ERIC ED615667: Employers' Use and Views of the VET System 2021. Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics

2021·1.9 MB·English

by  ERIC

Australian vocational education and training statistics
Employers’ use and views of the
VET system 2021

National Centre for Vocational Education Research
Highlights
In 2021:
56.6% of employers used the VET system to meet their training needs, up 5.7 percentage points from 2019
40.2% of employers had jobs that require vocational qualifications, up 6.0 percentage points from 2019
Of these, 74.3% were satisfied that vocational qualifications provide employees with the skills they need for the
job
27.4% of employers had apprentices and trainees, up 4.2 percentage points from 2019
Of these, 74.2% were satisfied that apprentices and trainees are getting the skills they need from training
27.1% of employers arranged or provided their employees with nationally recognised training, up 7.2 percentage
points from 2019
Of these, 78.7% were satisfied that nationally recognised training provides employees with the skills they need
for the job.
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 1
Employers' use of training
This publication presents information on employers’ use and views of the vocational education and
training (VET) system. The findings relate to the various ways in which Australian employers use
accredited and unaccredited training to meet their skill needs and their satisfaction with the training.
Australian employers can engage with accredited training in three main ways, by:
▪ having jobs that require vocational qualifications
▪ having apprentices and trainees
▪ using nationally recognised training, other than through apprenticeships and traineeships.
Employers can also use unaccredited and informal training.
Also presented in this publication is information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training
needs.
The figures in this publication are derived from the Survey of Employers’ Use and Views of the VET
System. A total of 5615 Australian employers were surveyed between February and mid-June 2021.
In 2021:
▪ 56.6% of employers used accredited training to meet their skills needs, up 5.7 percentage points from
2019
▪ 52.2% provided unaccredited training to their staff, up 3.4 percentage points from 2019
▪ 76.6% provided informal training to their staff, up 2.5 percentage points from 2019
▪ 11.2% did not provide any training to their employees, down 1.6 percentage points from 2019.
Figure 1 Employers' use of different types of training, 2019 and 2021 (%)
100
76.6
80 74.1
56.6
60 50.9 52.2
48.8
40
20 12.8 11.2
0
Accredited training Unaccredited training Informal training No training
2019 2021
Of the employers who did not provide any training in the last 12 months, the top reasons were:
▪ no need/not relevant to the organisation (52.7%)
▪ staff were already adequately trained (51.6%).
Employers' use of accredited training
In 2021, 56.6% of employers used accredited training to meet their skills needs, up 5.7 percentage points
from 2019. By different methods of engagement:
▪ 40.2% of employers had jobs that require vocational qualifications, up 6.0 percentage points from 2019
▪ 27.4% of employers had apprentices and trainees, up 4.2 percentage points from 2019
▪ 27.1% of employers arranged or provided their employees with other nationally recognised training, up
7.2 percentage points from 2019.
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 2
Figure 2 Employers' use of accredited training by choice of training, 2019 and 2021 (%)
100
80
60
40.2
40 34.2
27.4 27.1
23.2
19.9
20
0
Vocational qualifications as a Apprentices and trainees Other nationally recognised training
job requirement
2019 2021
Vocational qualifications as a job requirement
In 2021, 40.2% of employers had jobs that require vocational qualifications, up 6.0 percentage points
from 2019.
Apprentices and trainees
In 2021, 27.4% of employers had apprentices and trainees, up 4.2 percentage points from 2019.
▪ Of these, 37.6% had increased the number of apprentices and trainees they employed in the last 12
months, whereas 14.1% had decreased the number they employed.
▪ Of the employers who changed the number of apprentices and trainees they employed in the last 12
months, 21.2% stated it was due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. See section ‘Impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic’ for additional content.
Other nationally recognised training
In 2021, 27.1% of employers arranged or provided their employees with nationally recognised training
(other than through apprenticeships and traineeships), up 7.2 percentage points from 2019.
▪ Of these, 32.2% had increased the number of employees undertaking nationally recognised training in
the last 12 months, whereas 6.4% had decreased the number of employees trained.
▪ Of the employers who changed the number of employees undertaking nationally recognised training in
the last 12 months, 22.9% stated it was due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. See section
‘Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic’ for additional content.
Employers' satisfaction with accredited training
In 2021, the proportion of employers satisfied that training met their skill needs was:
▪ 74.3% for vocational qualifications, similar to 2019
▪ 74.2% for training provided to apprentices and trainees, similar to 2019
▪ 78.7% for other nationally recognised training, similar to 2019.
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 3
Figure 3 Employers' satisfaction with accredited training by choice of training, 2019 and 2021 (%)
100
77.6 78.8 78.7
80 72.1 74.3 74.2
60
40
20
0
Vocational qualifications as a Apprentices and trainees Other nationally recognised training
job requirement
2019 2021
Reasons for dissatisfaction
Vocational qualifications as a job requirement
9.8% of employers with jobs that require vocational qualifications were dissatisfied with the training as a
way of meeting their skill needs. Of these, the top reasons for dissatisfaction were:
▪ relevant skills are not taught (54.7%*)
▪ the training is of a poor quality or low standard (47.0%*)
▪ not enough focus on practical skills (34.5%*).
Apprentices and trainees
10.7% of employers who had apprentices and trainees were dissatisfied with the skills apprentices and
trainees were getting from training. Of these, the top reasons for dissatisfaction were:
▪ the training is of a poor quality or low standard (50.6%*)
▪ relevant skills are not taught (46.5%*)
▪ not enough focus on practical skills (31.5%*).
Other nationally recognised training
7.0% of employers who used other nationally recognised training were dissatisfied with the training in
providing their employees with the skills they need for the job. Of these, the top reasons for
dissatisfaction were:
▪ relevant skills are not taught (36.8%*)
▪ the training is of a poor quality or low standard (36.4%*)
▪ training is too expensive (20.5%*).
Note: * indicates the estimate has a margin of error of 10% or greater and should be treated with caution.
Use and satisfaction with the main training providers
Apprentices and trainees
Of the employers with apprentices and trainees, 60.8% used TAFE institutes as their main provider to
train apprentices and trainees, similar to 2019. Of these, 75.1% were satisfied overall with the training
provided.
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 4
Figure 4 Provider types used to conduct training for apprentices and trainees, 2019 and 2021 (%)
100
80
61.8
60.8
60
40
20.2 21
20
5.5 5.7 6.2 4.8 6.3 7.7
0
TAFE institutes Private training Professional or Other providers used No external training
providers industry associations providers used
2019 2021
Other nationally recognised training
Of the employers who provided nationally recognised training (other than through apprenticeships and
traineeships), 50.7% used private training providers as their main provider to conduct the training. Of
these, 91.1% were satisfied overall with the training provided, similar to 2019.
Figure 5 Provider types used to conduct nationally recognised training, 2019 and 2021 (%)
100
80
60 50.7
47.1
40
23.2
17.6 18.3
16.3
20
5.5 7.5
3.9 4.4 2.2 3.3
0
TAFE institutes Universities Private training Professional or Other providers No external
providers industry used training providers
associations used
2019 2021
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 5
Unaccredited training
In 2021, 52.2% of employers used unaccredited training to train their employees, up 3.4 percentage
points from 2019. Of these:
▪ 61.8% could not find any comparable nationally recognised training available, similar to 2019
▪ 27.0% did not explore if there was any comparable nationally recognised training, similar to 2019
▪ 11.1% found comparable nationally recognised training available, similar to 2019.
Reasons for choosing unaccredited training over nationally recognised training
Of the 11.1% who found comparable nationally recognised training but chose unaccredited training, 37.6%
did so as its approach was more tailored to their needs, whereas 33.8% chose the training as it was more
cost effective.
Figure 6 Reasons for choosing unaccredited training over nationally recognised training, 2021 (%)
Approach that was tailored to our needs 37.6
More cost effective 33.8
Convenient or flexible times 27.6
Prefer to use our own trainers 21.7
Convenient access or location 20.2
Specialists that have a high level of industry knowledge 16.5
Nationally recognised training was not needed 11
Expertise not available elsewhere 3.7
Other reasons 33.5
0 20 40 60
In 2021, the proportion of employers satisfied with unaccredited training was 83.5%, down 3.9
percentage points from 2019.
Main training providers used to conduct unaccredited training
Of the employers who used unaccredited training to train their employees:
▪ 57.6% conducted the training internally, similar to 2019
▪ 15.0% used private training providers to conduct the training, similar to 2019.
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 6
Figure 7 Provider types used to conduct the majority of unaccredited training, 2019 and 2021 (%)
100
75
56.8 57.6
50
25
16.3 15 14.3 14.6
10.4
8.9
1.4 2 2.4
0.3
0
TAFE institutes Private training Professional Suppliers/manufacturers Other external No external
providers or industry of equipment and/or providers used training providers
associations product used
2019 2021
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Overall, 44.0% of employers reported having new training requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of these:
▪ 83.6% had new training requirements to effectively/safely operate in the COVID environment
▪ 70.8% had new training requirements in 'Health and safety training' and 68.0% in 'Infection control skills
training'
▪ the main types of training used to cover the new training requirements were informal/ad-hoc training
(55.5%), followed by unaccredited training delivered in-house by the organisation (50.3%), and
unaccredited training from an external provider (22.0%)
▪ 3.5% used apprentices and trainees, 3.5% nationally recognised qualifications, and 9.2% nationally
recognised subjects to cover their new training requirements
▪ 52.1% chose the type of training they used because of an immediate need to respond to rapidly
changing training needs. A further 34.4% chose the type of training due to availability.
Figure 8 Reasons for choosing types of training, due to the impacts of COVID-19, 2021 (% of employers who
had new training requirements due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic)
Immediate need to respond to the rapidly changing training needs 52.1
Availability 34.4
Satisfied with this type of training in the past 23.7
Responsiveness/ promptness of training provider to request for training 17.8
Not sure if nationally recognised training was necessary 17.2
Good value for money 16.2
Required by government, industry, head office or clients 12.1
Other 10.3
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 21.2% of employers have different training priorities for
the next 12 months to those of the last 12 months. Of these, 22.9% need to catch up on training they
missed out on.
Employers’ use and views of the VET system 2021 7
Figure 9 Reasons organisations have different training priorities, due to the impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic, 2021 (% of employers who have different training priorities for the next 12 months due to
the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic)
To catch-up on training missed out on/things are returning to normal 22.9
Regulations to control the spread of COVID-19 19.3
Upskilling current staff 19.2
Our industry/business has changed due to COVID-19 13
Business growth/employ more staff 10.3
Industry/economic uncertainty due to COVID-19 9.9
Online training/more online training 6.3
Other 8.3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
64.9% of employers expect the amount of training their organisation will provide in the next 12 months
will stay the same, 30.6% expect it to increase, and 4.5% expect it to decrease.
Of the employers who expect the amount of training they provide to increase in the next 12 months,
40.7% expect it to increase because they are hiring more staff or expanding their business. Of those who
expect the amount of training to decrease in the next 12 months, 29.2% expect it to decrease as staff
will have finished their training.
Definitions and derivations
1.Nationally recognised training is defined as nationally recognised training that is not part of an apprenticeship or
traineeship. For the purposes of this survey, employers with apprenticeships and traineeships are reported separately.
2.Satisfied was rated as a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale. It includes employers who were satisfied and very satisfied. Dissatisfied
was rated as a 1 or 2 on a 5-point scale and includes employers who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
3.Other providers used for training apprentices and trainees include universities, suppliers/manufacturers of
equipment/product or providers not elsewhere defined.
4.Other providers used for nationally recognised training include suppliers/manufacturers of equipment/product or
providers not elsewhere defined.
5.Other providers used for unaccredited training include universities or providers not elsewhere defined.
© Commonwealth of Australia, 2021
For details and exceptions visit the NCVER Portal.
This document should be attributed as NCVER 2021, Employers' use and views of the VET system 2021, NCVER, Adelaide.
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.
The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of NCVER and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Australian Government or state and territory governments.
ISSN 1835-467X
TD/TNC 144.25
Published by NCVER, ABN 87 007 967 311