Building a productive and competitive economy is a Government priority and achievement in education is essential to this goal. Education helps New Zealanders develop the skills needed to reach their full potential and contribute to the economy and society.

A Level 2 qualification gives people opportunities in terms of further education and employment, contributing to better health outcomes and a better quality of life.

To boost skills and employment the Government has set a Better Public Service target that 85% of 18-year-olds will have achieved NCEA level 2 or an equivalent qualification in 2017.

Identical information is available for the region’s territorial authorities using the drop down menu above. For other territorial authorities first choose the appropriate region from the drop down menu above. This information is not available by school.

18-year-olds with a minimum of NCEA level 2 or equivalent, by the age they left school (2016)

Ethnic group	Gender	Left school at age 15		Left school at age 16		Left school at age 17		Left school at age 18 or above
		Below level 2	Level 2 or above	Below level 2	Level 2 or above	Below level 2	Level 2 or above	Below level 2	Level 2 or above
Māori	Female	36	13	39	54	26	145	17	168
Māori	Male	41	30	83	64	27	161	18	137
Māori	Total	77	43	122	118	53	306	35	305
Pacific	Female	3	3	2	4	1	7	2	19
Pacific	Male	1	2	5	5	5	10	3	20
Pacific	Total	4	5	7	9	6	17	5	39
Asian	Female	1	0	0	2	0	8	0	16
Asian	Male	1	0	0	0	0	12	0	23
Asian	Total	2	0	0	2	0	20	0	39
MELAA	Female	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	2
MELAA	Male	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	5
MELAA	Total	0	0	1	1	1	3	0	7
Other	Female	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	2
Other	Male	0	1	1	0	1	4	0	2
Other	Total	0	1	1	0	1	8	0	4
European/Pākehā	Female	5	3	16	39	13	225	11	238
European/Pākehā	Male	14	13	38	70	27	230	9	219
European/Pākehā	Total	19	16	54	109	40	455	20	457
Total	Female	41	17	54	87	35	364	27	401
Total	Male	54	41	112	126	53	382	25	362
Total	Total	95	58	166	213	88	746	52	763