The results of the Survey of employers’ use and views of the VET system were released today by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The survey collected information from 5,649 employers nationwide between March and July 2025 and shows:
- employers are increasingly engaging with nationally recognised training,
- a greater proportion of employers looking to TAFE for this training, and
- VET’s opportunity in upskilling employees as AI adoption accelerates.
Employer engagement and satisfaction
The proportion of employers engaging with nationally recognised training has steadily increased over recent years, reaching 32.1% in 2025 (up from 19.9% in 2019, pre-COVID). This aligns with the growth in VET student numbers since COVID from 3.9 million in 2020 to 5.1 million in 2024, driven predominantly by a 51% increase in students undertaking stand-alone subjects over this period.
Employer satisfaction remains consistent with 2023, with 76.1% of employers in 2025 reporting they were satisfied with nationally recognised training as a way of meeting their skilling needs.
Provider mix changes
In 2025, there were notable shifts in the types of providers employers used to conduct nationally recognised training. The proportion of employers using TAFE institutes rose to 26.2% in 2025, up 9.5 percentage points from 2023. In contrast, use of professional or industry associations declined by 8.6 percentage points, falling to 13.3%.
Private training providers remained the most used, with 49.1% of employers using them in 2025, similar to 2023 when this survey was last conducted.
The training opportunity in AI
The 2025 survey included questions on the use of AI technologies and tools in the organisation for the first time.
Nationally, four in ten employers (39.8%) used AI technologies or tools for work purposes, with more than half (58.1%) adopting them within the last 12 months.
While around a quarter (26.8%) of employers had provided staff with some form of training in AI technologies over the last 12 months, very few of these had used nationally recognised training (3.7%), with most upskilling staff in AI via informal workplace training (80.6%). Just under a quarter (23.9%) of employers that are using AI recognised however that they need to train current staff in AI technologies over the next 12 months.
‘Employers are adopting AI tools at a rapid pace, but our data shows that formal training has not kept the same momentum’, said NCVER Managing Director John King. ‘Most upskilling is happening informally in workplaces, indicating an opportunity for national VET offerings to provide consistent, industry-aligned AI skills development.’
Background:
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2025 provides a summary of employers’ use and views of the vocational education and training (VET) system and focuses on employer engagement and satisfaction with both accredited and unaccredited training. The 2025 survey included a module on the use of AI technologies and tools in the organisation.
The biennial survey collects information on the various ways employers meet their skill needs. The survey was conducted between March and July 2025 and results relate to employers’ training experiences in the preceding 12 months.
Download the report: Employers' use and views of the VET system 2025
Enquiries: Elise Stone P: +61 8 8230 8443 E: communications@ncver.edu.au
About NCVER: we are the main provider of research, statistics and data on Australia’s VET sector. Our services help promote better understanding of VET and assist policy makers, practitioners, industry, training providers, and students to make informed decisions.
This work has been produced by NCVER on behalf of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.