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EDUCATION AND TRAINING STATISTICS

OBJECTIVES

The Education and Training Program covers the activities of the National Centre for Education and Training Statistics (NCETS), which includes the development and compilation of statistics from national administrative collections and the conduct of a number of surveys relevant to learning in Australia.

Key elements of the statistical program include the annual National Schools Statistics Collection, the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection, and regular household surveys related to child care, education, training and work. The ABS is leading national discussions, undertaking feasibility testing and developing strategies to transform the information base for education and training policy through the integration of administrative and population data. In partnership with other relevant government agencies, NCETS promotes greater comparability of information across the education and training sectors and addresses issues such as data standards, collaboration, efficiency and resource use. In addition to these activities, the ABS analyses data and provides feedback and advice to stakeholders on relevant topics and emerging issues.

NCETS is closely involved in supporting the information needs of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and other national reporting processes.

The main clients of the program are: the Standing Councils responsible for early childhood development, education, skills and employment; the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations; the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education; the Productivity Commission; the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority; state and territory government departments responsible for education, training and early childhood development; the National Centre for Vocational Education Research; and academic and research institutions. NCETS also provides the Secretariat for the Strategic Cross-sectoral Data Committee, which promotes data sharing and integration across early childhood education, schooling, vocational education and higher education.


OUTPUTS

The main outputs of the program are:

• statistics from the National Schools Statistics Collection and the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection
• summary publications, Confidentialised Unit Record Files and datacubes from regular household surveys such as the Survey of Education and Work, the Survey of Learning and Work and the Childhood Education and Care Survey
• analytical and comparative analysis of data for the indicators relevant to COAG National Agreements
• a statistical information and dissemination service for education and training statistics; and periodic snapshots on thematic issues
• statistical leadership, including engaging with clients through committee representation, state liaison officers, and occasional research papers.
  

• publish final Australian results from the 2011 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies - due 2013
• complete 2011 Census Data Quality Studies designed to test linkage between Census and data from the education sector - due 2013
• conduct and publish results from a new survey of work-related training and adult learning - due 2015
• develop, conduct and publish results from the survey of learning and work, which examines people's qualification history and employment outcomes - due 2016
• increase the amount of student level enrolment information collected through the National Schools Statistics Collection - ongoing
• expand and enhance education and training collections, through a collaborative program of work to facilitate the development of flexible data linkage systems - ongoing.