| Continuing Vocational Training | 2015 |
| % of enterprises with training courses | 57% |
| % of enterprises with any form of training | 77% |
| % of staff on training courses | 50% |
Over three quarters (77%) of all of private sector enterprises (with 10 or more employees) provided some form of training in 2015. This ranged from 94% in the Financial and insurance sector to 68% in the Accommodation and food services sector.
Just under half of these enterprises (49%) provided external training courses while three quarters (74%) provided other forms of continuing vocational training (CVT). Of these enterprises providing other CVT, 60% provided planned on-the-job training while 53% provided training through attendance at conferences, workshops etc. and 37% provided CVT in the form of self-directed or e-learning.
For this release 'all enterprises' refers to enterprises in the private sector with 10 or more employees.
| Table 1 Training enterprises by type of training as a percentage of all enterprises in 20151 | ||||||||||||
| Training courses | Other forms of training | |||||||||||
| Internal Training courses | External Training courses | All Training courses | Planned on-the-job training | Planned training through job rotation, exchanges, secondments or study visits | Attendances at conferences, workshops, trade fairs, lectures etc. | Planned training through learning/quality circles | Planned training by self-directed learning/e-learning | Total other forms of training | Any forms of training either courses or other | |||
| Economic Sector | ||||||||||||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | ||||
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 43.7 | 51.2 | 56.0 | 60.1 | 28.1 | 46.2 | 16.0 | 30.7 | 71.3 | 75.9 | ||
| F Construction | 31.3 | 59.0 | 59.2 | 54.3 | 21.7 | 40.4 | 16.3 | 20.7 | 66.9 | 74.3 | ||
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 39.7 | 44.1 | 53.8 | 55.3 | 16.7 | 55.5 | 12.0 | 36.3 | 73.9 | 77.6 | ||
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 41.1 | 29.4 | 46.3 | 66.2 | 20.7 | 35.6 | 17.2 | 21.7 | 67.9 | 68.0 | ||
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 44.0 | 50.5 | 57.5 | 59.0 | 17.5 | 49.6 | 13.1 | 39.1 | 71.2 | 75.1 | ||
| K Financial and insurance activities | 69.9 | 80.5 | 83.9 | 73.0 | 35.7 | 82.0 | 23.4 | 76.1 | 93.1 | 94.4 | ||
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 43.9 | 59.4 | 65.4 | 59.3 | 9.4 | 65.7 | 16.2 | 49.0 | 82.2 | 84.3 | ||
| Total | 42.3 | 48.6 | 57.1 | 59.5 | 18.2 | 52.7 | 15.1 | 36.6 | 74.3 | 77.4 | ||
| Size class (by number of employees) | ||||||||||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 36.7 | 44.2 | 52.8 | 55.7 | 13.6 | 48.9 | 12.8 | 33.1 | 71.6 | 74.8 | ||
| 50 to 249 employees | 65.9 | 68.4 | 75.6 | 75.7 | 36.0 | 67.9 | 22.3 | 49.1 | 86.4 | 89.0 | ||
| 250+ employees | 87.8 | 80.9 | 90.1 | 89.2 | 63.1 | 85.8 | 43.0 | 75.0 | 93.5 | 94.9 | ||
| Total | 42.3 | 48.6 | 57.1 | 59.5 | 18.2 | 52.7 | 15.1 | 36.6 | 74.3 | 77.4 | ||
| 1 More than one type of training activity possible for each enterprise | ||||||||||||
50% of staff attended training courses in 2015
Half of staff attended training courses in 2015 with more males (24%) than females (17%) on these courses (some of the staff may have attended more than one course). This was the case for all sectors except for the Financial and insurance sector, which had more females (43%) than males (35%) attending and in the Accommodation and food service sector, which had equal participation (19%). However, when we take into account the numbers of males and females employed we see little difference between men and women, for example in the Construction sector 29% of staff attending training courses were male while 4% were female, but when considering the actual numbers of males and females employed in the Construction sector 33% of males attended training courses while 32% of females attended.
The sector with the largest participation in training was the Financial and insurance sector (90%) while the Wholesale and retail sector had the lowest proportion in training (33%). See Table 2
| Percentage of enterprises providing training courses | Percentage of staff participating on training courses | |
| Small enterprises | 52.8 | 33.2 |
| Medium enterprises | 75.6 | 43.8 |
| Large enterprises | 90.1 | 62.9 |
| Total | 57.1 | 49.7 |
| Table 2 Staff participating on training courses by gender as a percentage of employees1 in all enterprises in 2015 | |||||||
| Males participating in training courses | Females participating in training courses | Not stated male or female | Total employees participating in training courses | Males participating/male employees | Females participating/female employees | ||
| Economic Sector | |||||||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | ||
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 34.5 | 13.2 | 5.4 | 53.0 | 50.3 | 48.2 | |
| F Construction | 28.6 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 37.6 | 33.2 | 32.3 | |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 12.2 | 11.2 | 9.2 | 32.6 | 25.7 | 22.9 | |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 18.8 | 18.8 | 8.2 | 45.9 | 42.8 | 40.3 | |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 29.1 | 11.4 | 15.2 | 55.7 | 47.9 | 35.9 | |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 34.6 | 42.6 | 12.1 | 89.3 | 76.8 | 79.7 | |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 19.9 | 18.8 | 9.4 | 48.1 | 40.4 | 44.3 | |
| Total | 23.5 | 16.9 | 9.4 | 49.7 | 43.6 | 41.8 | |
| Size class (by number of employees) | |||||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 17.0 | 12.7 | 3.5 | 33.2 | 30.4 | 30.6 | |
| 50 to 249 employees | 22.9 | 15.9 | 4.9 | 43.8 | 40.4 | 39.3 | |
| 250+ employees | 27.7 | 20.0 | 15.1 | 62.9 | 54.1 | 50.3 | |
| Total | 23.5 | 16.9 | 9.4 | 49.7 | 43.6 | 41.8 | |
| 1Total employees as reported on CVT survey. | |||||||
19.4 hours per employee spent on training courses in 2015
Each employee spent 19.4 hours on average on training courses in 2015. There was on average 11.5 hours spent on internal training courses and 4 hours spent on external training courses in 2015 per employee. Staff in the Accommodation and food services sector had 35 hours per person followed by 30 hours in the Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply sector. The sector with the lowest hours spent on training was the Wholesale and retail sector, which had 7 hours.
Staff in large and small enterprises spent over 20 hours on training courses on average while those in medium size enterprises with 50 to 249 employees spent less than 16 hours.
30% of time spent on training courses was for health and safety ranging from 47% in Accommodation and food service activities sector to 8% in the Financial and insurance activities sector. See Table 3.
| Total Training courses | Health and Safety at work | |
| Small enterprises | 20.4 | 7.8 |
| Medium enterprises | 15.6 | 4.3 |
| Large enterprises | 20.7 | 5.5 |
| Total | 19.4 | 5.9 |
| Table 3 Number of hours spent on training courses per employee in all enterprises1 in 2015 | |||||||
| Internal Training courses | External Training courses | Not stated Internal/ External | Total Training courses | Hours spent and percentage of total hours spent on Health and Safety courses at work | |||
| Economic Sector | |||||||
| Hours | Hours | Hours | Hours | Hours | % | ||
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 19.7 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 29.6 | 9.2 | 31.1% | |
| F Construction | 11.0 | 6.7 | 3.3 | 21.0 | 8.0 | 38.1% | |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 3.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 7.2 | 1.7 | 23.6% | |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 23.5 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 35.0 | 16.3 | 46.6% | |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 9.0 | 8.2 | 2.9 | 20.2 | 7.2 | 35.6% | |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 11.7 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 18.3 | 1.5 | 8.2% | |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 8.0 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 14.4 | 2.1 | 14.6% | |
| Total | 11.5 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 19.4 | 5.9 | 30.4% | |
| Size class (by number of employees) | |||||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 12.9 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 20.4 | 7.8 | 38.2% | |
| 50 to 249 employees | 8.9 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 15.6 | 4.3 | 27.6% | |
| 250+ employees | 12.0 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 20.7 | 5.5 | 26.6% | |
| Total | 11.5 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 19.4 | 5.9 | 30.4% | |
| 180.4% of enterprises who responded and ran courses returned hours on courses | |||||||
Training course costs equal 2.2% of total labour costs in 2015
The cost of training course activity was estimated to be 2.2% of total labour costs in 2015. This was composed of 0.9% for direct costs such as fees and payments for courses in 2015, travel and subsistence and the cost of premises. Another 1.4% was estimated to be the cost of the time spent on courses by staff. The total cost of training ranged from 3.2% in Accommodation and food services sector to 1.2% in the Wholesale and retail trade sector. The cost of training was higher in large enterprises (250+ employees) at 2.4% compared to the small and medium enterprises at 2.0%. See Table 4.
| Table 4 Training course costs as a percentage of total labour costs1 in 2015 | |||
| Direct costs e.g. fees, course payments, travel & sub, cost of premises | Personal absence cost on training courses | All training course costs | |
| Economic Sector | |||
| % | % | % | |
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
| F Construction | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.2 |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.7 |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.2 |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
| Total | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
| Size class (by number of employees) | |||
| 10 to 49 employees | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 |
| 50 to 249 employees | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.0 |
| 250+ employees | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.4 |
| Total | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
| 1Total labour costs as reported on CVT survey. | |||
Increase in number of enterprises providing training between 2015 and 2014
Over 56% of enterprises provided training courses in 2015 compared to 44% of enterprises in 2014. This ranged from 84% in the Financial and insurance sector up from 72% in 2014 to 45% in the Accommodation and Food services sector up from 34% in 2014.
89% of large enterprises had training courses in 2015 up from 80% in 2014 while 52% of small enterprises had training courses up from 39% in 2014.
73% of enterprises provided other forms of training in 2015 up from 39% in 2014. 92% of large enterprises provided other forms of training in 2015 up from 77% in 2014, while 70% of small enterprises provided such training in 2015 up from 34% in 2014. See Table 5.
| Table 5 Past and present plans for training staff, as a percentage of all enterprises1 | |||||
| Training courses | Other forms of training | ||||
| Provided staff training courses in 2014 | Provided staff training courses in 2015 | Provided other forms of staff training in 2014 | Provided other forms of staff training in 2015 | ||
| Economic Sector | |||||
| % | % | % | % | ||
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 43.4 | 55.5 | 38.1 | 69.9 | |
| F Construction | 47.5 | 57.8 | 38.0 | 64.1 | |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 38.3 | 53.5 | 36.6 | 72.6 | |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 33.8 | 44.6 | 29.1 | 64.2 | |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 46.4 | 56.9 | 33.4 | 68.0 | |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 71.7 | 83.5 | 66.0 | 92.1 | |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 51.4 | 65.1 | 47.1 | 81.7 | |
| Total | 43.6 | 56.4 | 38.6 | 72.5 | |
| Size class (by number of employees) | |||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 38.8 | 52.3 | 34.3 | 70.0 | |
| 50 to 249 employees | 63.9 | 74.0 | 56.1 | 83.5 | |
| 250+ employees | 80.4 | 89.1 | 77.2 | 92.1 | |
| Total | 43.6 | 56.4 | 38.6 | 72.5 | |
| 1 When enterprises existed in both years | |||||
Non-training enterprises happy with skills of existing staff in 2015
Of the 28% of enterprises who did not provide training, the most common reason for not having any form of training was that existing staff had the skills and competencies to match current needs (60%). Over a third of enterprises (39%) said that they preferred to recruit persons with the required skills. While over a fifth (21%) were deterred by high workloads and/or limited available time. See Table 6.
| Table 6 Reasons1 for non training enterprises for not providing training in 2015 as a percentage of all non training enterprises | ||||||||||
| Existing staff skills/competencies match current needs | Strategy to recruit persons with required skills | Difficulties in assessing training needs in enterprise | Lack of suitable training courses | High costs of training courses | Higher focus on training apprentices | Major training effort previous year | High workloads & limited available time | Other reasons | Not stated | |
| Economic Sector | ||||||||||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 61.9 | 42.4 | 4.6 | 8.7 | 15.2 | 10.0 | 2.4 | 17.8 | 9.7 | 25.2 |
| F Construction | 55.5 | 32.7 | . | . | 10.9 | . | . | 5.5 | . | 33.6 |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 67.6 | 42.7 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 17.4 | 1.0 | . | 19.3 | 2.4 | 20.8 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 58.6 | 37.3 | 15.3 | 15.5 | 12.2 | 15.1 | 9.8 | 22.2 | 0.8 | 25.3 |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 49.1 | 26.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 0.5 | . | 10.0 | 13.7 | 35.8 |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 74.6 | 64.1 | 26.8 | 13.4 | . | . | . | 13.4 | 25.4 | 12.0 |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 56.0 | 44.0 | 11.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | . | 40.0 | 51.4 | 10.8 |
| Total | 60.2 | 39.3 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 11.4 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 20.9 | 11.6 | 23.4 |
| Size class (by number of employees) | ||||||||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 59.9 | 38.9 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 10.5 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 20.8 | 11.2 | 24.2 |
| 50 to 249 employees | 62.8 | 45.8 | 6.7 | 9.0 | 23.4 | 6.7 | 0.7 | 23.8 | 14.7 | 13.3 |
| 250+ employees | 68.5 | 30.6 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 11.4 | . | . | 11.0 | 31.7 | 12.8 |
| Total | 60.2 | 39.3 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 11.4 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 20.9 | 11.6 | 23.4 |
| 1 Enterprises could give more than one reason for not training | ||||||||||
| . Reason not chosen by non training enterprise | ||||||||||
Over one fifth of training enterprises felt they provided appropriate training
20.6% of enterprises providing training expressed that the level of training they provided was appropriate to the needs of the enterprise. However 47% were limited by high workloads while 34% were limited by the high cost of training courses and 42% of enterprises preferred to recruit individuals with the required skills and competencies. See Table 7.
| Table 7 Factors limiting training enterprises1 in the provision of training in 2015 as a percentage of all training enterprises | ||||||||||
| Existing staff skills/competencies match current needs | Strategy to recruit persons with required skills | Difficulties in assessing training needs in enterprise | Lack of suitable training courses | High costs of training courses | Higher focus on training apprentices | Major training effort previous year | High workloads & limited available time | Other reasons | No response | |
| Economic Sector | ||||||||||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 24.0 | 34.5 | 13.0 | 16.1 | 26.6 | 10.7 | 12.0 | 46.2 | 7.1 | 6.0 |
| F Construction | 26.3 | 33.7 | 10.4 | 17.1 | 32.9 | 15.3 | 19.1 | 43.8 | 6.8 | 2.2 |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 22.1 | 44.3 | 8.7 | 17.6 | 32.9 | 9.4 | 11.3 | 44.3 | 8.8 | 1.4 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 7.7 | 41.8 | 7.6 | 21.9 | 47.9 | 9.4 | 7.2 | 58.5 | 11.4 | 19.8 |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 18.4 | 44.9 | 12.2 | 15.0 | 39.3 | 4.6 | 11.7 | 50.5 | 8.4 | 5.5 |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 23.4 | 45.9 | 9.3 | 12.5 | 22.7 | 4.8 | 17.2 | 44.7 | 11.0 | 2.1 |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 24.1 | 41.4 | 5.6 | 12.4 | 29.3 | 4.4 | 12.9 | 41.3 | 12.9 | 7.4 |
| Total | 20.6 | 41.6 | 8.8 | 16.3 | 33.7 | 8.1 | 11.9 | 46.5 | 9.9 | 6.6 |
| Size class (by number of employees) | ||||||||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 20.8 | 42.0 | 7.7 | 16.5 | 33.0 | 8.4 | 10.7 | 44.8 | 9.8 | 7.4 |
| 50 to 249 employees | 19.3 | 40.4 | 12.8 | 16.9 | 37.9 | 7.3 | 16.1 | 53.8 | 10.2 | 3.3 |
| 250+ employees | 23.1 | 36.6 | 14.0 | 10.3 | 30.0 | 4.5 | 19.6 | 52.1 | 11.3 | 3.8 |
| Total | 20.6 | 41.6 | 8.8 | 16.3 | 33.7 | 8.1 | 11.9 | 46.5 | 9.9 | 6.6 |
| 1 Enterprises that could give more than one limiting factor for training | ||||||||||
Customer handling most important skill to develop in 2015
Over half (53%) of enterprises considered customer handling to be the most important skill for the development of the enterprise in the coming years. 45% considered Technical, practical or job-specific skills and Team working skills to be the most important. See Table 8.
| Table 8 The most important skills1 for the development of the enterprise in the coming years | ||||||||||||
| General IT skills | Professional IT skills | Management skills | Team working skills | Customer handling skills | Problem solving skills | Office administration skills | Foreign language skills | Technical, practical or job-specific skills | Oral or written communication skills | Numeracy and/or literacy skills | Other skills | |
| Economic Sector | ||||||||||||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 21.2 | 6.6 | 47.0 | 41.2 | 26.3 | 28.7 | 11.4 | 2.4 | 65.3 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 9.7 |
| F Construction | 21.3 | 8.6 | 46.4 | 43.6 | 20.9 | 23.7 | 15.0 | . | 68.4 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 9.9 |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 24.7 | 6.3 | 29.7 | 46.4 | 71.5 | 12.8 | 11.0 | 1.3 | 41.0 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 7.6 | 0.5 | 33.2 | 62.5 | 77.4 | 9.2 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 22.7 | 12.0 | 3.8 | 3.1 |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 26.0 | 25.8 | 32.8 | 27.9 | 42.8 | 21.5 | 14.1 | 3.5 | 47.1 | 8.6 | 5.3 | 10.6 |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 26.7 | 17.9 | 41.7 | 26.8 | 45.6 | 12.1 | 15.6 | 2.7 | 60.1 | 12.0 | 19.5 | 6.6 |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 27.4 | 19.3 | 29.3 | 42.3 | 35.7 | 11.9 | 24.8 | 0.8 | 47.3 | 19.9 | 0.9 | 16.3 |
| Total | 22.0 | 10.6 | 34.0 | 44.9 | 52.5 | 15.4 | 13.3 | 1.6 | 45.1 | 10.1 | 4.1 | 9.0 |
| Size class (by number of employees) | ||||||||||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 23.2 | 10.2 | 30.1 | 46.0 | 53.1 | 14.7 | 14.6 | 1.2 | 43.2 | 9.8 | 3.9 | 8.8 |
| 50 to 249 employees | 16.5 | 12.5 | 51.6 | 40.7 | 50.8 | 17.5 | 7.2 | 3.0 | 53.0 | 11.7 | 5.1 | 9.8 |
| 250+ employees | 12.3 | 14.3 | 63.1 | 34.7 | 43.2 | 24.4 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 63.7 | 9.7 | 4.7 | 11.4 |
| Total | 22.0 | 10.6 | 34.0 | 44.9 | 52.5 | 15.4 | 13.3 | 1.6 | 45.1 | 10.1 | 4.1 | 9.0 |
| 1Enterprises were asked to return their three most important skills | ||||||||||||
| . Reason not chosen by non training enterprise | ||||||||||||
Half of enterprises assess the outcomes of their training activities
Almost half (49%) of enterprises usually assess the outcomes of their training activities. Almost a quarter (24%) of enterprises had a training plan. 28% of enterprises had an annual training budget while 14% of enterprises usually involved staff representatives in the management process of training and 16% of enterprises employed apprentices. See Table 9.
| Table 9 Training strategies as a percentage of enterprises | |||||
| Assess Outcomes | Written training plan | Employ apprentices | Annual training budget | Agreement on CVT with staff representatives | |
| Economic Sector | |||||
| % | % | % | % | % | |
| B-E Mining, quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply | 48.2 | 27.2 | 23.1 | 30.1 | 11.2 |
| F Construction | 56.3 | 28.3 | 40.9 | 14.0 | 16.8 |
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 46.0 | 21.8 | 15.4 | 24.7 | 9.8 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 41.5 | 21.2 | 6.6 | 17.7 | 20.1 |
| H,J Transport and storage, information and communications | 48.2 | 23.0 | 10.2 | 33.1 | 10.5 |
| K Financial and insurance activities | 66.0 | 42.8 | 8.8 | 62.6 | 19.6 |
| L,M,N,R,S Real estate, professional, administrative, arts and other service activities | 52.2 | 22.1 | 18.4 | 33.9 | 14.5 |
| Total | 48.8 | 23.7 | 16.3 | 27.7 | 13.6 |
| Size class (by number of employees) | |||||
| 10 to 49 employees | 44.8 | 18.5 | 15.1 | 22.5 | 12.6 |
| 50 to 249 employees | 62.2 | 44.7 | 21.0 | 48.9 | 17.3 |
| 250+ employees | 76.3 | 69.7 | 27.8 | 73.6 | 23.7 |
| Total | 48.8 | 23.7 | 16.3 | 27.7 | 13.6 |
Comparing to previous surveys
In order to provide as comparable a basis as possible Table 10 excludes the education, health and public administration and defence and other services sectors. It also excludes enterprises with 3 to 9 employees.
Note: CVTS5 was not designed to measure employment or labour costs but as a measure of training. The official source of employment, labour costs and hours are published in the following location Earnings
| Table 10 Comparison of selected indicators for Continuing Vocational Training Survey (CVTS) in Ireland | ||||
| CVTS 1993 | CVTS 1999 | CVTS 2005 | CVTS 2015 | |
| Indicator | ||||
| % of enterprises with training courses | 64% | 56% | 56% | 57% |
| % of enterprises with any form of training | 77% | 79% | 70% | 77% |
| % of staff on training courses | 43% | 41% | 49% | 49% |
| Average number of days on training courses | 1.7 days | 2.4 days | 1.7 days | 2.5 days |
| Expenditure on training courses (€) | €140M | €364M | €851M | €1,184M |
| Total training course cost as a % of labour costs | 1.5% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.2% |
| No of staff on training courses (000's) | 204 | 251 | 409 | 617 |
| Cost per participant on training courses (€) | €688 | €1,452 | €2,080 | €1,914 |
| Cost per day of training courses (€) | €177 | €251 | €608 | €766 |
This report presents the results of the fifth survey of continuing vocational training (CVTS5) in private sector enterprises in Ireland (with 10 or more employees) in respect of the year 2015. Appreciation is extended to all enterprises that contributed to the survey.
The first enterprise survey on continuing vocational training (CVTS1) in respect of the year 1993 was carried out in 1994 in the then 12 Member States of the European Union. The growing policy interest in data on continuing vocational training in enterprises, together with the demand for CVT data to cover the 15 Member States led the European Commission to promote a second continuing vocational training survey (CVTS2). This second survey, co-ordinated by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) in respect of the year 1999 was carried out in 2000 in all the EU Member States, Norway and the then nine candidate countries.
FÁS had responsibility for the conduct of the CVTS1 and CVTS2 surveys in Ireland but the Central Statistics Office (CSO) conducted those since. The implementation of both CVTS1 and CVTS2 was based on “gentlemen’s agreements” between Eurostat and the EU Member States and therefore there was no legal requirement to conduct the survey. For the CVTS3 and beyond, Eurostat proposed a legal basis for the data collection within the European Statistical System, in the form of European Parliament / Council Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005. The objective of the regulation is to create a common statistical standard that permits the production of harmonised data, and thus establishes a common framework, for the production of Community statistics on vocational training in enterprises. Ireland did not participate in CVTS4.
The data on vocational training was collected by the CSO under the European Commission Regulation (EU) No 1153/2014 and Statistics (Continuing Vocational Training Survey) Order 2015 no.390 . The information collected is treated as strictly confidential in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993.
The CVTS5 was conducted as a standalone survey during 2016. A sample of enterprises in the private sector (NACE Rev. 2 sections B to N, R and S) with 10 or more employees were surveyed to collect information on their investment in the continuing vocational training (CVT) of their employees. CVT involves training activities that are planned in advance and are organised or supported by the enterprise. The aim of CVT is the acquisition of new competencies amongst staff and the development and improvement of existing ones.
The CVTS sample of enterprises was selected from the CSO Central Business Register (CBR). An enterprise is defined as the smallest legally independent unit. The NACE code of each enterprise included in the survey was determined from the predominant activity of the enterprise, based on information provided in this or other CSO inquiries. The size class of each enterprise was determined by the number of employees and therefore excluded other persons engaged (people who worked for the enterprise but were not paid a definite wage or salary).
The employer sample was selected based on the proportion of companies in each economic sector and size class cell in line with the guidelines set out in the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1153/2014 for the CVTS5 requirements.
No imputation was carried out in relation to unit non-response, i.e. the weighting of the survey results allowed for the inclusion of these enterprises in the final results. Item non-response, i.e. non-respondent questions in a return, was dealt with by imputing values based on a weighted average of the relevant respondents. Only key variables were imputed for namely: hours worked, labour cost, number of course participants, paid working time spend on courses and CVT costs. The register of enterprises was not adjusted for decay factors to take account of the proportion of non-relevant respondents that were received where a full census was not conducted.
There were 5,500 relevant enterprises in the CVTS5 survey of which 2,200 responded. This was a response rate of 40%. After the fieldwork finished for the survey, the respondent enterprises were then weighted up to the full register of 19,800 enterprises relating to all enterprises in the private sector with 10 or more employees in 2015.
The survey results for the CVTS5 are not directly comparable with the results from the CVTS3. The main differences are:
Coverage was reduced for CVTS5 to only cover the private sector as was the case for CVTS2 while CVTS3 covered both the private and the public sectors.
CVTS5 only covered enterprises with 10 or more employees as was the case for CVTS2 while CVTS3 also covered all enterprises with 3 or more.
One standard questionnaire was used throughout CVTS3 and CVTS5.
In order to provide as comparable a basis as possible for the figures, Table 10 (Comparison of selected indicators for CVTS1(1993), CVTS2(1999), CVTS3(2005) and CVTS5(2015) in Ireland) excludes the education, health and public administration and defence and other services sectors. It also excludes enterprises with 3 to 9 employees.
Definitions
A detailed glossary may be found at http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/surveyforms/continuingvocationaltraining/
Continuing vocational training (CVT) involves training activities that are planned in advance and are organised or supported by the enterprise.
The aim of CVT is the acquisition of new competencies amongst staff and the development and improvement of existing ones.
For an activity to be classified as a CVT-activity, it must be financed, at least partly, by the enterprise for the persons employed in the enterprise. (Persons employed include those who either have a working contract or who benefit directly from their work for the enterprise such as unpaid family workers and casual workers).
Random learning and initial vocational training (IVT) are explicitly excluded. Persons employed holding an apprenticeship or training contract should not be taken into consideration for CVT. (These could be relevant candidates for IVT - see definition below). There are seven specific methods of continuing vocational training for the purposes of the survey.
Random learning can occur in everyday life. It is not an activity which is intentionally planned in advance and is not bound to special or specific places (e.g. classes) or to mediators (e.g. teachers). Random learning can be considered as a natural learning mechanism. Learner's may often not be aware that they have learnt something.
Initial Vocational Training activities are characterised by the following criteria:
1. The apprenticeship must be a formal education programme (or a component of it). Within the programme learning time alternates between periods of practical training (workplace) and general/theoretical education (educational institution/training centre).
2. The completion of the apprenticeship is mandatory to obtain a qualification or certification for this programme.
3. The duration of the apprenticeship is from 6 months to 6 years. The duration refers to the programme and not only to the work-based component.
4. The apprentices receive remuneration (wage or allowance, in cash or in kind). The training activity or measure is often financed (partly or fully) by the enterprise although this is not a mandatory condition. Apprentices/IVT participants often have a special training contract.
There should be no overlap between the two forms of training; i.e. the same activity/cost was not to be counted as both (general) staff training and training for apprentices/trainees.
CVT courses are typically clearly separated from the active workplace (learning takes place in locations specially assigned for learning like a class room or training centre). They show a high degree of organisation (time, space and content) by a trainer or a training institution. The content is designed for a group of learner's (e.g. a curriculum exists).Two distinct types of CVT courses are identified - internal CVT courses - external CVT courses.
1 Internal CVT courses are defined as those principally designed and managed by the enterprise itself. It is important that the responsibility for the content of the course lies within the enterprise, that courses are, for example, designed and managed by the internal training department of the enterprise. However, the course can physically take place either within or outside the enterprise. The geographic location relative to the enterprise is not the important issue.
2 External CVT courses are defined as those principally designed and managed by organisations which are not part of the enterprise itself (e.g. 3rd party organisations). These courses are designed and managed by a training organisation which is not part of the enterprise or by a training organisation which belongs to the parent company of the enterprise. It is important that the responsibility for the content of the course lies outside the enterprise; the course is then selected and ordered/purchased by the enterprise. The course can physically take place either within or outside the enterprise i.e. the geographic location relative to the enterprise is not the important issue.
Other forms of CVT are typically connected to the active work and the active workplace, but they can also include participation (instruction) in conferences, trade fairs etc. for the purpose of learning. These other forms of CVT are often characterised by a degree of self-organisation (time, space and content) by the individual learner or by a group of learner's. The content is often tailored according to the learner's individual needs in the workplace.
3 Guided-on-the job training is characterised by planned periods of training, instruction or practical experience in the workplace using the normal tools of work, either at the immediate place of work or in the work situation. The training is organised (or initiated) by the employer. A tutor or instructor is present. It is an individual-based activity, i.e. it takes place in small groups only (up to five participants).
4 Job-rotation, exchanges, secondments or study visits. Job rotation within the enterprise and exchanges with other enterprises as well as secondments and study visits are to be considered as forms of CVT only if these measures are planned in advance with the primary intention of developing the skills of the workers involved. Transfers of workers from one job to another which are not part of a planned developmental programme should be excluded.
5 Learning or quality circles Learning circles are groups of persons employed who come together on a regular basis with the primary aim of learning more about the requirements of the work organisation, work procedures and workplaces. Quality circles are working groups, having the objective of solving production and workplace-based problems through discussion. They are counted as other forms of CVT only if the primary aim of the persons employed who participate is learning.
6 Self-directed learning/e-learning involves an individual engaging in a planned learning initiative where he or she manages the settings of the learning initiative/activity in terms of time schedule and location. The learning has to be part of a planned initiative for example surfing the internet in an unstructured way should be excluded. Self-directed learning can make use of one or more learning media and can take place in private, public or job-related settings. Self-directed learning might be arranged using open and distance learning methods, video/audio tapes, correspondence, computer based methods (including internet, e-learning) or by means of a Learning Resources Centre. Self-directed learning in connection with CVT courses should not be included here.
7 Attendance at conferences, workshops, trade fairs and lectures Participation (where instruction is being received) in conferences, workshops, trade fairs and lectures are considered as training actions only when they are planned in advance and if the primary objective of participation by the person employed is training/learning.
Counted only once If a person employed does a guided-on-the-job training (3) and a job rotation (4), (s)he is counted as a participant in 3 and in 4, i.e. (s)he is counted in each. If a person employed does two guided-on-the-job trainings during 2015, then (s)he should be only counted as one participant in 3.
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Show Table 1 Training enterprises by type of training as a percentage of all enterprises in 2015
Hide Table 1 Training enterprises by type of training as a percentage of all enterprises in 2015