be organisations with multiple sites have a more diverse employment structure — a proportion of full-time permanent workers be affected by regulation or licensing have expanded their operations and employee numbers, and added new products or services be in industries where the use of technology and skill needs had increased rapidly. There were also some clear differences in their answers about the training they offered. Users of nationally recognised training considered they trained more than similar organisations in their industry (47.8% as opposed to 22.8% among non-users) and were much more likely to say that the amount of training they offered to employees had increased greatly over the previous five years (28.4% as opposed to 3.8%). Table 6 indicates the key differences that emerged between users and non-users of nationally recognised training when employers were asked about the drivers of training. 6 Training drivers: differences between users and non-users of nationally recognised training Whether or minor driver Users of nationally recognised training more likely to report as being ‘very important’ (more than 5-percentage-point difference) the same percentage of ‘very important’ responses from users and non-users (within difference) Major (over 45% of ‘more likely’ group stating ‘very important’) ‘Other’ (non-licensing) regulatory requirements WH&S Business strategy Business/organisation change New technology Licensing requirements Quality Minor (fewer than 45% stating ‘very important’) Market pressures Demand from employees Required skills not on the external labour market Note: This is derived from Q2.3 in appendix A: In your business how important are the following reasons for the training of your existing staff? (10 choices plus ‘other’ provided). Options were ‘not important’, ‘of some importance’ and ‘very important’. Interestingly, when respondents were asked to choose the most important driver, quality proved much more important for non-users of nationally recognised training than for users. Recent of nationally recognised training were much more likely to: have formal training structures plan and evaluate training purchase training from other sources, such as equipment suppliers and employer associations agree with the benefits of using external training provide informal training opportunities provide non-mandatory training activities such as induction and supervisory training. Informal training
Other 4 3.0 6 4.5 4 3.0 D26 Q4.3 What are the sources of your knowledge about nationally accredited training N % Have no knowledge 33 21.6 TAFE or other registered training organisation 80 52.3 Commonwealth Department of Education and Training 41 26.8 State training authority or department 33 21.6 Employer/industry association 52 34.0 Trade unions 28 18.3 Australian Apprenticeship Centre 18 11.8 National Industry Skills Council 23 15.0 State industry training advisory body if still present in your state/territory 19 12.4 Group training organisation 32 20.9 Training.gov.au website, My Skills website or Australian Apprenticeships website 24 15.7 Skills@Work eNewsletter 7 4.6 Other 8 5.2 Table D27 Q4.4 Please nominate, from the list above (i.e. from Q4.3), the number that represents the source of information that is the most useful N % Have no knowledge 10 7.4 TAFE or other registered training organisation 32 23.7 Commonwealth Department of Education and Training 10 7.4 State training authority or department 10 7.4 Employer/Industry association 25 18.5 Trade unions 5 3.7 Australian Apprenticeship Centre 2 1.5 National Industry Skills Council 5 3.7 State industry training advisory body if still present in your state/territory 6 4.4 Group training organisation 12 8.9 Training.gov.au website, My Skills website, or Apprenticeships website 9 6.7 Skills@Work eNewsletter 3 2.2 Other 6 4.4 Total 135 100.0 Table D28 Q4.5 Do you use nationally accredited qualifications or skill sets for existing workers in your business/organisation N % No 48 31.0
Table D45 Q6.1 In an ideal world, over the last 12 months, would you have provided more training for your staff than you were able to do N % Yes 93 60.8 No 60 39.2 Total 153 100.0 Table D46 Q6.2 How applicable are the following reasons for not providing as much training as you would have liked Not applicable Somewhat applicable Very applicable N % N % N % Insufficient money available for training 10 10.9 47 51.1 35 38 Managers have lacked sufficient time to organise training 15 16.1 42 45.2 36 38.7 Employees are generally too busy to give training to others 9 9.9 38 41.8 44 48.4 Employees are generally too busy to undertake training and development 12 13 43 46.7 37 40.2 Training is not considered to be a high priority for the establishment, by senior management 29 31.2 41 44.1 23 24.7 All our staff are proficient/no pressing business need for a great deal of training 35 38 35 38 22 23.9 More highly trained staff may be poached by other employers 37 40.7 32 35.2 22 24.2 No particular reason 52 57.8 22 24.4 16 17.8 5 6.2 5 6.2 Table D47 Q6.3 From the list in the previous question (i.e. Q6.2) what is the most important reason for not providing more training N % Insufficient money available for training 30 38.0 Managers have lacked sufficient time to organise training 11 13.9 Employees are generally too busy to give training to others 6 7.6 Employees are generally too busy to undertake training and development 15 19.0 Training is not considered to be a high priority for the establishment, by senior management 6 7.6 All our are proficient/no pressing business need for a great deal of training 3 3.8 More highly trained staff may be poached by other employers 2 2.5 No particular reason 3 3.8 Other 3 3.8 79 100.0
Set up partnerships 13 12.3 Manage partnerships 9 8.5 Set up and continue to manage partnerships 53 50.0 Those managing key partnerships report to me 17 16.0 Other 14 13.2 Total 106 100.0 Table E6 Q7. In which of the following locations does your organisation have VET partnerships How many times the location was mentioned % based on answers % based on respondents Your local region 85 44.7 79.4 Other parts of your state 53 27.9 49.5 Other Australian states 45 23.7 42.1 Overseas countries 7 3.7 6.6 Total 190 100.0 100.0 Table E7 Q9. Please select a number from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 6 (Strongly agree) to show how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements Agree Disagree Mean N % N % is strong support in our organisation for seeking industry training partnerships that will be profitable and high-profile 81 75.7 26 24.3 4.6 We are operating in a highly competitive training market 100 93.5 7 6.5 5.3 Increasing the levels of profitable training partnerships is a major goal of our organisation 85 79.4 22 20.6 4.5 We operate almost as the only provider of certain types of industry training 50 46.7 57 53.3 3.3 We have a highly successful track record in partnering with industry 92 86.0 15 14.0 4.8 Our geographical location gives us competitive advantages in gaining access to certain key industry partners 53 49.5 54 50.5 3.5 Our organisation manages partnerships interstate 55 51.4 52 48.6 3.4 Our organisation has a clear strategy about how it will build its level of industry partnering 76 71.7 30 28.3 4.2 Industry is attracted by our track record as a successful partner 90 84.1 17 15.9 4.5 We see ourselves being successful in particular niche markets of industry training 95 88.8 12 11.2 4.9 We are still developing a track record as a good training partner 68 63.6 39 36.4 3.9 Our organisational culture (e.g. our values, how we relate to people) is proving to be an asset in our partnering with industry 98 91.6 9 8.4 5.1
Our organisational structure (e.g. level of hierarchy, control systems) is proving to be an asset in our partnering with industry 85 79.4 22 20.6 4.7 We are the ‘partner of choice’ for a number of industries 74 69.2 33 30.8 4.3 Table E8 Q10. What percentage of your training partnerships with industry falls under each of the following categories N Mean SD Mutual service partnerships where we pool resources with the industry partner to gain access to equipment or resources that aid training 92 15.1 21.7 Joint ventures where we pursue a training opportunity together by combining our capabilities and sharing business risk 92 9.2 14.6 We provide fee-for-service contracted services to client organisations 92 39.8 30.1 We cooperate with an industry partner to provide training that is wholly or largely government subsidised 91 29.2 28.8 Other 92 7.0 21.1 Table E9 Q11. What are the main drivers for your organisation’s involvement in industry/employer partnerships Agree Disagree Mean N % N % To bring in additional revenue 72 78.3 20 21.7 4.5 To copy what organisations are doing 12 13.3 78 86.7 2.0 To give stronger links with industry 72 78.3 20 21.7 4.5 Our motivations are not really clear 11 12.2 79 87.8 1.9 Industries/employers have requested that we assist them 76 82.6 16 17.4 4.6 If we did not get involved in the partnering, another organisation would have taken the opportunity 50 54.9 41 45.1 3.7 To find future employers for our students 61 66.3 31 33.7 4.0 To build extra capability within our staff 68 73.9 24 26.1 4.3 To keep up to date with industry needs/requirements 82 89.1 10 10.9 5.0 To maintain relevance/alignment with industry needs/requirements 84 91.3 8 8.7 5.2 E10 Q15. Please indicate whether your partnerships are mainly with small, medium or large enterprises N % Mainly small or medium (up to 200 employees) 54 58.7 Mainly large 5 5.4 A fairly equal mixture of small, medium and large 33 35.9 Total 92 100.0
Mean N % N % Their ability to establish trust with us 83 96.5 3 3.5 5.2 The quality of their communication with us 75 89.3 9 10.7 4.8 The commitment shown by their staff to make such partnerships a success 75 88.2 10 11.8 4.8 Their willingness to customise the training 72 88.9 9 11.1 5.0 success in customising the training on the job 66 84.6 12 15.4 4.7 Their openness to experimentation with the training model 74 88.1 10 11.9 4.8 flexibility with staffing arrangements 64 79.0 17 21.0 4.5 Their application of financial measures to determine the success of the partnering 56 80.0 14 20.0 4.3 Their application of non-financial measures to determine the success of the partnering 62 84.9 11 15.1 4.6 The financial returns to them to date 54 84.4 10 15.6 4.5 The financial returns to them in the longer-term 52 83.9 10 16.1 4.6 flexibility in facilitating different delivery modes for the training 66 84.6 12 15.4 4.7 level of planning within the partnership 61 79.2 16 20.8 4.5 Their willingness to adopt a perspective in judging the success of the partnership 68 89.5 8 10.5 4.7 Willingness to make changes to the nature of the on-the-job training that they deliver 63 86.3 10 13.7 4.7 The administrative arrangements they put place to manage the issues arising in such partnerships 60 77.9 17 22.1 4.4 E14 Q21. We want to know how well you think your organisation does at some aspects that relate to partnering. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements in relation to your organisation Aspects of partnering % Agree % Disagree Mean N % N % Staff are comfortable about sharing new ideas that might improve the partnering outcomes 82 94.3 5 5.7 5.1 There is open discussion of what we have learned from our mistakes in partnering 75 86.2 12 13.8 5.0 A failed partnership is seen as an opportunity to and improve our operations 75 87.2 11 12.8 4.9 Our organisation does a good job in communicating to all staff what we have learned from successful and failed partnering 66 75.9 21 24.1 4.4