South Australia recorded the highest proportion in the nation of employers reporting satisfaction with vocational qualifications as a way of meeting their skill needs, according to data released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
The NCVER Employers' Use and Views of the VET System 2025 report surveys employers every two years on ways in which they use accredited and unaccredited training to meet their skills needs.
The 2025 report showed 79.8 per cent of South Australian employers using the VET system in 2025 were satisfied that vocational qualifications are meeting their skills needs. This was an increase of 13.4 percentage points compared to 2023, the highest in the nation and above the national figure of 74.3 per cent.
The proportion of employers satisfied that apprentices and trainees are meeting their skill needs has also increased to 75.7 per cent – 7.3 percentage points higher than 2023.
TAFE institutes recorded an increase in the proportion of South Australian employers using them to conduct the majority of their nationally recognised training in 2025, with data showing 24.6 per cent used TAFE SA, an increase of 13.6 percentage points when compared to 2023.
The report also asked employers about their use and perceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In South Australia, one-third (33.3%) of employers had used AI technologies or tools for work purposes. South Australia also recorded the highest rate in the nation for using nationally recognised training to deliver AI training (9.5 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent nationally).
As put by Blair Boyer
Employer satisfaction with vocational education and training in South Australia is an important measure of the strength and health of our sector.
To record an increase and the highest proportion of satisfaction on VET meeting employers' skills needs is very pleasing.
South Australian employers are increasingly turning to TAFE SA to conduct most of their nationally recognised training – a testament to the Malinauskas Labor Government's efforts to rebuild TAFE SA.
Our record investment in TAFE SA and vocational training is paying dividends in what is a critical time to ensure the next generation is skilled for the jobs of the future.
In 2024, $360.4 million was invested in training delivery through TAFE SA and other training providers, an increase of 11 per cent compared to 2023.
This funding directly supporting training delivery as well as indirectly through governance, capital works, and incentives to industry to support workforce training and apprenticeship employment.
