5 - Ethnicity, Up-Skilling and Literacy

Here, ‘up-skilling’ refers to adult education in a broad sense: any further education and training activities undertaken to increase one’s skills.

• How is ethnicity associated with participation in up-skilling?
• How is ethnicity, in combination with literacy skill, associated with participation in up-skilling?
  

This section examines these questions.

Ethnicity and up-skilling

In the graphs and analysis provided in this section the following definitions are used.

• Formal up-skilling refers to full-time or part-time participation in any course that is part of a programme of study leading toward a certificate, degree or diploma (for example, participation in a plumbing apprenticeship).
• Non-formal up-skilling refers to participation in any course that is not part of a programme of study leading toward a certificate, degree or diploma (for example, participation in a photography course at night-school).
• Self-directed or none refers to either no participation in any up-skilling activities, or participation in up-skilling activities such as guided tours, trade fairs or learning from instructional media.
  

Respondents who reported undertaking up-skilling in the 12 months before their interview, both formally and in any other way, were recorded as undertaking up-skilling formally. Respondents who reported undertaking up-skilling non-formally and in a self-directed way were reported as undertaking up-skilling non-formally.

Figure 5.1 shows the percentages of various ethnic populations who self-reported as participating in various types of up-skilling.

Figure 5.1: Up-skilling and ethnicity, ALL only

Note:
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Figure 5.1 shows the following.

• The Asian and Māori ethnic groups have the highest participation rates in formal up-skilling, followed by the Pasifika and Other ethnic groups, followed in turn by the New Zealand European ethnic group.  This finding is congruent with the younger age profiles of the Māori, Pasifika and Asian populations compared to the New Zealand European population.  These groups have higher proportions of young people, who are more likely to be students (although Māori also have higher rates of adult participation in education and training).
  
• The New Zealand European and Other ethnic groups have the highest participation rates in non-formal up-skilling, followed by the Māori and Asian ethnic groups, followed in turn by the Pasifika ethnic group.
• The Pasifika ethnic group has the highest rate of self-directed or no up-skilling. The remaining ethnic groups have lower rates of participation in self-directed or no up-skilling.
  

Document literacy, ethnicity and up-skilling

Document literacy is a key work-related skill. It measures typical work-relevant skills such as recording activity and interpreting charts, for a range of occupations.  There are differences in patterns of participation in up-skilling for the whole New Zealand adult population between those with low document literacy skill and those with higher (see The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: Overview and International Comparisons).

Figure 5.2 shows, for each ethnic sub-population, the percentages of those with low (levels 1 or 2) document literacy skill and the percentages of those with higher (levels 3, 4 or 5) document literacy skill who self-reported as participating in various types of up-skilling.

Figure 5.2: Up-skilling, document literacy and ethnicity, ALL only

Note:

1. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
2. Robust statistics were unable to be generated for the ethnicity Other.
   

Figure 5.2 shows that, for all ethnic groups, those with higher document literacy have higher participation rates in both formal and non-formal up-skilling (and lower participation rates in self-directed or no up-skilling) compared to those with low document literacy.

The New Zealand European and Māori ethnic groups have a similar pattern of up-skilling participation between those with low and those with higher document literacy skills: a difference of around 6 percentage points for formal up-skilling and a difference of around 13 or 14 percentage points for non-formal up-skilling.

In contrast, the Pasifika ethnic group has a difference of around 10 percentage points for formal up-skilling and around 12 for non-formal. The Asian ethnic group shows a slightly different pattern of differences in participation in up-skilling again: a difference of around 10 percentage points for formal up-skilling and around 7 for non-formal.