QUALITY DECLARATION

INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The Survey of Education and Work (SEW) is conducted in May each year throughout Australia as part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) household survey program. For information on the institutional environment of the ABS, including its legislative obligations, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

TableBuilder files are released in accordance with the conditions specified in the Statistics Determination section of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (CSA). This ensures that confidentiality is maintained whilst enabling micro level data to be released. More information on the confidentiality practices associated with TableBuilder can be found at the Survey Confidentiality Page.

RELEVANCE The Survey of Education and Work provides information for a range of key indicators relating to the educational participation and attainment of persons aged 15 to 74 years, along with data on their transition between education and work. The type of information collected includes: general demographic and labour force characteristics, participation in education in the survey month and in the year prior to the survey; type of educational institution attended; level of education of current and previous study; highest year of school completed; level and main field of highest non-school qualification; transition from education to work; unmet demand for education; and selected characteristics of apprentices including unmet demand for apprenticeships and traineeships. The Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0) is used to classify the Level and Field of education. The ASCED is a national standard classification which can be applied to all sectors of the Australian education system including schools, vocational education and training and higher education. As SEW is collected as a supplement to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), persons excluded from the LFS are also excluded from this survey (see Explanatory Notes in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) for standard LFS exclusions). Additional exclusions from SEW are persons aged 75 years or older, institutionalised persons and boarding school pupils. Persons in Indigenous Communities were excluded in 2014, whereas previously only persons classified in very remote Indigenous Communities were excluded. Persons permanently unable to work and persons aged 65 to 74 years who are not intending to work, or not in the labour force, or not marginally attached to the labour force were included for the first time in 2013.

TIMELINESS The ABS has been conducting similar education and work surveys since 1964. These surveys were conducted annually, in February, from 1964 to 1974, in May 1975 and 1976, in August 1977 and 1978 and annually, in May, since 1979. Data from the survey are released approximately six months after they have been collected. Initial results from the May 2014 survey were released on 12 December 2014 in Education and Work, Australia, May 2014 (cat. no. 6227.0).

ACCURACY

The microdata generally contains finer levels of detail for data items than what is otherwise published in other formats, for example, in Education and Work, Australia, May 2014 (cat. no. 6227.0). For information on the level of detail provided, please refer to the data item list in the Downloads tab. Steps to confidentialise the data made available in TableBuilder are taken in such a way as to maximise the usefulness of the content while maintaining the confidentiality of respondents selected in the survey. As a result, it may not be possible to exactly reconcile all the statistics produced from TableBuilder with other published statistics. Further information about the steps taken to confidentialise the microdata is available through the Survey Confidentiality Page.

COHERENCE

Results from the previous survey on this topic were published in Education and Work, Australia, May 2013 (cat. no. 6227.0). Data on earlier series can be found on the Past and Future Releases page or by contacting the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.

The ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to its surveys. However, sound survey practice requires ongoing development and maintenance to maintain the integrity of the data and the efficiency of collection. The May 2013 SEW was the first supplementary survey to incorporate this online data collection method, where the option was offered to just over one-quarter of the SEW sample. The May 2014 SEW is the first time this option has been offered to all respondents. For more information see the article Transition to Online Collection of the Labour Force Survey. For changes between iterations of the SEW, please refer to the Explanatory Notes. For a full list of changes made to the LFS, see Chapter 20 of Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2013 (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001) and Information Paper: Forthcoming Changes to Labour Force Statistics, Oct 2014 (cat no. 6292.0)

INTERPRETABILITY

Detailed information on the terminology, classifications and other technical aspects associated with the Survey of Education and Work can be found in the relevant web pages included with this release. The Explanatory Notes section of Education and Work, Australia, May 2014 (cat. no. 6227.0) should also be referred to as it includes further information on survey methods and design, comparability with previous surveys and summary results.

ACCESSIBILITY

Microdata products are available to approved users. Access can be applied for through the Registration page. Users should also familiarise themselves with information available via the Microdata Entry Page.

A full list of all available microdata can be viewed via the List of expected and available Microdata.

Any queries regarding access to microdata can be forwarded to microdata.access@abs.gov.au or phone (02) 6252 7714.

The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS handles any personal information that you provide to us.