• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

Apprentice

An employee undertaking a structured work and training program in which the employer is obliged to provide training, supervision and support, and the apprentice (or trainee) is obliged to undertake paid work in addition to training. These obligations are specified in a training agreement or contract of training which is usually registered with the relevant state or territory training authority, and usually attracts a Commonwealth and/or state/territory employment incentive payment.

Computer-assisted training

Training where a computer is the primary medium for instruction, including: training conducted via a computer network; self-paced training using software packages and CD-ROMS; and online training delivered internally or by external training providers. This type of training can be either structured or unstructured.

Dedicated trainers

Employees whose main job was involved in the preparation, administration, presentation and/or assessment of training to other employees from the same employer during the financial year ended 30 June 2002.

Direct training expenditure

See Gross direct training expenditure or Net direct training expenditure.

Electronic learning

Training where a computer or audio/visual broadcast technology is used as the primary medium for instruction.

Employees

Wage and salary earners who received pay for any part of the last pay period ended on or before 30 June 2002. This includes: employees on paid or prepaid leave; employees who commenced or terminated employment during the pay period; and employees on workers' compensation who continue to be paid through the payroll. However, it excludes: persons paid solely by commission, without a retainer, wage or salary; employees on workers' compensation who are not paid through the payroll; and employees paid from Australia but who have worked, or will be working, overseas for 12 months or more.

Employer size

To derive estimates of employer size, each of the employers in the survey was allocated a size classification based on the number of employees reported for that unit during the last pay period ended on or before 30 June 2002. The size classification reflects the size of a business in each state or territory and not necessarily the size of a business Australia-wide.

Employers

Employers are the statistical units which make up the population from which the sample was drawn (see paragraphs 2, 6 and 7 of the Explanatory Notes).

Equipment and/or product manufacturer/supplier

Organisations primarily involved in the manufacture and/or supply of equipment, which provide training either as part of their product package or at an additional cost.

External training providers

Trainers who usually provide structured training on a fee-for-service basis. Training may be delivered on the provider's own premises, on the premises of the organisations they provide training to, or on independent premises (e.g. hotel conference facilities).

External workshops, lectures, etc.

Workshops, lectures, tutorials and training seminars organised and conducted by external training providers (e.g. TAFEs, universities, business colleges) for the general use of individuals and organisations.

Full-time employees

Employees who normally work the agreed or award hours for a full-time employee in their occupation. If agreed or award hours do not apply, employees are regarded as full-time if they usually work 35 hours or more per week.

General computing training

Training in basic computer skills and in the use of basic computer software.

Grants

See Subsidies received for training.

Gross direct training expenditure

The sum of employers' expenditure on structured training, comprising: gross wages and salaries of dedicated trainers; fees to external training providers; training facilities and equipment; travel, accommodation and meals for participation in training; membership fees, donations and levies for training; and other expenditure on structured training. Expenditure was reported on a cash paid basis, exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST) where this was recoverable as an input tax credit.

Gross wages and salaries

Payments to employees before tax and other items (such as superannuation) are deducted. They comprise amounts paid from interstate or overseas; ordinary time and overtime earnings; overaward payments; penalty payments, shift and other remunerative allowances; commissions and retainers; bonuses and similar payments; payments under incentive or piecework; payments under profit-sharing schemes; leave loadings; annual and long service leave payments; sick leave payments; advance and retrospective payments; salaries and fees paid to company directors, members of boards, committees, commissions, councils, etc.; amounts paid to employees on workers’ compensation who continue to be paid through the payroll; and severance, termination and redundancy payments.

Health and safety training

Training in recognising, evaluating and controlling environmental factors associated with the interaction of individuals and the workplace.

Induction training

General introductory training for new employees, covering issues such as organisational structure, layout, operations and procedures

Industry

A group of businesses or organisations which perform similar sets of activities in terms of the production of goods and services. Industry is classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification. For more detail refer to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification, 1993 (ANZSIC) (cat. no. 1292.0).

Industry association

An association of organisations, or people representing organisations, which exist with a formal structure and with some purpose relating specifically to one particular industry. Their main task is not training and they do not usually train for profit.

Internal workshops, lectures, etc.

Workshops, lectures, tutorials and training seminars organised by an employer, mainly for its own employees, and using its own staff or external consultants to conduct the training.

Literacy and numeracy training

Training in the development of basic reading, writing and numeracy skills.

Management and supervisory training

Training in organising and directing the major functions of organisations, including training in planning, directing, organising, motivating and coordinating human and material resources. Also includes training that provides or upgrades skills in supervising or leading staff.

Nationally recognised training

All (non-school) courses and programs delivered by a Registered Training Organisation which are accredited, or which meet the requirements specified in a national industry or enterprise training package. Includes all higher education and vocational training leading to a qualification.

Net direct training expenditure

Gross direct training expenditure minus the sum of subsidies received for training, and payments received from external attendees of internal training courses. Where the sum of subsidies and payments received for training exceeded gross direct training expenditure during the reference period, the resultant net direct training expenditure was negative.

Net direct training expenditure per employee

Net direct training expenditure divided by the total number of employees for all employers. Where the sum of subsidies and payments received for training exceeded gross direct training expenditure during the reference period, the resultant net direct training expenditure per employee was negative.

Net direct training expenditure per employer

Net direct training expenditure divided by the total number of employers. Where the sum of subsidies and payments received for training exceeded gross direct training expenditure during the reference period, the resultant net direct training expenditure per employer was negative.

Non-permanent employees

Non-permanent employees are employees who receive some leave entitlements but are employed on a fixed term basis; and employees who may receive a higher rate of pay to compensate for a lack of pemanency and entitlements. Non-permanent employees can work either full-time of part-time.

Occupation group

Nominally, an occupation is a set of jobs with similar sets of tasks. In practice, an occupation is a collection of jobs sufficiently similar in their main tasks (in terms of skill level and specialisation) to be grouped together for classification purposes. Occupation groups are based on the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO), Second Edition (cat. no. 1220.0). For the purposes of this survey, the following groupings of occupations were used:

• Major Groups Managers and administrators, Professionals and Associate professionals were combined to form Managers and administrators, professionals and associate professionals
• Major Group Tradespersons and related workers remains unaltered
• Major Groups Advanced clerical and service workers, Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers and Elementary clerical, sales and service workers were combined to form Clerical, sales and service workers
• Major Groups Intermediate production and transport workers and Labourers and related workers were combined to form Production workers, transport workers and labourers.

• structured on-the-job training
• workshops, lectures, tutorials and seminars
• computer-assisted structured training, including online training
• structured training using broadcast technology
• training by correspondence and monitored self-paced training.

• showing or explaining how to perform a task on-the-job as the need arises

• acquiring knowledge/skills relevant to performing a job through reading manuals, journals, visual aids or training notes

• computer-assisted training that was not monitored and/or not used as part of a structured training program

• acquiring knowledge/skills relevant to performing a job through group discussion (e.g. company/team meetings, sales conferences where the primary purpose is training).