This post was originally published on this site
The latest employer use and views survey has just been released by NCVER. It collected information from 6,290 employers between March and June 2023.
According to NCVER’s press release, the results tell us that “employers continue to engage with the accredited training system while increasing their use of unaccredited and informal training in 2023.” This biennial survey also “found that 56.8% of Australian employers engaged with at least one form of accredited training through the vocational education and training (VET) system in the last twelve months.” This was similar to the data collected in 2021, the last time the survey was conducted.
The publication itself tells us that, in addition in 2023:
- 4% of employers provided unaccredited training to their staff, up 2.2 percentage points from 2021
- 2% provided informal training to their staff, up 4.6 percentage points from 2021
- 7% did not provide any training to their employees, down 1.5 percentage points from 2021.”
This shows a swing to a greater use of unaccredited or informal training. The top reasons for using unaccredited training were that it:
- provides skills required for the job (69.3%)
- meets and maintains professional/industry standards (43.8%)
- meets highly specific training needs (43.6%).
Their reasons for choosing it even when comparable nationally recognised training was available are interesting as well. The top reasons were because:
- the unaccredited training was more cost effective (40.2%)
- the training course content was suitable (37.7%)
- of the more convenient or flexible times (36.4%)
- the approach was more tailored to their needs (35.5%).
There is, perhaps, a cautionary tale here for nationally recognised training which the outcomes of the Qualifications Reform Design Group’s deliberations will need to take into account.
If employers didn’t train in the last 12 months, the top reasons were for not doing it were:
- No need/not relevant to our organisation (52.2%), or
- Current employees are adequately trained (49.5%).
Satisfaction levels
NCVER’s reports tells us that, in 2023, the proportion of employers satisfied that training met their skill needs was:
- 0% for vocational qualifications
- 2% for training provided to apprentices and trainees
- 5% for other nationally recognised training.
All these numbers are similar to those reported in 2021. However, satisfaction with unaccredited training increased by 2.6 percentage points to 86.1% in 2023.
Reasons for dissatisfaction
Relatively few employers (between 8.5 and 12.2%) were dissatisfied with the training received, most commonly because the training was seen as of a poor quality or low standard, or the relevant skills were not taught. For dissatisfied employers of apprentices and trainees another reason was that there was insufficient communication between training provider and employment agency. For those employers where the training was a job requirement for their staff there was not enough focus on practical skills. Access to training in rural/regional areas was also cited by some employers.
Other information and data
Readers can explore this information and data further though data tables and/or a data slicer.