Part 4: Participation in education and training

This parts examines the level of participation by New Zealanders in developing their human capital – it compiles information about how many of us are involved in education and training, and at what level? These issues are addressed by looking at duration of schooling, enrolment rates, and at various levels of education. This data also helps provide a picture of access to education and training opportunities for New Zealanders.

The following parts covers participation in early childhood education, schools and tertiary education, as well as the limited statistics on vocational training. As in previous parts, comparisons with other OECD nations are made where possible.

 

Participation in early childhood education (ECE)

The Ministry of Education measures participation in ECE in a number of ways.

• One approach is a simple 'headcount' of students participating in ECE. Table 4.01 shows that the number of enrolments (for those under five years old) in ECE rose from 132,851 in 1992 to 169,638 in 2001, an increase of 27.7 percent. The previous figures overestimate the level of participation in ECE due to double counting issues in data collection (ie students who attend more than one ECE provider in a year are counted more than once).
• The Ministry of Education considers the data from its survey of primary students (see table 4.02) to be the most accurate data on ECE participation. This survey shows that in July 2001, 8.4 percent of year one primary school students had not participated in ECE immediately prior to starting school, while a further 3.5 percent had unknown ECE participation. By ethnicity, the proportion of year one pupils who had not participated in ECE immediately prior to starting school were 3.9 percent for New Zealand European, 14.1 percent for Mäori, 22.5 percent for Pacific and 9.6 percent for the Asian ethnic group.

Another, more limited source of ECE participation data is the New Zealand Child Care Survey. As mentioned in part two, this survey, run in 1998, gathered information from parents on the use of ECE and care arrangements for children under 14 years of age.

• Table 4.03 shows that 150,305 pre-school children participated in ECE in the September 1998 quarter. Again this overestimates the true figure, as children may be enrolled in more than one type of ECE provider.
• An advantage of data from this survey is the additional information on demographic and socio-economic factors, such as parental labour force status and income. However, as table 4.03 shows, high sample errors affect the quality of many of these results.

According to statistics collated by the OECD from its member countries, New Zealand participation in ECE compares favourably with other OECD countries. These statistics are shown in table 4.04. Note that the statistics in this table are collected in different ways and at difference times by the various countries. Some countries collect the data using surveys, others with administrative data. Data may be for the beginning, middle or end of the school year.

• In 1999, the number of New Zealanders aged less than five enrolled in ECE was 85.4 percent of the total population of three to four year olds. This compares with the OECD country mean of 60.0 percent. Note the New Zealand figure, again, overestimates the level of participation in ECE due to the double counting issue.

School participation

The Ministry of Education has a strong comprehensive collection of statistical series on participation in the school sector. Some examples of these are provided in tables 4.05 to 4.12.

• The total number of New Zealand domestic school students (excluding international students) increased by 11.3 percent between 1991 and 2001, to reach 723,123 students. Over that period, the age profile of school students got younger, with the number of 5 to 12-year-old pupils, as a percentage of all school students, rising from 62.9 percent to 65.3 percent (see table 4.05).
• Regionally, Auckland had the largest increase in the number of school students between 1994 and 2001, increasing 19.8 percent to 228,045 pupils (or 31.1 percent of all New Zealand school students). The second largest increase came from the Bay of Plenty with a rise of 13.5 percent over the same period. Southland had the largest fall with a decrease of 11.7 percent (see table 4.06).
• The number of New Zealand European school students remained fairly static between 1994 and 2001, rising 1.4 percent. With increases in New Zealand Mäori, Pacific and Asian student numbers over the same period (9.7, 27.9 and 75.4 percent respectively), the proportion of all school students who were New Zealand European fell from 68.1 to 63.9 percent. The proportion of Pacific and Asian students rose from 6.8 and 3.7 percent of all students in 1994, to 8.1 and 6.0 percent respectively in 2001. The Mäori proportion remained static over the period, with a 2001 figure of 20.7 percent (see table 4.07).
• On 1 July 2001, the subjects at secondary schools with the highest number of students were English and mathematics. There was a slight gender bias, with girls more likely to take English, and boys more likely to take mathematics. Subjects where more than two-thirds of secondary students were boys were: agricultural and horticultural science; design and technology; graphics and design; physics; and Russian. Subjects least likely to be taken by secondary school boys were: history of art; classical studies; German; home economics, human biology; and text and information management (see table 4.08).
• Of the 733,924 state and integrated school students on 1 July 2001, 189,799 (or 25.9 percent) attended schools in the lowest three socio-economic deciles. Only 12.5 percent of New Zealand European students attended these schools, compared with 54.0 percent of Mäori and 67.9 percent of Pacific students. These figures are partly explained by the fact that the proportion of Mäori and Pacific students at a school is one of the determinants of its socio-economic status (see the Glossary) (see table 4.09).
• When students are stood down or suspended, there is an interruption in their schooling, which may affect human capital acquisition. These can also be indicators of larger underlying issues that could lead to poor educational performance. In 2000, there were 22,029 stand-downs or suspensions at state schools, 31.6 for every 1,000 students. Males were three times more likely to be suspended than females, and students at schools in the top three socio-economic deciles were half as likely as other students to be stood down or suspended. Mäori students were stood down or suspended at twice the national rate (see table 4.10).
• The percentage of secondary school students that were still enrolled at 16 years rose from 67.9 percent in 1986 to 79.8 percent in 2001. Females were more likely to still be at school at 16 with an 83.2 percent retention, compared with 76.5 percent for males. Of Mäori students, 62.6 percent were still at school at 16 years of age in 2001, an increase from 47.2 percent in 1986. A relatively high 84.0 percent of Pacific students were still at school at 16 years in 2001 (see table 4.11).
• Of all 1999 secondary school leavers, an estimated 51.5 percent went on to further education and training in 2000. Of these, an estimated 26.1 percent were enrolled at university or colleges of education. In comparison, an estimated 46.3 percent of Mäori students and 42.2 percent of Pacific students went on to further education and training, with an estimated 10.9 percent and 14.0 percent of Mäori and Pacific students studying at universities or colleges of education (see table 4.12).

The OECD also collates information from member countries on participation in formal education by school aged children. This data can be see shown in Table 4.04. As previously mentioned, it is important to note that these statistics are collected in different ways and at difference times by the various countries.

• In 1999, of those New Zealanders aged 15 to 19 years, 72.5 percent were enrolled in secondary or tertiary education. This was less than the OECD country mean of 76.9 percent.

Participation in tertiary education

The Ministry of Education also collects comprehensive statistics on student participation in tertiary education. Some examples of these data sources are provided in tables 4.13 to 4.27. Participation statistics are collated on the basis of student numbers, enrolment numbers (a student may be enrolled in more than one qualification) or EFTS numbers. The tables included have student numbers as their base – except tables 4.23 and 4.24, which look at fields of study using enrolment data. EFTS data is used in tertiary funding calculations (see table 2.04). In addition, tertiary participation statistics can either be snapshots, as at 31 July or full-year numbers. July snapshot figures exclude students enrolled before, or starting after, 31 July. Full-year based figures refer to all enrolments during the year, regardless of when they were enrolled. The following tables contain July snapshot data, except – by way of comparison – table 4.15.

• Between July 1990 and July 2001, the proportion of 18 to 24 year olds enrolled in public tertiary institutions increased from 20.5 to 30.2 percent. Over the same period, the proportion of those aged 25 and over has increased from 2.7 to 4.8 percent (see table 4.13).
• Students enrolled at all tertiary education providers grew by 36.3 percent between 31 July 1995 and 2001 to reach 287,461. This figure excludes students enrolled before or after 31 July. The number of female students grew by 45.3 percent over this period, while male student numbers increased by 25.9 percent. (see table 4.14).
• Table 4.15 shows, by way of comparison, that a total of 393,209 students were enrolled at all tertiary education providers throughout 2001. Note that full-year figures such as this do not adjust for double counting across providers. An estimated 7.1 percent of students enrolled at more than one provider in the 2001 academic year.
• Mäori are younger than non-Mäori in the general population, but older in the student population. In 2001, about a quarter (24 percent) of Mäori were under 25, compared to 14 percent for non-Mäori. In contrast, 60 percent of Mäori students were 25 or over, compared to 48 percent for non-Mäori (see table 4.16)
• In 1990, New Zealand European students made up 84.7 percent of all students at public tertiary education institutions. In 2001, they comprised 63.2 percent of students at all tertiary education providers (which included private tertiary providers). The corresponding figures for Mäori were 6.8 percent in 1990 and 19.4 percent in 2001; for Pacific Peoples they were 2.5 percent in 1990 and 4.9 percent in 2001; and for Asians they were 3.0 percent in 1990 and 8.7 percent in 2001 (see table 4.17).
• On 31 July 2001, 45 percent of New Zealand European students attended universities and 35 percent attended polytechnics. The corresponding figures for Mäori were 21 percent and 27 percent, with 19 percent attending wänanga and 30 percent attending private tertiary establishments. In comparison, 33 percent of Pacific students attended university, 30 percent attended polytechnics, and 29 percent attended private tertiary establishments. Nearly 70 percent of Asian students attended university (see table 4.18).
• On 31 July 2001, 57 percent of the 287,461 students enrolled at all tertiary education providers were female. This gender imbalance was at its highest at colleges of education, where 79 percent of students were female (see table 4.18).
• There has been a shift from lower to higher tertiary qualifications between 1995 and 2001. Of the 235,795 students enrolled at public tertiary education institutions in 2001, 10.3 percent were enrolled in postgraduate qualifications, 48.6 percent in degrees, 14.7 percent in diplomas and 26.5 percent in certificates. In 1995, postgraduate students made up 8.9 percent of all students, compared with degree students (42.4 percent), diploma students (18.6 percent) and certificate students (30.1 percent) (see table 4.19).
• One in five students enrolled on 31 July 2001 at public tertiary education institutions had no school qualification (see table 4.21).
• Among students enrolled in formal qualifications (excluding those enrolled in mixed field qualifications) at tertiary education providers on 31 July 2001, management and commerce; and society and culture were the most popular fields of study with 25 percent and 23 percent of all students respectively. This situation is unchanged since 1997 (see table 4.22).
• Engineering and related technologies; architecture and building; and agriculture and environmental studies were the fields of study with the largest proportion of male students. Health, food, hospitality and personal services, and education, had the largest proportion of female students (see table 4.22).
• Table 4.23 shows that the 287,461 students on 31 July 2001, were enrolled in 301,241 qualifications. (Students can be enrolled in more than one qualification at a time.) Natural and physical sciences, and health were the fields of study with the highest proportion of enrolments at the postgraduate level. Food, hospitality and personal services, and architecture and building1 had the lowest proportion.
• Of the 54,015 first-year students at public tertiary education institutions on 31 July 2001, 41 percent were secondary school students on 1 October 2000; 18 percent were unemployed or on another benefit; 27 percent were wage or salary workers; 3 percent were self-employed; 4 percent were house persons or retired; and 8 percent were overseas (see table 4.25).
• Whereas 50 percent of New Zealand European, and 59 percent of Asian first-year tertiary students in 2001 were at secondary school on 1 October 2000, the corresponding figures were only 21 percent for Mäori, and 35 percent for Pacific students. This is due to the higher proportions that came to tertiary education from being on unemployment or other kinds of benefit; 41 percent for Mäori and 24 percent for Pacific Peoples (see table 4.25).
• Similarly, of those first-year students whose secondary school was in the top three deciles, only 5 percent had come to tertiary education from being unemployed or on some other benefit, compared with 29 percent of those who had come from secondary schools in the lowest three deciles (see table 4.26).

The OECD collated statistics from member countries on participation levels in tertiary education. New Zealand participation levels are similar to the average for all OECD countries. Participation rates for older New Zealanders are higher than the OECD averages. Note that these OECD statistics are collected in different ways and at difference times by the various countries. Some countries collect the data using surveys, and others with administrative data. Data may be for the beginning, middle or end of the academic year.

• In 1999, of all New Zealand 16 year olds, 89 percent were enrolled in secondary or tertiary education; compared with 43 percent of 20 year olds. The corresponding OECD averages were: 89 percent of 16 year olds, and 44 percent of 20 year olds (see table 4.28).
• Of those aged 20 to 29 years in 1999, 20.4 percent were enrolled in tertiary education, similar to the OECD country mean of 20.7 percent. The New Zealand enrolment rate for those aged 30 to 39 years, at 8.7 percent, was higher than the OECD mean of 4.8 percent. The New Zealand enrolment rate for over 40 year olds in 1999, at 2.9 percent, was also higher than the OECD mean of 1.1 percent (see table 4.04).
• In 1999, New Zealand’s tertiary students were more likely to be studying part time than those in other OECD countries. In New Zealand, 55 percent of tertiary-type B students and 29 percent of tertiary-type A students were studying part time compared with the OECD country averages of 20 percent and 15 percent respectively (see table 4.29).
• In 1999, almost all (99.2 percent) of New Zealand’s tertiary-type A (ie degree level) students attended public tertiary education institutions, compared with the OECD average of 77.5 percent. A lower proportion of New Zealand’s tertiary-type B (ie diploma level) students attended public tertiary education institutions, at 86.1 percent, but this was still higher than the OECD average of 71.0 percent (see table 4.29).

Participation in vocational training

There is limited information on vocational, or job-related, education and training in New Zealand. Vocational training that occurs in the formal education sector is recorded in Ministry of Education statistics, but can be difficult to identify separately. However, Skill New Zealand maintain various statistics on the industry trainees, whose training they help fund through Industry Training Organisations (ITO). Tables 4.30 to 4.32 contain examples of these statistics.

• The number of industry trainees (or apprenticeships) registered increased from 18,520 in 1995 to 66,390 in 2001, a rise of 258 percent (see table 4.30).
• ITOs with the most industry trainees in 2001 were forestry with 9,264 (14 percent of the total trainees) and engineering, food and manufacturing with 6,930 (10 percent of the total trainees) (see table 4.30).
• On 30 June 2001, nearly 4 out of 5 industry trainees were male (see table 4.31).
• On the same date, 10 percent of industry trainees were under 20 years old. The majority (56 percent) were aged at least 30 years, with 11 percent aged 50 years and over (see table 4.31).
• Over 70 percent of industry trainees on 30 June 2001 were New Zealand European. A further 17 percent were Mäori, and 5 percent were Pacific Peoples (see table 4.32).

Statistics on vocational training outside the formal education sector, such as training provided in-house by an employer, are rare and are often of an ad hoc or one-off nature. In the September quarter of 1996, however, Statistics New Zealand ran the Education and Training Survey as a supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey. It asked people about their recent (defined as the last 12 months) participation in study towards an educational qualification, in addition to details about any other vocational training (whether in-house or externally). Table 4.33 to 4.42 present selected statistics from the survey.

• It found that 40 percent of New Zealand’s population aged 15 to 64 years participated in education or employment related training in the 12 months to the September 1996 quarter (see table 4.33).
• Over the year to September 1996, 14 percent of the population aged 15 to 64 years studied towards an educational qualification, with a further 6 percent still at school (see table 4.33).
• Over the same 12-month period, 15 percent of those aged 15 to 64 years participated in in-house training provided by their employer. Meanwhile, 12 percent of the population aged 15 to 64 years participated in employment related training that was not provided by an employer (see table 4.33).
• Women were just as likely as men to participate in education or employment-related training in the 12 months to September 1996 (see table 4.33).
• Participation in education or employment related training generally decreased as age increased. In the year to September 1996, only 16 percent of those aged 55 to 64 years participated in education or employment related training, compared with 65 percent of those aged 15 to 24 years (see table 4.34).
• Figures for ethnic groups showed participation in education or employment related training was proportionally higher for those in the ‘Other’ ethnic group (46 percent). This was followed by New Zealand Europeans (41 percent), New Zealand Mäori (36 percent) and Pacific Peoples (30 percent) (see table 4.35).
• In terms of occupation, professionals had the highest rate of participation in education or employment related training at 67 percent. Agriculture and fishery workers had the lowest participation rate at 22 percent (see table 4.36).
• Participation by industry group varied between 22 percent for those working in the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing industry; and 64 percent of those employed in the electricity, gas and water industry (see table 4.37).
• The proportion of the population aged 15 to 64 years participating in education or employment related training generally increased with the number of post-school years of education. Only 20 percent of those with no years of post-school education participated in education or employment related training, compared with 78 percent of those with six years of post-school education and over (see table 4.38).
• In the September 1996 quarter, 23 percent of the population aged 15 to 64 years, reported that there were employment related courses they would like to have done, but did not. The majority of these people wanted to do courses in computing subjects (24 percent), closely followed by professional or technical subjects (22 percent). The most common reasons for not attending the course of choice were ‘time’ and ‘cost’ (see table 4.40).
• Of those employed and studying towards an educational qualification, 37 percent had employers who provided assistance. For those participating in external training, 68 percent reported assistance from their employer. This assistance was mainly in the form of paying for fees and materials or providing paid time away from work (see table 4.41).

Another source for information on participation in adult education and training by New Zealanders is the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). This was held in various OECD countries between 1994 and 1998, and was held in New Zealand in 1995 and 1996. The IALS was designed to measure adult literacy skills; with 'literacy' referring to the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities. The IALS reported on three literacy domains – prose, document and quantitative literacy – with each domain being scaled from 0 to 500. Each scale was then grouped into five empirically determined literacy skill levels to aid analysis. In addition to the literacy assessment, the IALS asked participants whether they had participated in continuing education and training in the previous 12 months. (For further information on the IALS see the Explanatory notes and the Glossary).

• For New Zealand 25 to 64 year olds, the level of participation in, and average hours spent on, continuing education and training increased with the level of education the participant had received previously. This is similar to the pattern in other OECD nations. New Zealand’s participation rate and average number of hours of continuing education and training per participant compared well with other countries (see table 4.43).
• Similarly, for New Zealand 16 to 65 year olds, the participation rate in continuing education and training increased as the literacy levels increased. This pattern was also consistent with the others in the OECD (see table 4.43).
• When looking only at job-related training (ie excluding continuing formal education), it was estimated that in the average New Zealand lifetime, 1,714 hours or 1.4 years would be spent on training. These figures are in the mid-range of the OECD, although higher than Australia (see table 4.44).
• The New Zealand participation rate in job-related training was steady for those aged 25 to 54 years, but fell sharply for those aged 55 to 64 years. Mean hours per participant fell steadily as age increased. These patterns were also reflected in other OECD nations (see table 4.44).

1. Many architecture and building degrees last five years.

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