6278.0 - Education and Training Experience, Australia, 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/05/2006   
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MEDIA RELEASE

May 29, 2006
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
48/2006
More Australians do training: ABS

Australians are taking more opportunities to participate in work-related training courses, according to results released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Between 1997 and 2005, the proportion of people aged 15 to 64 years who were in, or marginally attached to, the labour force and not attending school, who had completed a training course increased from 42% to 48%. However the average training hours for those who were employees (excluding people in their own incorporated business) declined from 20.6 hours to 14.7 hours per course. The total training hours decreased from 148.6 million hours in 1997 to 139.0 million hours in 2005.

Thirty-seven percent of people aged 15 to 69 years had completed a total of 11.2 million work-related training courses in the 12 months to May 2005 (details were collected on up to four training courses).

Half of all work-related training courses completed were provided by the participant's employer, and 27% of participants had received some additional financial support including study leave, payment of fees or travel expenses. Financial support could be provided by employers, the government, family members or other sources such as union or professional organisations.

Some 2.7 million people in 2005 were studying at school level, or for a vocational or higher education qualification. A further 440,000 people were undertaking a course of study not leading to a qualification, including bridging, adult education and recreational courses.

The proportion of people aged 15 to 64 years with non-school qualifications who were in, or marginally attached to, the labour force and not attending school had increased over time, from 46% in 1993 to 62% in 2005. Over this period, the percentage with a Bachelor Degree or higher increased from 13% to 23%.

More details are available in Education and Training Experience, Australia, 2005 (cat. no. 6278.0) available free of charge from the ABS web site.

Media Note: Non-school qualification refers to educational attainments other than school education, specifically Postgraduate Degree, Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Bachelor Degree, Advanced Diploma, Diploma, and all Certificate levels.