Work in Progress
Employers' contribution to training: new estimate
Summary
- Item:
- 10155
- Title:
- Employers' contribution to training: new estimate
- Type:
- Managed research project
- Project no:
- NR1005
- Status:
- Finished
- Date commenced:
- 5 September 2001
- Contact:
- Sue Richardson
- phone: +61 8 8201 2636
- email: Sue.Richardson@flinders.edu.au
Purpose
The main purpose of the study is to provide a well-informed set of advice on a preferred model of funding for the employers' component of the cost of vocational education and training. A secondary purpose is to initiate a discussion and draw conclusions about the extent to which government funding of VET should respond to the priorities of industry, in contrast to giving priority to the benefit to the individual.
Approach
Analysis of ABS data sets
Research questions
* What are the forms of contribution that firms currently make to the development of VET skills?
* Compared with formal education, does employer-provided training provide relatively more opportunities for people from low socio-economic backgrounds?
* How big is this contribution?
* Do firms share equally in the provision of VET skills, or is there a serious issue of free-rinding among definable groups of employers?
* How does the employer contribution compare, in form and extent, with that found in other key countries?
* Are there any forms of employer contribution that are found in these other countries, that are theoretically and culturally appropriate for Australia?
* What are the arguments for and against the government directing its contribution to meet the priorities of employers?
Methodology
This project includes analysis of the following ABS data sets:
Survey of Education & Training Experience (1997)
Survey of Employer Training Providers
Survey of Labour Mobility
Stage 1
* reviews of overseas experiences in 6 OECD countries
* prepare discussion paper
* survey employers (10 companies) and employer associations for responses to discussion paper
Stage 2
* analyse existing ABS data to identify the extent of on-the-job training by category, employer financial support by category, value of time spent in training, sources of variation in amount of employer-supported VET employees obtain and contributions to training by category of firm and industry
* prepare estimates of employers' contributions
* analyse job mobility of VET trained workers
* estimate and compare results of form-specific and general training
* analyse arguments for training based on employer needs
Stage 3
* prepare draft final report
* prepare final report
Organisations
The National Institute of Labour Studies is a multi-disciplinary research organisation based at Flinders University, Adelaide. It was founded in 1972 and formally incorporated in 1981. It is a self-funding, non-profit research institute that is widely recognised as one of Australia's leading independent labour market research organisations. The views of the Institute staff are widely sought out on labour market issues.
