This fourth briefing looks at the highest level of qualifications for Muslims in Britain from the 2011 Census data.
Click here to download Briefing 4 as PDF.
Data source: This data is extracted from the 2011 Census for England and Wales. Amongst the census questionnaire was the religion question: ‘What is your religion?’ The data has been made available by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in ONS Table DC5204EW and has been analysed in the MCB report, “British Muslims in Numbers” (2015) in Section 6.2 – Education & Qualifications. Other qualifications means Vocational/Work-related Qualifications or Foreign Qualifications (not stated/level unknown).
Description of ‘Highest Level of Qualification’:
The highest level of qualification is derived from the question asking people to indicate all types of qualifications held. People were also asked if they held foreign qualifications and to indicate the closest equivalent. There were 12 response options (plus ‘no qualifications’) covering professional and vocational qualifications, and a range of academic qualifications.
‘Highest level of qualification’ has been split into four levels, plus categories for ‘Apprenticeship’ ‘Other’ and ‘None’:
-No qualifications;
-Level 1: 1-4 O Levels/CSE/GCSEs (any grades), Entry Level, Foundation Diploma, NVQ Level 1, Foundation GNVQ, Basic/Essential Skills;
-Level 2: 5+ O Level (Passes)/CSEs (Grade 1)/GCSEs (Grades A*-C), School Certificate, 1 A Level/ 2-3 AS Levels/VCEs, Intermediate/Higher Diploma, Welsh Baccalaureate Intermediate Diploma, NVQ level 2, Intermediate GNVQ, City and Guilds Craft, BTEC First/General Diploma, RSA Diploma;
-Apprenticeship;
-Level 3: 2+ A Levels/VCEs, 4+ AS Levels, Higher School Certificate, Progression/Advanced Diploma, Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma, NVQ Level 3; Advanced GNVQ, City and Guilds Advanced Craft, ONC, OND, BTEC National, RSA Advanced Diploma;
-Level 4 and above: Degree (for example BA, BSc), Higher Degree (for example MA, PhD, PGCE), NVQ Level 4-5, HNC, HND, RSA Higher Diploma, BTEC Higher level, Foundation degree (NI), Professional qualifications (for example teaching, nursing, accountancy);
-Other qualifications: Vocational/Work-related Qualifications, Foreign Qualifications (not stated/level unknown).