Review of the Survey of Employer Use and Views of the VET System: outcomes from the discussion paper

Earlier this year, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) distributed a discussion paper on the Survey of Employer Use and Views of the VET System asking users of the survey to comment on the survey's content and methodology.

The survey has been in its current form since 2005 and, with the introduction of the new National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development, NCVER considered it timely to review the survey to ensure that it would continue to meet future user needs.

This report discusses the feedback received and our suggested approach for future iterations of the survey.

Key messages include:

• Feedback from the review indicated that users can be grouped into two categories. The first comprises those who require the survey for performance reporting, where the accuracy and reliability of the survey are crucial. The second category of users is interested in not only how much training is being provided, but also why employers made the training decisions they do.
• NCVER considered a number of options to meet needs from users in both categories for the revised survey. The approach NCVER will adopt seeks to provide improved estimates on core data items, while supplementing these data with qualitative information (with current accuracy levels for these items). The aim is to maintain the current level of respondent burden.
• Users are satisfied with the current survey methodology. NCVER will explore the feasibility of introducing an online option to the survey.

NCVER will commence work on developing and testing the new questionnaire and revised methodology in late 2011. The next survey is due to be conducted in early 2013, with results available late in 2013.

Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER