TAFE still tops for WA bosses

9/2/00
A new national survey indicating that most employers are disenchanted with tertiary graduates is at odds with the situation in Western Australia, according to Employment and Training Minister Mike Board.
"Employer satisfaction with WA's vocational education and training sector is at an all-time high - as shown by figures released recently by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research," Mr Board said.
"In the NCVER survey, more than 80 percent of employers expressed satisfaction with vocational education and training (VET) graduates in WA and 74 percent said they believed that VET paid for itself in increased worker productivity.
"Employers throughout the State are very supportive of the TAFE system, which is producing job-ready graduates of an exceptional calibre.
"They have indicated overwhelmingly (70 per cent, according to the NCVER survey) that the system is providing graduates with the skills required in their businesses and industries, and 73 per cent of them have contributed to the costs of their employees' training."
TAFE colleges are responsible for almost 90 percent of VET in WA, with the remainder being delivered by private training providers.
Mr Board said the survey - released by the Federal Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs - was based on responses from 1,105 employers nation-wide.
"That equates to a mere 100 or so employers in WA and is certainly inconsistent with other, more in-depth surveys," he said.
The DETYA survey found that employers believed 75 per cent of graduates from TAFE and universities were 'unemployable'.
Mr Board said that in WA, the evidence showed TAFE graduates got jobs.
"A recent survey of TAFE graduates (also conducted by the NCVER) showed almost 90 per cent of all WA graduates were either employed after training or continuing with further studies, and most gave their TAFE training a rating of at least 80 per cent," he said.
"I was particularly pleased that the Graduate Outcomes Survey found 54 per cent of unemployed students had secured work after TAFE training and almost 70 per cent of employed graduates said they obtained significant benefits as a result of TAFE training, usually with promotions, pay rises or changes to better jobs."

Media contact: Tamatha Smith 9222 9211