Employers’ use of accredited training is up 5.7 percentage points from 2019, according to the latest data from NCVER.
Released today, data from the 2021 Survey of Employers’ Use and Views of the VET System, which collected information from 5615 employers between February and June 2021, found that 56.6% of Australian employers engaged with accredited training through the vocational education and training (VET) system in 2021.
Employers can engage with the VET system in three ways, by having jobs that require vocational qualifications, by employing apprentices and trainees or by using other nationally recognised training. Employers’ use of all forms of accredited training increased in 2021, compared with 2019 when the survey was last run.
In 2021:
- 40.2% of employers had jobs that require vocational qualifications (up 6.0 percentage points from 2019),
- 27.4% had apprentices and trainees (up 4.2 percentage points), and
- 27.1% provided their employees with other nationally recognised training (up 7.2 percentage points).
Employers’ use of unaccredited and informal training also increased but to a lesser extent, up 3.4 and 2.5 percentage points respectively from 2019.
COVID-19 had a big impact on employers’ training needs, with 44.0% of employers having new training requirements due to the pandemic. Of these, 83.6% had new training requirements to effectively or safely operate in the COVID environment, 70.8% in health and safety, and 68.0% in infection control. Over half (52.1%) chose the type of training they used because of an immediate need to respond to rapidly changing needs, and a third (34.4%) based on its availability.
Quotes attributable to Simon Walker, Managing Director
Despite the many challenges employers have faced during the pandemic, their satisfaction with accredited training remains high. Comparable with 2019, 74.3% of employers with vocational qualifications as a job requirement satisfied employees were provided with the skills they need for the job, 74.2% were satisfied their apprentices and trainees were getting the skills they needed, and 78.7% using other nationally recognised training were satisfied with the training provided to their employees.
DOWNLOAD: Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 publication
Data products and resources for this release:
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 online data slicer
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 excel summary tables
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 infographic
Support information: technical notes, terms and definitions, questionnaire, data dictionary, history of the survey, brochure and primary approach letter.
To find out more about what information the survey collects and to view data from previous years, visit the NCVER portal.
Enquiries: Deanne Loan M: 0413 523 691 E: deanneloan@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 Education, Skills and Employment.