Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report

Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report

5. EDUCATION

Highest level of qualification

Table 5.1 shows the highest level of qualification by ethnic group where the highest level of qualification is defined as:

Group 1: 'O' Grade, Standard Grade, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, City and Guilds Craft, SVQ Level 1 or 2 or equivalent.

Group 2: Higher Grade, CSYS, ONC, OND, City and Guilds Advanced Craft, RSA Advanced Diploma, SVQ Level 3 or equivalent.

Group 3: HND, HNC, RSA Higher Diploma, SVQ Level 4 or 5 or equivalent.

Group 4: First Degree, Higher Degree, Professional qualification.

Table 5.1: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 16-74 years
Percentages

• All minority ethnic groups in Scotland are at least as or more likely to have degrees (or equivalent) than White Scottish people. Those most likely to have degrees from ethnic minority groups are Africans, people from 'Other' ethnic groups and Indians.
• People from the White Scottish group and Pakistanis are the least likely to have degrees (17%).
• Pakistanis are also the most likely to have no qualifications (43%) followed by Chinese people (38%) and White Scottish people (35%). In contrast, only 15% of African people aged 16-74 years have no qualifications.

Tables 5.2-5.4 provide a breakdown of qualifications by ethnic group for different age groups.

Table 5.2: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 16-34 years
Percentages

• 'Other White' people aged 16-34 years are most likely to have degrees (43%) and the White Scottish group are the least likely to have degrees (16%). .
• 'People from Other Ethnic Group (27%), Pakistani (26%) and Bangladeshi (26%) people are the most likely to have no qualifications in this age group.

Table 5.3: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 35-54 years
Percentages

• Again, the Pakistani group has the highest proportion of people in this age group with no qualifications (59%). The second highest proportion (55%) is for Chinese people.
• The third highest proportion is in the Indian group: 35% of people aged 35-54 have no qualifications. However, Indian people have one of the higher proportions of people educated to degree level or above (38%).
• The Pakistani group has the lowest proportion of people aged 35-54 years educated to degree level and above (15%). The second lowest proportion (20%) is for White Scottish people.
• The group with the highest proportion of people educated to degree level or above is African (61%). This is consistent with the result shown in table 3.1 that 31% of Africans aged over 18 years are full time students.

Table 5.4: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 55-74 years
Percentages

• The proportion of people who have no qualifications is considerably higher across all ethnic groups than for the younger age bands; in most cases the proportion is double that for 35-54 year olds.
• The Chinese group is the most likely to have no qualifications (82%) and it has the lowest proportion of people educated to degree level and above (10%).
• The group with the highest proportion of people educated to degree level is the African group (47%) but the qualification profile is more polarised than for the younger age groups and 32% of the population has no qualifications. The next highest is the Bangladeshi group (45%) followed by the Indian group (42%).