New report offers three options to improve Australia's records on employers' efforts on workforce learning
Australia has a limited view of employers' initiatives on workforce training and learning despite their importance to labour productivity, according to a new report, which outlined three opportunities to improve the availability of high-quality data in this area.
New research from Jobs and Skills Australia put the spotlight on a "significant" information gap when it comes to how much employers spend on workforce training and learning, which is critical in the government's ability to identify and address skills challenges across the economy.
"Australia lacks a consistent and contemporary measure of employer learning activity and expenditure. This limits our ability to target policies effectively or assess whether investment levels are sufficient and effective," the JSA report read.
According to the JSA, the country's last comprehensive measure of employer investment was collected more than 20 years ago back in 2001-02, called the ABS Employer Training Expenditure and Practices Survey (ETEPS).
"This is a significant evidence gap at a time of increasing focus on productivity and workforce capability," it added.
Options to address the gap
The JSA offered three options that can be taken to close the information gap on employers' training efforts.
The first one is a cost-effective pilot survey of employers, particularly targeting HR staff, with questions related to the following themes:
- Total and average amount of expenditure on training
- Rates of participation in work-related training and use of informal learning methods
- Reasons for this training being required
- Factors most prevalent in hindering training intentions
The poll could be delivered by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2026-27 or 2028-29 as a supplementary survey, according to the JSA.
"These linkages could support analysis of worker and firm outcomes, and how they differ between those who invest in training and those who do not. Although participation would be voluntary, the ABS would likely achieve substantially higher response rates than another agency or third-party provider," the report read.
The second option is the continued delivery and potential enhancement of two surveys, namely the NCVER's Survey of Employers' Use and Views of the VET System, as well as the ABS Work-related Training and Adult Learning Survey.
The JSA noted that the two surveys support the analysis of employer and worker engagement in work-related training over time.
"While these sources do not enable direct measurement of expenditure — and are unlikely to be suitable for that purpose — they provide important insights into skills development in Australia," the report read.
The third option is a more consistent and widespread company reporting to improve transparency on employer investment in workforce capability, according to the JSA.
"It would also enable the development of comparable indicators over time, including training expenditure relative to wages or employment," it added.
It acknowledged that the option would introduce "significant reporting requirements for employers," but it stressed that more consistent reporting would provide a stronger foundation for decision-making by both governments and businesses.
"Improved reporting could also strengthen stakeholder confidence and enable firms to benchmark their investment against peers," the report added.
Why employer initiative is important
The need to record employers' investment in learning is critical in amplifying the efforts from the government and the education and training sector in employees' skill building.
"Most discussions about skills focus on the upfront formal study that people undertake, but employers play a major role in helping workers build, apply and transfer their skills throughout their careers," said Acting JSA Commissioner Megan Lilly.
"The value that employers add to the workforce goes beyond direct financial investments in training and includes good job design that enables workers to apply and deepen their skills over time."
The JSA report added that measuring learning outcomes, and not just activity, is also important, pointing out that it is also critical to learn whether upskilling efforts are effective.
"The quality, relevance, and application of learning are often more important than the volume of activity undertaken," the report read.
"Training that is poorly designed, disconnected from workplace needs, or undertaken only for compliance purposes may do little to develop skills, improve productivity, or support career progression."
The report comes as Australia's labour market faces technological, demographic, and structural changes, according to the JSA.
"Lifelong learning is critical to maintaining workforce adaptability and depends not only on individual effort but also on workplace and system-level support," it said.
