More than two-thirds of enterprises provided training in 2020, while almost half (48%) provided training through courses.
Half of enterprises provided less training due to COVID-19 restrictions.
More than one in three employees attended training courses in 2020.
Employees spent on average 11.9 hours on training courses in 2020.
Customer handling skills were considered the most important skill for the development of the enterprise.
| Continuing Vocational Training in 2015 and 2020 | ||
| 2015 | 2020 | |
| Percentage of enterprises with training courses | 57.1% | 48.4% |
| Percentage of enterprises with any form of training | 77.4% | 68.4% |
| Percentage of staff participation in training courses | 49.7% | 37.1% |
| Source: Central Statistics Office | ||
More than two-thirds (68%) of enterprises (with 10 or more employees) provided some form of training in 2020. Almost nine in ten (88%) Financial & Insurance enterprises provided training, compared with 74% of Construction enterprises and 74% of Transportation & Storage, and Information & Communication enterprises. The sectors with the lowest proportion of businesses providing training were Accommodation & Food services (54%) and Wholesale and Retail trade (66%). More than nine in ten (92%) large enterprises (250+ employees), 80% of medium sized enterprises (50 to 249 employees), and 66% of small enterprises (10 to 49 employees) provided training in 2020.
Almost half (48%) of enterprises provided training courses in 2020, with 40% providing external training courses and 38% providing internal training courses. Almost two in three (65%) enterprises provided other forms of training, while more than half (52%) provided on-the-job training and 44% had staff engaged in self-learning or e-learning.
More than a third (37%) of employees attended training courses in 2020. Staff participation was higher in larger enterprises, with more than half (52%) of staff attending training courses. This compares with 31% of staff working in medium enterprises and 24% of staff working in small enterprises attending training courses in 2020. The proportion of staff that attended training courses varied across sectors, ranging from 70% of staff in Financial & Insurance activities to 21% of staff in Accommodation & Food services.
More male (20%) than female staff (14%) participated in training courses. This was the case for enterprises in Industry (24% male and 10% female), Construction (31% male and 3% female), and Transportation & Storage, Information & Communication (27% male and 14% female). The sectors with more female than male staff attending training courses were Financial & Insurance (37% female and 32% male), Wholesale and Retail Trade (14% female and 13% male), and Accommodation & Food services (8% female and 7% male).
Each employee spent on average 11.9 hours on training courses in 2020. On average, employees spent 7.7 hours on internal training courses and four hours on external training. Those that worked in the Financial & Insurance sector spent the most time on training courses at an average of 26.6 hours per employee, followed by Industrial staff at 16.1 hours. Employees in the Accommodation & Food services sector spent on average 5.6 hours on training courses, while those in Wholesale & Retail trade spent 6.2 hours. Staff in large enterprises spent nearly twice as long on training courses (14.8 hours) than staff in small enterprises (7.6 hours).
Of the 11.9 hours spent by employees on training courses in 2020, almost 30% of that time was spent on health and safety courses. Those working in Construction spent 6.2 hours out of a total 9.9 hours on health and safety courses (62%), while staff in Accommodation & Food services spent 3.3 hours out of a total 5.6 hours (59%). Those working in the Real Estate, Professional, Administrative, Arts and Other Services sectors combined, spent the lowest proportion of their training time on health and safety courses at 23%, while those working in Wholesale & Retail Trade spent the lowest average number of hours on health and safety courses at 1.5 hours.
The cost of training course activity was estimated to be almost 2% of total labour costs in 2020. This comprised of 0.4% for direct costs such as fees and payments for courses, travel and subsistence and the cost of premises. Another 1.5% was estimated to be the cost of time spent on courses by staff. The total cost of training ranged from 4% in Financial & Insurance activities to 0.6% in Accommodation & Food services. The cost of training was higher in large enterprises at almost 3%, compared with medium enterprises (1.7%) and small enterprises (0.9%).
Almost half (48%) of enterprises provided training courses in 2020, compared with 44% of enterprises in 2019. In the Financial & Insurance sector, almost three-quarters (75%) of enterprises provided training courses in 2020 compared with 74% in 2019. The largest annual percentage increase was in the Construction sector, where the percentage of enterprises providing training courses increased to 57% in 2020 from 42% in 2019.
More than two in five (44%) small enterprises had training courses in 2020, up from 39% in 2019, while 80% of large enterprises had training courses in 2020, up from 78% in 2019.
More than three in five (63%) enterprises provided other forms of training in 2020, up from 36% in 2019. Almost nine in ten (89%) large enterprises provided other forms of training in 2020, up from 69% in 2019, while 59% of small enterprises provided such training in 2020, up from 32% in 2019.
Of the enterprises that did not provide training in 2020, 8% cancelled or postponed training due to COVID-19. More than four in five (81%) enterprises stated that their existing staff had the skills/competencies required to match current needs, while 62% had a strategy to recruit persons with the required skills. Resources such as high workloads and limited available time (29%) and high training costs (18%) were reasons for not providing training courses in 2020, while major training efforts made in 2019 was a reason for 4% of enterprises.
More than half (51%) of training enterprises reduced training in 2020 due to COVID-19. Almost two-thirds (66%) of enterprises indicated that high workloads and limited available time was a factor in limiting the provision of training, while high costs impacted training for 12% of enterprises. A major training effort made in 2019 was the reason for limited training for 51% of enterprises, while 28% reported a lack of suitable training courses as a factor.
Almost a fifth (19%) of training enterprises expressed that the level of training which they provided in 2020 was appropriate to the needs of the enterprises. This ranged from 20% of small enterprises to 11% of large enterprises. A strategy to recruit people with the required skills was a factor which limited the provision of training for 18% of enterprises.
Almost two in five (38%) enterprises considered customer handling to be the most important skill for enterprise development in the coming years. It was the most important skill for almost two-thirds (61%) of Accommodation & Food services enterprises and 55% of Wholesale & Retail enterprises. Customer service was the most important skill for 14% of Industrial enterprises and 7% of Construction enterprises. Other important skills for enterprises were team working skills (36%), technical, practical or job specific skills (35%), and management skills (32%).
Among large enterprises, management skills (57%) were the most important skill for enterprise development in the coming years. Technical, practical or job-specific skills were also important skills for both large (52%) and medium (44%) sized enterprises in the coming years.
Less than one in a hundred (0.6%) enterprises indicated foreign language skills as being the most important skill for enterprise development in the coming years, however, it was slightly more important for large enterprises at 3%. Numeracy and/or literacy skills (4%), oral or written communication skills (4%), and office administration skills (6%) were the least important skills for enterprises.
More than a third (34%) of enterprises assessed the outcomes of their training activities in 2020. Three in ten (30%) enterprises had a written training plan, while 32% had an annual training budget. More than one in ten (13%) enterprises usually involved staff representatives in the management process of training, while 18% employed apprentices.
Large enterprises accounted for the highest proportion of enterprises which engaged in training strategies in 2020. More than seven in ten (73%) large enterprises had an annual training budget, 70% had a written training plan and 64% assessed the outcomes of their training activities.
Half (51%) of enterprises had less training activities in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, while COVID-19 had no effect on the provision of training for 22% of enterprises. Almost half (46%) of enterprises spent fewer hours training staff, while 43% had fewer persons participating in training. Almost four in ten (39%) enterprises introduced or increased online training activities in 2020 and 30% introduced or increased self-directed learning.
| X-axis label | Percentage of enterprises |
|---|---|
| Less CVT activites than planned | 50.5 |
| Less hours spent on CVT | 46.28 |
| Fewer persons participating in CVT | 42.99 |
| Introduced or increased online CVT activities | 39.27 |
| Changes to CVT content | 29.93 |
| Introduced or increased self-directed learning | 29.86 |
| Organised CVT content that would not have taken place otherwise | 29.04 |
| No COVID-19 effects on CVT | 22.19 |
| Increased cost of CVT due to health measures | 18.03 |
| Other | 3.9 |
In 2020, 67% of enterprises in the European Union (EU27) provided training to their employees. Latvia (97%), Sweden (92%), and Czechia (86%) had the highest number of enterprises providing training to staff. Romania at 18%, Greece at 18%, and Hungary at 38% provided the least amount of training.
Ireland ranked 16th out of the EU27 with 69% of enterprises providing training to staff, similar to Italy (69%) and Denmark (71%).
| X-axis label | % of enterprises |
|---|---|
| Latvia | 96.8 |
| Sweden | 91.5 |
| Czechia | 85.9 |
| Belgium | 82.2 |
| Estonia | 79.8 |
| Austria | 79.3 |
| Slovenia | 78.4 |
| Germany | 77.2 |
| Netherlands | 76.8 |
| Luxembourg | 76 |
| France | 75.9 |
| Portugal | 75.6 |
| Spain | 73.2 |
| Denmark | 71 |
| Italy | 68.9 |
| Ireland | 68.4 |
| EU27 | 67.4 |
| Cyprus | 65.7 |
| Finland | 61 |
| Slovakia | 58.9 |
| Lithuania | 54.1 |
| Croatia | 48.2 |
| Malta | 45.1 |
| Bulgaria | 41.1 |
| Poland | 40.9 |
| Hungary | 37.7 |
| Greece | 17.8 |
| Romania | 17.5 |
The first CVTS was carried out for reference year 1993 among 12 Member States of the European Union. Growing demand for CVT data led to a second CVT survey in 1999. The third iteration of CVTS was conducted for 2005 and was underpinned by a European legal act, Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 for the first time. Ireland did not participate in the fourth iteration in 2010 but did participate in CVTS 5 and CVTS 6 for 2015 and 2020 respectively.
Table 12 provides a comparison of selected indicators from each CVT survey conducted by the CSO since 1993. To provide as comparable a basis as possible Table 12 excludes the education, health and public administration and defence and other service activities. It also excludes enterprises with three to nine employees.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 December 2022) released the results of the Continuing Vocational Training Survey (CVTS). Commenting on today’s publication, Colin Hanley, Statistician, in the Business Statistics Division, said:
“The results of this publication show the level of participation in Continuing Vocational Training (CVT) in 2020. More than two-thirds (68%) of enterprises (with 10 or more employees) provided training in 2020, while 48% provided training through courses. More than half (52%) of enterprises provided on-the-job training, while 44% had staff engaged in self-directed or online learning. More than a third (37%) of staff attended training courses in 2020, spending an average of 11.9 hours on those courses.
Factors that Impacted Provision of Training
More than half (51%) of enterprises had less training activities in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, while 22% of enterprises said that COVID-19 had no effect on the provision of training. Almost half (46%) of enterprises spent fewer hours training staff, while 43% had fewer persons participating in training. Four in ten (39%) enterprises introduced or increased online training activities and almost 30% introduced or increased self-directed learning.
Other factors that impacted the provision of enterprise training in 2020 included high workloads and limited available time (66%), major training efforts occurring in 2019 (51%), and lack of suitable training courses (28%).
Importance of Skills
Almost four in ten (38%) enterprises considered customer handling to be the most important skill for the development of the enterprise in the coming years. This was followed by team working skills (36%), technical, practical or job specific skills (35%), and management skills (32%). Foreign language skills (0.6%), numeracy and/or literacy skills (4%), oral or written communication skills (4%), and office administration skills (6%) were not considered among the more important skills.”