Scotland's Labour Market: People, Places, and Regions - Statistics from the Annual Population Survey 2019

Section 3: Skills

3.1 Skills of Population

National Performance Framework Indicator

Skill profile of the population

11.6 per cent (388,200) of the population in Scotland aged 16 to 64 years old have low or no qualifications (SCQF level 4 or below).

The proportion of the population with low (SCQF level 4 or below) or no qualifications has remained constant in the last year at 11.6 per cent.

There is regional variation** across Scotland in the proportion of the population with low or no qualifications in 2019.

The highest proportion of people aged 16 to 64 with low or no qualifications were in:

• Glasgow City (18.1 per cent),
• Falkirk (18.1 per cent); and,
• West Dunbartonshire (16.3 per cent).

Since 2009, the proportion of the population with low or no qualifications has decreased in all local authorities except Falkirk.

The largest decreases were seen in:

• East Ayrshire down by 9.8 percentage points to 10.5 per cent*;
• Clackmannanshire down by 9.5 percentage points to 12.7 per cent*; and,
• Renfrewshire down by 8.7 percentage points to 10.5 per cent*.

In the last year, the proportion of the population with low or no qualifications has increased in 13 local authorities, decreased in 16 local authorities a across Scotland.

The largest decrease was seen in East Ayrshire down 4.0* percentage points to 10.5 per cent.

The largest increase was seen in Falkirk up 5.3* percentage points to 18.1 per cent.

* Statistically Significant

** Data not available for Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney Islands, and Shetland Islands.

3.2 Graduates

37.2 per cent (814,000) of workers in Scotland aged 25 to 64 in 2019 were graduates (SCQF level 9+), the highest on record.

The proportion of workers aged 25 to 64 who are graduates has increased from (26.2 per cent) in 2009 to 37.2 per cent in 20191.

However, there is a large regional variation** across the country, almost 60 per cent of workers in East Renfrewshire and City of Edinburgh were graduates, compared with around 1 in 5 workers in North Ayrshire.

Table 1: Proportion of workers aged 25 to 64 who are graduates by local authority, 2019

Highest	Per Cent	Lowest	Per Cent
East Renfrewshire	58.6	North Ayrshire	22.9
City of Edinburgh	58.3	North Lanarkshire	23.4
Stirling	49.4	West Dunbartonshire	23.6

* Statistically Significant

** Data not available for Shetland Islands.

3.3 Workforce skills

Scotland has a highly qualified workforce. 50.0 per cent of workers aged 16 to 64 in Scotland have further or higher education qualifications (SCQF level 7+).

This compared with 39.5 per cent in 2009 and is higher than the 2019 UK rate of 45.3 per cent.

Compared with 2009, the number of workers who have SCQF level 7+ qualifications has increased by 33.7 per cent from 964,600 to 1,289,400 in 2019.

In 2019, the employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 with further or higher education qualifications (SCQF level 7+) was higher than for those with low or no qualifications (83.0 per cent and 51.9 per cent, respectively).

The employment rate for those with SCQF level 7 and above has decreased since 2009 from 84.1 per cent to 83.0 per cent in 2019. However, the gap in the employment rate over the same period for those with higher or further education, compared to those with low or no qualifications has decreased from 37.1 percentage points to 31.1 percentage points.