• 48.2 per cent of Buckinghamshire residents are qualified to at least degree level
• Almost 19 in every 20 residents are qualified to at least NVQ level 1
• At 67.7 per cent Buckinghamshire has a higher share of residents qualified to at least NVQ level 3 than any other county council or Local Enterprise Partnership
• 44.6 per cent of residents aged 20-24 hold degree level qualifications, the highest share of any county council or LEP
• 52.1 per cent of Buckinghamshire’s economically active residents are qualified to at least NVQ level 4, with only 4.3 per cent holding no qualifications.

Buckinghamshire has more residents qualified to at least NVQ level 3 than any other county council area or LEP, at 67.7 per cent. Across the county, 17,100 working age residents have no qualifications (5.4 per cent).

Educational attainment is particularly high in South Bucks and Chiltern, where 53.8 and 52.5 per cent of working age residents respectively hold degree level qualifications, the 20th and 26th highest shares of all local authority districts in Great Britain.

At 7.2 per cent (8,100 residents) Aylesbury Vale has the highest share of residents with no qualifications among Buckinghamshire’s districts, also recording the lowest share of residents with degree level qualifications at 43.7 per cent, however it does have the highest share of residents holding intermediate level qualifications (NVQ 2 & 3).

Source: Annual Population Survey, ONS 2016

Buckinghamshire’s strength on the cumulative measures is driven by the high share of working age residents with degree level attainment. When considered by NVQ level a different pattern emerges.  Although 62,920 Buckinghamshire residents have a highest qualification at NVQ level 3, this represents only 19.9 per cent of working age residents, below the national share and the 8th lowest among LEPs.

At 14.3 per cent, Buckinghamshire’s share of residents with a highest qualification at NVQ level 2 is the lowest of any county council area and second lowest among the 39 LEPs, ahead of London. The full results are presented in table 2 and charts 1 and 2 below.

Source: Annual Population Survey, ONS, 2016

Source: Annual Population Survey, ONS, 2016

Of all economically active (ie employed or unemployed) working age people living in Buckinghamshire, 51.7 per cent hold degrees, rising to 52.1 per cent for women. Only 4.3 per cent of Buckinghamshire’s economically active residents have no qualifications, rising to 5.1 per cent for men.

All Buckinghamshire’s districts have a higher share of residents holding at least degree level qualifications than the country as whole.  All other levels are underrepresented in all.

Chart 2: Highest qualification held by district (GB=100)

Source: Annual Population Survey, ONS, 2016

All age groups in Buckinghamshire have educational attainment above the national level.  While residents in their 30s are the most likely to hold degree level qualifications, it is the youngest residents that perform best compared to the rest of the country. More than a quarter (26.3 per cent) of residents aged 16-24 are qualified to at least NVQ level 4, the highest share recorded in any county council or LEP, this rises to 50.0 per cent of residents aged 25-29, peaking at 53.4 per cent of residents in their 30s and then falling to 48.2 per cent for those in their 40s and 34.4 per cent for residents aged 50-64.  Buckinghamshire ranks 2nd among LEPs on each of these last three measures.

The national distribution of degree level attainment by local authority is presented in the map on the following page.

An overview of NVQ levels can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/compare-different-qualification-levels