Central Statistics Office, Ireland

Business Statistics Directorate

Skehard Road, Cork, T12 X00E, Ireland

The Continuing Vocational Training Survey (CVTS) collects information on enterprises’ investment in the continuing vocational training of their staff. Continuing vocational training (CVT) refers to education or training measures or activities which are financed in total or at least partly by the enterprise (directly or indirectly). Part financing could include the use of work-time for the training activity as well as financing of training equipment.

Information available from the CVTS is grouped around the following topics:

- Provision of CVT courses and other forms of CVT (training/non-training enterprises)

- CVT strategies

- Participants in CVT courses

- Costs of CVT courses

- Time spent in CVT courses

- Characteristics of CVT courses

- Assessment of CVT activities

The CVTS also collects some information on initial vocational training (IVT).

For further information see the CVTS 6 legislation (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/education-and-training/legislation) and the CVTS 6 implementation manual (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/education-and-training/methodology).

The main groupings for enterprises are by economic activity (NACE), size group and training/non-training enterprises.

NACE sectors B to S excluding sector O, P and Q

Definitions as well as the list of variables covered are available in the CVTS 6 implementation manual (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/education-and-training/methodology).

The basic unit of statistical observation is the enterprise.

Enterprise definition is compliant with Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93.

When training departments are located at a higher group level than at enterprise level these responded. When enterprises responded by functional group e.g. IT, Human Resources these were amalgamated to enterprise level.

All enterprises in the Central Business Register frame having 10 or more persons employed.

The total number of enterprises in the target population is 22801.

Variable A2tot (persons employed) refers to 31 December 2020.

Republic of Ireland, although training units responsible for activities in Ireland could be abroad.

1999, 2005, 2015, 2020

Not applicable.

Number, EUR.

The reference year for CVTS 6 is the calendar year 2020.

At European level

Basic legal act: Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 of the European Parliament and the Council

Implementing act: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1153/2014, amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 198/2006

At national level

Statutory Instrument: S.I. No. 86/2021 - Statistics (Continuing Vocational Training Survey) Order 2021

Not applicable.

The provision on statistical confidentiality is regulated by Sections 32 and 33 of the 1993 Statistics Act.

http://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/lgdp/legislation/statisticsact1993/

All data collection is treated as confidential.

t+23 months

https://www.cso.ie/en/csolatestnews/releasecalendar/

The CSO publishes the statistics we produce, openly online and available free of charge to all.

Code of Practice

We are guided by the principles of the European Statistical System Code of Practice

Release announcements and publication

All our regular publications of statistics, analysis and datasets are pre-announced on our release calendar. We publish on our website at 11.00am on weekdays (Mon-Fri). Our data is made accessible to all at this time, giving equal access to all users, save in specific circumstances (outlined in our Policy on Pre-Release Access) where pre-release access is granted to specified individuals.

Open Data

Our policy is to ensure that our data is accessible to and reusable by the widest possible audience. All our statistics are published free of charge and licensed under creative commons attribution. We are committed to publishing open data where possible.

Disclosure Control

Even in aggregated data, rare combinations of attributes can make it possible to identify individuals within a dataset, either directly or by comparing it with other data. Where there is a risk, we employ statistical disclosure control techniques to safeguard the confidentiality of information about individuals and businesses. This may reduce the level of detail we publish or alter a dataset in a minor way so that personal or commercial information is not identifiable.

Errors and Corrections

Where an error occurs in a published output, we will address this promptly and place a notice on the affected statistical release, making any correction as soon as possible. For further information on the CSO's treatment of revisions, please refer to our Revisions Policy.

Every 5 years.

None for CVTS 6.

Data on CVTS are released in the following location on the CSO website:

"Statistics" "People and Society" "Education" "Releases and Publications" "Current Releases" on the CSO homepage http://www.cso.ie/en/index.html

CVTS publications are available on https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/education/continuingvocationaltraining/

The quality description of the statistics, as well as concepts and definitions, are available on http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/education/continuingvocationaltraining/

The CVTS tables are released on the CSO's main data dissemination service PxStat on the CSO website after national publication.

Monthly hits to the PxStat for this publication.

Microdata is not publically available.

Data are sent to Eurostat to be used in European aggregates and/or to be released as national data.

Not applicable.

This is available on the internet at: http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/education/continuingvocationaltraining/

Not applicable.

Quality documentation is available from the CSO website following the link: http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/education/continuingvocationaltraining/

The Central Statistics Office applies a Quality Management Framework to all its processes which is based on the ESS Code of Practice and the ESS Quality Assurance Framework.

The statistical activities carried out by CSO are done according to the UNECE’s Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM). Assessments of Quality Management are carried out during each relevant phase of the model using feedback from users and staff and system metrics collected during processing. The information is used currently on an ad-hoc basis to design and implement improvement actions.

The CVTS is a once in 5 year survey of training in enterprises in Ireland. It is relevant to the following user groups:

1. Eurostat

2. Training policy organisations e.g. Solas

No index for user satisfaction is available, but there are regular meetings with national experts and essential users to react to new requirements, if these are not in contrast with legal necessities or constraints. In addition an office wide user satisfaction survey takes place in periodic intervals.

100%

Not applicable.

The main sources of error affecting this survey are sampling errors, non-response errors and measurement errors.

The sample selection technique used minimizes sampling error (details given in 13.2). Also non-response contributes to non-sampling error but with response rates of over 40% achieved across almost all NACE groups the effect should be minimal. The response rate by size class was 46% for enterprises with 10-49 persons employed, 42% of enterprises with 50-249 persons employed and 40% for enterprises with 250 or more persons employed.

Measurement errors are monitored and corrected via the generation of regular reports and using editing procedures.

All enterprises with 10 or more persons employed in the NACE sections B to N, R and S were included in the sampling frame.

Targeted, systematic and intensive follow-up for non and partial response was carried out. And when core variables remained missing these respondents were converted to non respondents.

Item non response was measured for the key variables and each case fulfilled the criteria agreed in section 4.3.8 Treatment of non response in the CVTS manual. Item non response in these key variables were imputed using the average experienced in the sample cell. No estimation was carried out. Unit non response was treated by weighting.

Coefficients of variation were calculated uses SAS procedure proc surveymeans for the totals and a combination of proc surveyfreq and proc surveymeans for the ratios. The coefficient of variation of the Ratio of the total number of participants in CVT courses to the total number of persons employed was not calculated.

The coefficients of variation associated with each stratum and key variables have been calculated and can be found in the annex document.

See table 13.2.1 "Sampling errors - indicators" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

The main sources of non-sampling error in the CVTS survey refer to coverage error (over and under coverage) and measurement errors.

The Business Register was the sampling frame used for CVTS 6. 

In preparation for CVTS a Contacts Survey was carried out in at the end of 2020 to ensure the form reached the right desk in June 2021 when the CVTS survey was issued to the field.

As the Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS) is one of the surveys used to validate the frame and it captures employment and other labour-related variables it is considered to the best proxy for the CVTS (for sampling and other considerations).

See table 13.3.1 "Coverage error" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

See table 13.3.1.1 "Over-coverage - rate" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)". 

Not applicable.

This type of error mainly occurs because of the respondent misunderstands the question being asked or because the information requested is difficult to obtain.

The CVTS survey required data from multiple departments of a single enterprise and required a coordinated response. The affected both the unit and item response rates. The bigger the enterprise the more difficult the challenge. Typically training managers do not know the labour costs of their organisation, and finance departments don't know the training strategy. IT training departments don't know the training requirements of other departments etc.

Anticipating this challenge, a website was designed to answer most respondents questions (http://www.cso.ie/en/methods/education/continuingvocationaltraining/) and legislation was enacted to enforce it.

The questionnaire was issued electronically and a dedicated team engaged with enterprises to reduce non-response.

A detailed analysis of the unit non response rate can be found in table 13.3.3.1 "Unit non-response - rate" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

The overall unit non-response rate has been estimated to 55.7%.

Note that when core variables remained missing these respondents were converted to non-respondents.

The variables presenting an item non response rate greater than 10% have been identified and stated in table 13.3.3.2 "Item non-response - rate" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

The overall item non response for these variables is also included.

No processing errors have been identified.

Not applicable.

The reference period for CVTS 6 is the calendar year 2020.

T+23 months

T+23 months

Countries should transmit data to Eurostat no later than 18 months after the end of the reference year.

See table 14.2 "Project phases - dates" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

Release date t+23 months

No deviation.

No additional variables related to COVID-19 were collected.

See table 15.1 "Comparability - geographical" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

Not applicable.

See table 15.2 "Comparability - over time" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

Not applicable.

Data from the CVTS was checked for consistency with other data sources such as:

• The business register
• The Earnings and Labour costs survey for employment, labour costs, hours worked and the use of apprentices 

See table 15.3 "Coherence - cross-domain" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

CVTS results for a given reference year are based on the same microdata and results are calculated using the same estimation methods, therefore the data are internally coherent.

Total Burden on respondents is published as part of the Response Burden Barometer - https://data.cso.ie/table/RBA01

Response Burden is included for enterprises who were ineligible for the survey.

Respondent Burden by Survey by Survey, statistical indicator and Year

The revision policy is described in footnotes given for the relevant tables and in the description of the retrospective statistics.

We also have a vintage database. It's called Statbank, which contains all published data, and it has an audit trail of all revisions going back since the survey began.

Revised data is transmitted to Eurostat at the same time it is published in Ireland.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Sample survey of enterprises present in our Central Business Register. An stratified simple random sample of some 5700 enterprises (gross sample) was taken from a population size of about 22 800.

The strata used were as follows:

NACE Rev. 2 categories [B, C10-C12, C13-C15, C17-C18, C19-C23, C24-C25, C26-C28+C33, C29-C30, C16+C31-C32, D-E, F, G45, G46, G47, H, I, J, K64-K65, K66, L+M+N+R+S]

Across the following size classes:

10 - 49 persons employed

50 - 249 persons employed

250 and more persons employed

Survey data only. See also table 18.1 "Source data and data collection" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

Every 5 years.

EQ electronic questionnaires.

See also table 18.1 "Source data and data collection" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

A number of validation procedures are in place for all returned data:

• Range checking is performed on hours worked and labour costs.
• Edit checks are performed to ensure coherency across the survey.
• Checks are performed to ensure all questions are answered, prioritising the core and key variables.

In general response rates were low, the forms incomplete and badly completed, particularly the labour costs and hours worked.

All respondents responded via an eQ, which had validations imbedded:

CSO Reference Number Barcode field: allowing only CSO recognised EN numbers and survey year included.

A1 activity of the enterprise..?: Free text. Review if field is filled. Y output if field filled, N if blank.

A2 total number of persons employed..?: Review if non Numeric. Total Check. Message box if total incorrect.

A3-A4: Review if non Numeric.

A5 to A7 and A9 to B6: Choice field. More than one filled review (B5 Numeric: review non numeric).

C1 how many persons employed..?: Review if non Numeric. Total Check. Message box at verifying stage if total incorrect.

C2 what was the total paid working..?: Review if non Numeric. Total Check. Message box at verifying stage if total incorrect.

C4 What share of training hours..?: Review if non Numeric. Review if over 100. 100 % check. Message box at verifying stage does not add to 100.

C6 what were the costs..?: Choice field: More than one filled review. Numeric field: Review if non Numeric . Total Check. Message box at verifying stage if total incorrect.

D1 to F1a: Choice field. More than one filled review.

G How many minutes..? Please add any comments.: Review if non Numeric. Free Text. Review if field is filled. Y output if field filled, N if blank.

eMail: Email check for dot and “@” etc. Standard forms development check

As recommended, reweighting was used to treat the problem of unit non response while imputation was used to treat the problems of item non response.

Core variables were not imputed for. Responses with missing core variables were treated as non respondents.

Key variables were imputed based on the average experience in each stratum defined by employment and NACE group.

The imputation rate for the main variables has been calculated at the overall level and can be found in table 18.5.1 "Imputation - rate" in annex "IE - QR tables CVTS 2020 (excel)".

Not applicable.

Not applicable.