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.