Inquiry on statistics on investment in training

The first pilot inquiry on such statistics was designed to identify which kinds of statistics on training expenditures and participation are available and/or collected regularly, or at least once since 1990, by the different agencies responsible for conducting training surveys, e.g. national statistical offices, national training agencies and institutions, in selected, less industrialized countries 

For the purpose of the inquiry, training was defined as formal, structured work-related learning, including learning in formal and technical school programmes in training centres or institutes as well as in the workplace, both on and off the job, for individuals in and out of the labour force. Training undertaken as part of compulsory schooling or in preparation for further education should not be included, nor should training activities without any connection to current or possible future employment.

In order to collect information on statistics on training expenditures available from the NSOs we prepared a questionnaire, in English, Spanish and French, to be sent by e-mail (with possibility of printing the PDF version and return it as an e-mail attachment to galhardi@ilo.org or by fax or ordinary mail).

The questionnaire was designed on the basis of mock tables to obtain the information on the availability of statistics, as well as to gather a defined sub-set of such statistics whenever they were available. It included also some open-ended and closed questions. It was sent to 39 countries in the African, Asian and Latin American and the Caribbean regions. The sample was selected through discussions with experts and training specialists in the areas concerned.