Employment & Labour Market

Workforce Skills

Compare qualification levels among employed residents and the share of working-age residents with no qualifications.

UK countries and English regions | January to December 2025

RQF level 4 and above

The percentage of employed residents aged 16 to 64 qualified at RQF level 4 or above.

Quarterly dataset

North East46.4%

North West53.4%

Yorkshire and The Humber48.5%

East Midlands47.4%

West Midlands51.0%

East49.3%

London72.4%

South East55.1%

South West51.3%

Wales52.3%

Scotland63.6%

Northern Ireland49.7%

Published by Office for National Statistics via Nomis. View official source

UK countries and English regions | January to December 2025

RQF level 3

The percentage of employed residents aged 16 to 64 whose highest qualification was RQF level 3.

Quarterly dataset

North East23.8%

North West20.9%

Yorkshire and The Humber24.8%

East Midlands23.0%

West Midlands21.3%

East22.4%

London11.1%

South East21.1%

South West23.9%

Wales22.0%

Scotland16.2%

Northern Ireland22.2%

Published by Office for National Statistics via Nomis. View official source

UK countries and English regions | January to December 2025

RQF level 2

The percentage of employed residents aged 16 to 64 whose highest qualification was RQF level 2.

Quarterly dataset

North East19.9%

North West16.5%

Yorkshire and The Humber17.3%

East Midlands18.4%

West Midlands17.0%

East19.4%

London7.2%

South East15.1%

South West17.2%

Wales17.5%

Scotland11.9%

Northern Ireland18.6%

Published by Office for National Statistics via Nomis. View official source

UK countries and English regions | January to December 2025

RQF level 1

The percentage of employed residents aged 16 to 64 whose highest qualification was RQF level 1.

Quarterly dataset

North East2.3%

North West2.0%

Yorkshire and The Humber2.1%

East Midlands2.1%

West Midlands1.9%

East1.7%

London0.9%

South East2.2%

South West2.1%

Wales1.6%

Scotland1.0%

Northern Ireland0.8%

Published by Office for National Statistics via Nomis. View official source

UK countries and English regions | January to December 2025

Other qualifications

The percentage of employed residents aged 16 to 64 with qualifications outside the main RQF levels.

Quarterly dataset

North East2.6%

North West3.1%

Yorkshire and The Humber3.9%

East Midlands5.2%

West Midlands4.6%

East4.4%

London5.6%

South East3.8%

South West2.9%

Wales2.7%

Scotland3.5%

Northern Ireland2.9%

Published by Office for National Statistics via Nomis. View official source

UK countries and English regions | January to December 2025

No qualifications

The percentage of residents aged 16 to 64 with no qualifications under the current RQF classification.

Quarterly dataset

North East9.6%

North West7.7%

Yorkshire and The Humber6.9%

East Midlands6.9%

West Midlands7.7%

East4.7%

London5.2%

South East4.8%

South West4.5%

Wales7.7%

Scotland7.2%

Northern Ireland10.0%

Published by Office for National Statistics via Nomis. View official source