Has Employer Satisfaction with Vocational Education and Training Changed between 2005 and 2007? Occasional Paper

This paper investigates large differences in employer satisfaction with vocational education and training (VET) between 2005 and 2007. Employer satisfaction was measured using the Survey of Employer Use and Views of the VET System, which was first conducted in 2005 and repeated in 2007. It measures employer satisfaction with vocational qualifications as a job requirement, apprentices and trainees, and nationally recognised training. Differences in weighted estimates of employer satisfaction were examined in light of sample sizes and the distribution of employers' responses to the survey. A model-based approach to estimation was used, which accounted for the relationship between satisfaction and the size and industry of the employer. Key findings included: (1) In three out of five cases, the large differences in employer satisfaction between years were found to be real and not as a result of the structure of the sample; (2) In the remaining two cases, the differences in employer satisfaction were found not to be significant. This suggested that the structure of the sample had the potential to reveal differences that did not hold up under closer scrutiny; and (3) Survey estimates of large differences between years need to be treated with some caution and a model-based approach to estimation provides a tool to give assurance that large differences are real and not a result of peculiarities in the sample. An appendix, comprising the majority of the report, provides the regression results. (Contains 7 tables.) [This work has been produced by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) as a joint initiative of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]