Note: To be mailed as a brochure
Surveying Australian Employers about their Skill Needs
What Is It?
The Survey of Employer Use and Views of the VET System is designed to identify strategies used to
employ and train staff. The aim of the survey is to measure how effectively the available options meet
the needs of employers for an appropriately skilled workforce.
Who Is Doing It?
Roy Morgan Research, a national market research company, will be conducting the survey on behalf
of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA). Results will be administered by the National
Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd (NCVER).
For more information freecall 1800 633 813
The Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) works with industry and governments to make
services and training products more flexible and responsive to the changing needs of enterprises
competing in an international marketplace. The strength of Australia’s world-leading training system
lies in its responsiveness to the needs of industry and enterprises, such as yours.
How Will The Information be Used?
The Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) will use the information from the survey to:
 identify skill shortages that are not being met by current training strategies;
 identify areas of growth in skill development;
 monitor how employers use training and what they think of it; and
 help shape future training.
How Long Will It Take?
The interview will on average take 20 minutes. It will be conducted over the telephone and at a time
convenient to you.
For large employers the following will be used instead
The survey takes an average of 20 minutes to complete, but could take around 30 minutes, depending
on your type of business and training arrangements. It will be conducted over the telephone and at a
time convenient to you.
Who Do We Want to Speak To?
All businesses, not just those training staff. We want to speak to the person responsible for employing
and training staff. They may need to have access to payroll or other records, or consult other people in
their organisation prior to the interview about specific questions in the survey.
Do I Have To Participate?
Participating in the survey is voluntary. However, having as many businesses respond as possible
gives a clearer picture of skill needs and the ways in which Australian employers use training in their
workplaces.
If you do not wish to participate please contact Roy Morgan Research on Freecall 1800 633 813.
Australian Government Statistical Clearing House Approval Number 00447 -- 03
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How Was My Organisation Selected?
Your organisation was one randomly selected from the Australian Business Register. The Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has agreed to select a sample of employers from this Register and provide
them to the Australian National Training Authority for the purpose of conducting the Survey of
Employer Use and Views of the VET System. This is in accordance with legislative guidelines
(Subsection 13(1) of the Census and Statistics Act, and Clause 6 of the Statistics Determination). The
survey is not conducted by the ABS nor subject to the confidentiality protections of surveys conducted
under the authority of the ABS.
Are My Answers Confidential?
Yes, your privacy is assured. Your contact details and survey responses will remain confidential. Roy
Morgan Research will remove all identifying information from the data before providing it to ANTA.
Results will be reported as aggregated findings and will not allow individual respondents to be
identified. At the completion of the survey all name, address and telephone number details will be
returned to the ABS.
The Australian Government Statistical Clearing House
This survey has been approved by the Australian Government Statistical Clearing House. The
approval number is 00447 – 03. You may phone the Statistical Clearing House on (02) 6252 5285 to
verify the approval number.
How Do I Get the Survey Results?
Results will be published and available on the National Centre for Vocational Education Research
(NCVER) website in July 2005. See <http://www.ncver.edu.au>.
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What Do We Want To Know?
We will be asking questions about:
 whether your organisation employs people with formal vocational qualifications or has jobs
that require formal vocational qualifications;
 whether employees have undertaken any nationally recognised training, or unaccredited
training in the past year;
 whether your organisation has apprentices or trainees;
 any other training provided to employees;
 whether your organisation is a Registered Training Organisation; and
 key characteristics of your staff and of your business.
We will be asking you what you think about any of this training and your suggestions for improvement.
See overleaf for help with what we mean by the terms highlighted above.
We will be asking you for some background information on:
 The total number of employees1 working in, or operating from, this organisation during the
last pay period. (Including full-time, part-time and casual employees2, excluding contractors
and owners of the business.)
 The total number who are employed on a permanent and ongoing3 basis.
 The total number who are employed full-time (35 hours or more per week).
 The number of employees in the following employee categories (either numbers or
percentages):
Managers (including general or specialist managers; farmers and farm managers; retail and hospitality managers)
Professionals (including professionals in the business, health and education sectors; science, engineering and
transport professionals; welfare, legal and media professionals; information and communication technology ( ICT)
professionals)
Technicians and Tradespersons (including trade workers in the engineering, automotive, and construction
industries; skilled agricultural and horticultural workers; science, engineering and ICT technicians)
Community and Personal Service Workers (including hospitality workers; protective service workers; carers and
aides; health and welfare support workers)
Clerical and Administrative Workers (including office managers and program administrators; bookkeepers and
loans officers; secretaries, personal assistants, receptionists and inquiry clerks)
Sales Workers (including sales representatives, agents, and assistants)
Machinery Operators and Drivers (including storepersons; machine and stationary plant operators; mobile plant
operators)
Labourers (including cleaners; factory process workers; construction and mining labourers; food preparation
assistants)
It may be easier for you to source this information before we contact you.
1
Employees are wage and salary earners who received pay for any part of the last pay period. This includes: employees on
paid or prepaid leave; employees who commenced or terminated employment during the pay period; and employees on
workers’ compensation who continue to be paid through the payroll. It excludes person paid solely by commission, without a
retainer, wage or salary
2
Casual includes employees who receive some leave entitlements but are employed on a fixed term basis; and employees who
may receive a higher rate of pay to compensate for a lack of permanency and entitlements.
3
Employees who are entitled to paid holiday and sick leave.
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Survey Definitions
Registered Training Organisation
Refers to a training provider that is registered by a State/Territory Training Authority as nationally
recognised for the provision of training and services.
Nationally recognised training
An accredited program of study that leads to vocational qualifications that are recognised across
Australia.
This can apply to:
 a whole course (qualification) or
 components of a course (units of competency and modules).
It is also known as nationally or state accredited training. You can recognise it by a quality stamp
that includes the words ‘Nationally Recognised Training’.
Only Registered Training Organisations that meet government quality standards can provide
nationally recognised training (such as TAFE, private providers and vocational divisions of
universities).
For the purposes of this survey, nationally recognised training does not include:
 Training and certifications that may be recognised by your industry, but are not part of the
Australian vocational education and training sector. This includes IT certifications such as
Microsoft and Cisco, etc. These are typically product specific certifications.
 University degrees.
Questions on nationally recognised training exclude apprenticeships and traineeships as separate
questions are asked on this.
Formal Vocational Qualifications
Qualifications completed that are nationally recognised. These qualifications are delivered by
Registered Training Organisations such as TAFE, private providers and vocational divisions of
universities.
Examples include:
 Diploma of Accounting,
 Certificate IV in Retail Management,
 Certificate III in Hairdressing, Certificate III in Plumbing,
 Certificate II in Telecommunications, and
 traditional qualifications such as Electrician or Welder.
These qualifications do not include:
 senior secondary certificates of education (year 12), or
 qualifications such as bachelor or higher degrees delivered by Universities
 apprenticeships and traineeships, as this is training towards a vocational qualification.
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Survey Definitions
Apprenticeships and traineeships
Refers to people with a formal Training Contract with their employer. The training they undertake as
part of their apprenticeship or traineeships is nationally recognised.
Apprenticeships and traineeships exist in a wide number of occupations, these include:
 traditional areas such as electrical, automotive, hairdressing, etc, and
 non-traditional areas such as tourism and hospitality, information technology, business
administration, and health, etc.
Examples include:
 people hired as a traditional apprentice or trainee
 people still at school in a school based apprenticeship, and
 existing workers undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship in the workplace where they are
already employed.
Unaccredited training
Refers to training that does not lead to a nationally recognised qualification. The training activity
must have a specified content or predetermined plan designed to develop employment related
skills and competencies.
Examples include:
 product or service specific courses (like Certified Novell Engineer, advanced Excel)
 project management courses
 workshops on how to deal with customer complaints
 industry specific or technical training not recognised nationally
This training does not include:
 apprenticeships and traineeships,
 other nationally recognised training, and
 study towards a university degree.
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