Many businesses heavily rely on key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure our success. When contrasted with our weaknesses, KPIs can be used to map out a road for improvement. All in all, performance indicators are a useful—and vital—part of business.
What are some performance indicators for training businesses in the VET sector? A study released by NCVER outlined the KPIs of VET — 9 areas that demonstrate the health and performance of a training organisation.
1. Student Characteristics
- the number of students
- proportion of students who are Indigenous
- proportion of students who have a disability
- proportion of students who completed school
- proportion of students who are international
- proportion of students from a non-English speaking background
- proportion of students who have a previous non-school qualification
- the proportion of students who completed Year 12
2. Training Characteristics
- distribution of student by field of education
- distribution of students by qualification level
- full-year training equivalents
- number of states in which training is delivered
- number of sites of delivery
- number of qualifications registered to deliver
- fee levels
- proportion of income from fee-for-service activity
3. Provider Characteristics
- number of staff
- number of staff by field of education
- number of staff by age
- and length of operation
4. Amenities and Services
- distance to public transport
- the number of car parking spaces
- extent of financial assistance to students (including extent of campus employment)
- size of library
- access to internet
- level of pastoral care (student support services per student)
5. RTO Management
- capital reserves and assets
6. Efficiency
- module pass rate
- qualification completion rate
- proportion of recognition of prior learning (RPL) granted
- time taken to complete a course
- cost per publicly funded full year training equivalent (FYTE)
- share of cost to employers providing apprenticeships and other types of training
- private spending by the student on a VET course
- administrative and support costs per student or FYTE
- salaries and salary related costs
- turnover
- operating expenses
- operating revenues
7. Quality of Teaching and Learning Indicators
- student/teacher ratio
- proportion of trainers with Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE)
- proportion of trainers with degrees or diplomas in teaching/training
- level of staff satisfaction and motivation levels
- level of staff engagement in professional development
- adequate facilities and equipment (measured by age of plant)
- number of complaints/black marks
- innovation measure—share of information and communications technology (ICT) training activities
- proportion of delivery subcontracted
- occupational health and safety incidences
- transition paths from VET in schools—proportion of VET in schools students who continue in VET post-school
- policies or descriptive effective NCVER practices on articulation with higher education
- the proportion of students enrolled in higher education who receive credit for VET or who were admitted based on previous VET
- the proportion of graduates enrolled in further study
- proportion of VET by online delivery
- proportion of delivery at the workplace
- proportion of delivery in the classroom
- proportion of graduates who report that training was relevant
- extent of collaboration with industry
- student attendance at institution
- student participation in extracurricular activities
- and extent of practices to improve program quality (for example, institution wide use of assessment results to improve program quality)
8. Consumer Satisfaction
- overall satisfaction with the course
- satisfaction of graduates with teacher quality
- satisfaction with learning outcomes
- whether a student achieved main goal
- whether a student would recommend the institution
- satisfaction of employers with training
- satisfaction of graduates with teaching facilities
- and satisfaction of graduates with assessment quality
9. Labour Market Effectiveness
- employment rate of graduates
- employment rate of graduates of those not employed before training
- level of match between course and job after training
- proportion of graduates reporting their training was relevant to their job
- salary of full-time workers after training
- literacy rate
The NCVER team would like to reiterate that this list is in no way exhaustive, but it's a good start in using metrics to determine the quality and performance of a registered training organisation.