This report offers the latest findings on credentialism, skills and employment in Queensland in 2007 and early 2008. It examines the use made of qualifications, and relevant experience in recruitment processes by employers through a mail-based survey of 300 employers in Queensland. Employers were classified into three industry types Queensland: (a) construction and trades; (b) property and business services; and (c) manufacturing groups, and they were asked to respond to a range of questions relating to seven categories of employees: Technical; Trades; Clerical, sales and service; Plant/machine operators; Labourers; Management and administration; and professional employees.

Employers were asked a series of questions about their use of formal qualifications, TAFE-level modules or short courses, and level of experience within the industry used when recruiting. Employers were asked to show what measures were taken to improve skills of workers without qualifications and the factors that influenced their overall trust in qualifications.

The report presents an overview of the views of employers on the need for formal qualifications as opposed to skills/experience when employing skilled workers. The core research question addressed the potential substitutabilitybetween qualifications and modules and/or experience.

The three specific objectives were to:

• Discover the views of employers on the need for formal qualifications as opposed to skills/experience when employing skilled workers;
• Evaluate the measures taken by employers to improve technical training;
• Identify any problems and issues facing employers and job-seekers, due to economic, or policy factors that affect access to education and training.

The project evaluated measures taken by employers to improve technical and work-related training. The data utilised in this paper was collected in a formal questionnaire using 180 responses from the main sample of 300 employers in Queensland. In addition, 12 in-depth interviews were conducted from a sample of construction and trades, and property and business services. The employers were asked to comment on how much importance their firms placed on formal qualifications and experience during the recruitment process, what they considered to be a qualification, and what factors influenced their confidence in qualifications.

The final results indicate that a majority of employers consider formal qualifications as essential for job recruitment. It indicates that up to 85% of the employers in the sample (for trade and professional appointments in construction) valued qualifications as mandatory/great deal in their selection processes and most regard qualifications as important assets when recruiting. TAFE modules and short courses/part qualifications appear to be more valued in construction and trade services, compared with other sectors.

The project has demonstrated that employers place a high priority on previous work experience and experience in their industries. There was a general consensus that relevant industry experience was an important attribute during the recruitment process. This was the case for most positions across the industry groups surveyed, with the exception of jobs which required formal qualification, registration and accreditation. Experience was rated above 70% for most positions in the industry. Employers perceive general work experience to be a reliable criterion for potential employment. The level of overall importance placed on either experience or qualification ranged between 80% (marked as mandatory) in construction, 77% in property/business, to 65% in manufacturing.

The project has also evaluated the degree of employers’ trust in qualifications. The most significant factors affecting employers’ confidence/trust in qualifications were their experience with employees with the same type and level of qualification, the fact that qualifications were issued in Australia and the type and level of qualification.

Finally, in-depth interviews were used to encourage the respondents to speak frankly and freely on issues that concern them but could not be structured or were not addressed in a questionnaire. Interviews were structured in such a way that they filled in the gaps in understanding why some survey data showed certain trends and peculiarities in responses. With reference to relevance of TAFE level qualifications and skills, there were three criticisms of the current qualifications and licensing arrangements—the move towards competency training had downgraded the skill levels of tradesmen, the quality of the trainers was of concern and a perception that it was too easy to become licensed in some trades.

Key messages

• Most employers use formal qualifications in their recruitment processes. This is particularly applicable to construction and trade services and the manufacturing sector, where between 84% and 72% regarded qualifications as mandatory/great deal in trades. In property and business services it was up to 47% for management positions.

• When recruiting, larger firms tended to rely on formal qualifications more than smaller firms. Firms over 50 staff used formal qualifications for professional appointments (up to 100%). For small firms, with staff less than 10, it was 57% for trade and 50% for management positions.

• Some employers use part qualifications (TAFE modules) in their recruitment processes. These uses by employers were not evenly spread across the industry. Construction and manufacturing sectors made the most use of TAFE-level qualifications in trade and technical occupations. In construction it was 64% for trades, compared with 41% for manufacturing. The other two popular areas for the use of TAFE qualifications were in management and professional positions. In property and business it was 40% for professional and 21% for clerical positions.

• Previous work experience in their industry was highly valued by most employers. The level of overall importance placed on either experience or qualification ranged between 80% (marked as mandatory) in construction, 77% in property/business, to 65% in manufacturing.

• Results from 180 employers in Queensland indicate that both qualification and experience are significant factors in employers’ recruitment practices. There are also examples indicating that there is a need to improve the quality of training in some areas of VET by addressing the industry needs.

The Project Team

• Joseph Zajda (Australian Catholic University)
• Elizabeth Warren (Australian Catholic University)
• Carmel Diezmann (Queensland University of Technology)

Funding Partner:

Participating Members:

------------------------------------