Australian Bureau of Statistics
Celebrating the International Year of Statistics 2013

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Overall, employers in Australia spent $1,178.8 million on structured training for their employees during the three-month period from 1 July to 30 September 1996 compared to $1,102.7 million for the same period in 1993. Despite this small increase in total expenditure, when the greater number in the workforce is taken into account, employers spent less between 1 July to 30 September on structured training per employee in 1996 ($185.5) compared to 1993 ($191.3). Employers also provided less hours of structured training per employee (4.91 hours per employee in 1996 compared with 5.55 hours in 1993).

The publication Employer Training Expenditure, Australia (Cat. No. 6353.0) provides extensive information on employer training expenditure in Australia, including details of hours of training received, wage and salary costs of training by industry and employer size for both the private and public sectors.

Some of the main findings, based on the three-month period July to September, are:

• The overall ratio of expenditure on structured training to employers' gross wages and salaries was also lower in 1996 (2.5 per cent) compared with 1993 (2.9 per cent).
• Employers who provided training in 1996 had higher average expenditure ($267.9 per employee) compared with those who provided training in 1993 ($237.7 per employee).
• Employers provided most training in the fields of 'Professional and management' (an average of 0.88 hour per employee); 'Trade and apprenticeship' (0.85 hour); and 'Sales, clerical and personal service' (0.61 hour) in 1996. These three fields made up almost half the training provided by employers.
• Employers with over 100 employees spent substantially more on training in 1996 and provided more hours of training than did smaller employers.
• Fewer employers provided training in 1996 (17.8 per cent) compared to 1993 (22.6 per cent).
• Employers in the mining industry in 1996 spent more on training per employee than any other industry. It was one of the few industries to significantly increase its average expenditure in 1996 - from $687.1 per employee in 1993 to $896.5 per employee in 1996.
• Employers in the public sector continued to spend higher proportions of their gross wages and salaries on training (3.2 per cent) compared to the private sector (2.3 per cent) in 1996 and had higher average training expenditure.
• Employers in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory spent the highest proportion of their gross wages and salaries on training (4.3 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively) while Queensland had spent the lowest (2.3 per cent) in 1996.