This paper draws on evidence from the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings on educational attainment to consider how New Zealand has been performing in upskilling its population. It updates and extends earlier work published in Newell and Perry (2006).

These new results show that the increase in New Zealand levels of tertiary attainment at degree level accelerated over the 2001 to 2006 period from that of the 1996 to 2001 period, approaching the exceptionally high rates seen over 1981 to 1986 and 1991 to 1996. Educational completions at older age groups and net gains from international migration are also likely to have contributed considerably to this rapid increase in levels of tertiary educational attainment.

According to the OECD New Zealand was ranked 8th highest of the 30 OECD countries in the proportion aged 25 to 64 years attaining tertiary type A or advanced research programme level in 2006 - an advance on New Zealand’s relative position in 2001. However, levels of educational attainment internationally are still growing rapidly internationally, which means that there is little room for complacency in efforts to lift levels of educational attainment.

Investment in non-degree post-school vocational qualifications was in rapid decline between 1991 and 1996 and grew only at a very low rate between 1996 and 2001. However, between 2001 and 2006 the proportion of the population with a non-degree post-school qualification expanded at a high rate for the first time since the late 1980’s with large gains amongst New Zealand Maori, Pacific Peoples. 

Women contributed more than men to the educational capital gains made in recent intercensal periods and especially 2001 to 2006.  The 1966 to 1971 birth cohort of New Zealand women was the first to exceed men in levels of degree or higher educational attainment, but the proportion of women aged 15 years and over with a degree or higher eclipsed and outranked that of New Zealand men for the first time between 2001 and 2006.  Analysis of the contributions towards trends in gender dissimilarity in the distribution of post-school educational attainment by attainment level and field of study shows that the rate of gender convergence slowed in the most recent 2001 to 2006 intercensal period. Will the future directions of change be driven more by chosen informed specialisation reflecting different career requirements, capabilities and aspirations rather than limited by constraints on opportunity?  

Disparities on an ethnicity basis have closed more slowly than those on a gender basis but most rapidly in the recent 2001 to 2006 period.  Progress on ethnic disparities appears to have been more successful at the non-degree level and more gradual though still significant at degree level or higher.  The gains in educational attainment are impressive and extrapolating these intercensal rates of change would result in the proportion of New Zealand Maori with a degree or higher converging in the near medium term.  However, degree level attainment rates of Pacific Peoples are converging much more slowly with those of New Zealand Europeans. 

This working paper contributes the Institute for Policy Studies led Foundation for Research, Science and Technology funded Education capital formation, employment, migration, gender, work-life balance and missing men (Short title Missing men) project. The home page for this project is at http://ips.ac.nz/events/completed-activities/Missing%20men/Missing%20men.html.