Getting the job done: How employers use and value accredited training leading to a qualification

• Generally, qualifications are viewed by employers as serving two purposes: as a ‘gate-keeping’ mechanism at point of recruitment of new employees and as a development tool, providing a career pathway for existing employees.

• Compliance with external regulations and/or standards emerges as a key motivator for acceptance of formal qualifications by employers.

• Different interpretations of what is meant by the terms ‘qualifications’, ‘competency’ and ‘work-related learning’ influence the value which individual employers place on them. Training providers may also have a different understanding of these terms.

• An innovative and responsive partnership between training providers and employers is more likely to make employers view vocational education and training (VET) qualifications positively.

This study investigates employers’ views on the value of qualifications. It is a qualitative study and involved interviews with 14 employers and their representatives in different companies across eight industry sectors.

The study found that, generally, qualifications are viewed by employers as serving two purposes:

• as a ‘gate-keeping’ mechanism at point of recruitment

• as a development tool, providing a pathway for employees.

All of the employers had their own unique stories to tell. They articulated the issues and responded to our questions on the basis of their experiences and in relation to their businesses. Many employers want to make their own judgements about a person’s skill level. Employers interviewed utilise qualifications as ‘indicators of potential rather than proof of competence’.

Companies which offer employees the opportunity to gain qualifications for development within a job are usually medium to large. Typically, the qualifications can range across certificates I–III and include licences such as crane driving, rigging, scaffolding, forklift driving, certification in first aid and occupational health and safety. Some of the qualifications are recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework but much of the training did not lead to a recognised national qualification.

The discussions with employers overall found that they chose to value qualifications for the following reasons:

• because they trust the qualification and feel that a person with a certain qualification will get the job done

• because there is a compliance issue—contractual obligations, standards and regulations make it mandatory for employees to have certain qualifications

• because the government offers the employer an incentive—if the training offered by the employer leads to a qualification, then the employer gets a contribution from the government

• because it is good industrial relations and human resources policy to offer employees career paths through qualifications, and this leads to effective working relationships and higher levels of morale in the workplace.

For many employers, qualifications are not an issue at all. For them, what matters is capability and expertise and actual performance on the job. These employers engage in a range of training activities, including informal training, experiential learning and development of people, as well as accredited training. As one employer commented: ‘Competence is experience and verified in action, and they will believe it when they see it’.

Employers placed a very high value on informal and on-the-job learning. For many employers contributing to this study, particularly those in smaller enterprises, formal training does not come into the picture. They are too busy coaching, checking, demonstrating, explaining, correcting, challenging, supervising and supporting their staff to be thinking about ‘training’. The resounding message to come through from the interviews is that employers value learning— irrespective of whether this leads to a formal qualification.

Throughout the interviews employers made many comments about their relationships with providers, particularly their desire for personal contact with providers for flexibility and responsiveness, and for providers who have a business orientation.