27 | 0.02 |
Admin data | 0.53 | 5.31 | 0.03 |
No information | 0.00 | 4.92 | 0.00 |
Total | 100.00 | 0.91 | |
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions. |
Post-school qualification field of study
For post-school qualification field of study, the proportion of data received from 2023 Census forms alongside the moderate quality of alternative data sources resulted in a score of 0.93, leading to the quality rating of moderate.
Data sources and coverage rating calculation for post-school qualification field of study data, census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census | |||
---|---|---|---|
Source of post-school qualification field of study data | Rating | Percent | Score contribution |
2023 Census response | 1.00 | 82.44 | 0.82 |
2018 Census | 0.86 | 4.99 | 0.04 |
2013 Census | 0.83 | 2.23 | 0.02 |
Admin data | 0.74 | 5.42 | 0.04 |
No information | 0.00 | 4.92 | 0.00 |
Total | 100.00 | 0.93 | |
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions. |
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator
For post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator, the proportion of data received from 2023 Census forms alongside the moderate quality of alternative data sources resulted in a score of 0.91, leading to the quality rating of moderate.
Data sources and coverage rating calculation for post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator data, census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census | |||
---|---|---|---|
Source of post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator data | Rating | Percent | Score contribution |
2023 Census response | 1.00 | 83.25 | 0.83 |
2018 Census | 0.90 | 4.58 | 0.04 |
2013 Census | 0.87 | 1.12 | 0.01 |
Admin data | 0.53 | 4.38 | 0.02 |
No information | 0.00 | 6.67 | 0.00 |
Total | 100.00 | 0.91 | |
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions. |
Consistency and coherence:
- Post-school qualification level of attainment: High quality
- Post-school qualification field of study: High quality
- Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator: High quality
Post-school qualification level of attainment, field of study, and in New Zealand indicator data are consistent with expectations across nearly all consistency checks, with some minor variation from expectations or benchmarks which makes sense due to real-world change, incorporation of other sources of data, or a change in how the variable has been collected.
Post-school qualification level of attainment shows a change in trend which is likely the result of real-world change such as the decline in course completion rate for domestic students following COVID-19, coinciding with a falling unemployment rate.
In the 2018 Census admin data was used for post-school qualification field of study, however this was mostly to code ‘field of study not given (although level of attainment given)’. In the 2023 Census the use of admin data has been to get specific field of study information which has reduced levels of missing information.
Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator has improved coverage through the inclusion of historical census data as an alternative data source, reducing missing and residual data.
Accuracy of responses:
- Post-school qualification level of attainment: High quality
- Post-school qualification field of study: High quality
- Post-school qualification in New Zealand indicator: High quality
Post-school qualification level of attainment, field of study, and in New Zealand indicator data has only minor data quality issues. The quality of coding and responses within classification categories is high. Any issues with the variables appear in a low number of cases (typically in the low hundreds).
The accuracy of responses collected from both paper or online forms is high. A decrease in the missing and residual categories indicates improved data quality.
Improvements in scanning quality and the introduction of scanning repair for paper forms improved coding accuracy and reduced the number of responses needing to be sourced from alternative sources.
It is recommended that post-school qualification data can be used in a comparable manner to 2013 and 2018 Censuses.
When using this data, users should be aware that it was difficult to differentiate between secondary school qualifications and post-school qualifications in the level 1-3 certificate records sourced from the Ministry of Education. In the 2018 Census, level 1, 2 and 3 certificates were greater than previous censuses which was partly due to secondary school level 1, 2 and 3 qualifications from Ministry of Education admin data being categorised as post-school qualifications. Although there are still challenges in differentiating between school and post-school level 1, 2 and 3 qualifications in 2023, there have been improvements and it is less of an issue than in 2018.
Comparisons to other data sources
Although surveys and sources other than census collect post-school qualification data, data users are advised to familiarise themselves with the strengths and limitations of the sources before use.
Key considerations when comparing post-school qualification information from the 2023 Census with other sources include:
- Census aims to be a national count of all individuals in a population while other surveys such as the Household Economic Survey (HES), Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), and General Social Survey (GSS) measuring this variable are only based on a sample of the population.
- Census is a key source of information on qualifications for small areas and populations. Many other sources do not provide detail at this level.
- Other surveys and admin sources of data, such as Ministry of Education data on enrolments and employment outcome of tertiary education, and Ministry of Social Development data on student loans and allowances, may use non-standard classifications and have differences in wording, making comparison difficult.
To assess how this concept aligns with the variables from previous censuses, use the links:
- Qualifications: Post-school qualification – 2018 Information by variable
- Qualifications: Post-school qualification – 2013 Information by variable
Contact our Information centre for further information about using this concept.