AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection Specifications

Apprentice and Trainee
Collection specifications

Release 6.0

March 2008

Updated September 2014

© Australian Government, 2008

AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications: Release 6.0

ISBN978 1 921170 71 3(web edition)

Related Publications

AVETMISS Data element definitions: Edition 2.2

ISBN978 1 921170 83 6 (web edition)

This work has been produced by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) as a joint initiative of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Department of Industry. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Requests should be made to NCVER.

The classification systems listed below are copyright © Commonwealth of Australia and the information is reproduced from materials provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO)ABS Catalogue No. 1220.0, 2013 (revision 2).

Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)ABS Catalogue No. 1292.0, 2006 (revision 2).

Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) ABS Catalogue No. 1272.0, 2001.

Australian Standard Classification of Languages (ASCL)ABS Catalogue No. 1267.0, 2011 (second edition, revision1).

Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) ABS Catalogue No. 1220.0, 1997(second edition).

Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) ABS Catalogue No. 1216.0, 2007.

Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC)ABS Catalogue No. 1269.0, 2011 (edition 2, revision 1).

Standards for Statistics on Cultural and Language Diversity, ABS Catalogue No. 1289.0, 1999.

Enquiries

For further information concerning this publication contact:

National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd,

33 King William Street, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia

or

PO Box 8288, Station Arcade, SA 5000, Australia

Phone61 8 8230 8400

Facsimile61 8 8212 3436

Internet

NCVERWeb

Department of IndustryWeb

Release 6.0March, 2008 (updated September 2014)

Release 5.0January, 2004

Release 4.0September, 2001

Release 3.0September, 1998

Release 2.0July, 1997 (COT Supplement)

Release 1.1May, 1995

Release 1.0November, 1993

Release 6.0 March 2008AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications

Contents

Introduction

Collection Structure

Files

Fields and related files

History of releases

File Specifications

Guide to file specifications, format and content

Submission to Managing Agent (APP00005) File

Registered Training Organisation (APP00010) File

Qualification (APP00030) File

Client (APP00080) File

Prior Educational Achievement (APP00100) File

Training Contract Transaction (APP00150) File

Employer (APP00160) File

Changes and Revisions

Changes and revisions

AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection SpecificationsContents

1

Introduction

Release 6.0 March 2008AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications

Overview

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), under direction and with endorsement from the National Training and Statistics Committee (NTSC) and National Senior Officials Committee (NSOC), has developed the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications (AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications).

The AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications: Release 6.0 provides a national framework for the collection and dissemination of information considered necessary for consistent and accurate measurement of apprentice and trainee activity in Australia.

This document presents a set of file specifications that are the authoritative national reference for definitions, context, file structures, relationships and rules for the Apprentice and Trainee Collection.

The assistance of the many organisations and individuals who provided information and advice during the development of this set of standards is gratefully acknowledged. NCVER would welcome feedback on any aspect of these standards.

AVETMISS architecture

In June 2004, the National Training Statistics Committee agreed to terms of reference for a review of the AVETMIS Standard. A discussion paper was developed by NCVER and made publicly available for formal responses from stakeholders by February 2005. In addition, NCVER staff consulted with state training authorities in all jurisdictions, the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA), Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), industry representatives, registered training organisations, and software developers.

As a result of these consultations a new architecture is progressively being implemented for the AVETMIS Standard, consisting of a suite of documents, including:

Australian VET statistics: Explained provides a synopsis of the VET system, collections, surveys, information systems and subsequent statistical reports. A summary of the AVETMIS Standards and references to other AVETMISS documents are included.

Data element definitions provides listings of the data elements’ definitions, context, rules for use, the code set and format attributes for all collections and surveys.

Collection specifications provides listings of the data elements collected in each file, defines the position, length, and data type of data elements for each record, and provides rules for the accurate submission of data for a specific collection.

Output data dictionaryprovides definitions of all data used in statistical reporting.

Figure 1:Representation of the AVETMIS Standard suite of documents

Scope

TheAVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications: Release 6.0 is designed to enable the collection of information about the parties that are bound by the obligation and the legislation of the state or territory jurisdiction in which Apprenticeship/TraineeshipTraining Contractsare registered.

Data collection arrangements

The national Apprentice and Trainee Collection is a quarterly data collection requiring submission from all states and territories of all files in this collection specification. NCVER sends notification to State Training Authorities on a quarterly basis, informing them of the critical dates for extraction and submission of data for the following quarter.

The collection of data is undertaken on a cumulative basis and the data collection start date is 1 July 2002.All contracts that were active or suspended on 1 July 2002 are reported.

On the Training Contract Transaction (APP00150) File,the recordswill continue to be reported regardless of training contract status until the data collection start date is reviewed. Information about changes to each training contract is added as new records to the Training Contract Transaction (APP00150) File.This file thereby collates the history of training contract transactions, with each transaction record holding information that was accurate at the time the record was created.Historical transaction records previously provided in the Training Contract Transaction (APP00150) File must only be changed if the information recorded originally was inaccurate.

In all other collection files, records are updated with the most recent information.Where client or employer information changes during a collection period, the data provided should be the client's or employer's up-to-date details, even if these are different from details originally recorded on the training contract. For example, if a client changes their residential address during the collection period, Postcode on the Client (APP00080) Filemust be the postcode of the client's most recent address.

In some cases, the state training authority in each state or territory is responsible for boththe administration of training contracts and the collection of apprentice and trainee data. In other cases, the administration of training contracts has been outsourced to other organisations. The state training authority remains the organisation responsible for the provision of apprentice and trainee data to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

Contents of this document

AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications: Release 6.0 is presented in the following sections:

Collection structure

This section contains a diagram of the relationships between the files and a table listing fields and the related files.

File specifications

This section lists the data elements pertaining to each Apprentice and Trainee Collection File and includes the definitions, contexts, structures, file relationships, and element rules.

Changes and revisions to files

This section lists deletions, additions and changes made to the files since the previous release.

Apprenticeship/Traineeship Training Contract

The Apprenticeship/Traineeship Training Contract that is current at the time of printing is presented in its entirety for reference purposes. Refer to the Australian Apprenticeships website for the latest available version:

Relationship to other AVETMISS documents

Australian VET Statistics Explained presents a summary of the structure and purpose of vocational education and training (VET) statistics in Australia. The document provides guidance on national collections, surveys, information systems and subsequent statistical reporting within the policy and strategic framework of the Australian VET system.

AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specificationsis a companion document to the AVETMISS Data element definitions: Edition 2,and to an output data dictionary (yet to be released).

AVETMISS validation software

The AVETMISS validation software is developed by NCVER and freely distributed for the purpose of validating files and data submitted to the various NCVER collections.The validation software generates errors and warnings resulting from data inconsistencies in the files. The Validation Software generates two types of messages:

Warnings prompt a data submitter to check the validity of data records and make corrections as necessary, before re-importing the data into the Validation Software. Warnings do not prevent data from being exported from the Validation Software.

Errors prompt a data submitter to correct serious problems in the data records before re-importing the data into the Validation Software.

Support and internet resources

Internet resources

Australian Apprenticeships

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian Qualifications Framework

Australian Quality Training Framework

AVETMIS Standards and related resources

Department of Industry

Industry Skills Councils

National Centre for Vocational Education Research

National Training Information Service

Training Package Development Handbook

VOCED (UNESCO/NCVER research database for international research abstracts)

The NCVER AVETMISS help desk

National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd

Telephone:1800 649 452

Facsimile:(08) 8212 3436

E-mail:

Internet:

IntroductionSupport and internet resources

1

Collection structure

Release 6.0 March 2008AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications

Files

Fields and related files

The following table indicates the data type and field length of each data field and which Apprentice and Trainee Collection Files (APP Files) each field is reported in.
APPFile / 05 / 10 / 30 / 80 / 100 / 150 / 160
Data Field / Type / Length
Address First Line / A / 50 / X
Address Location – Suburb, Locality or Town / A / 50 / X / X
Address Postal -Suburb, Locality or Town / A / 50 / X
Address Second Line / A / 50 / X
ANZSCO Identifier / A / 6 / X
ANZSIC Identifier / A / 4 / X
ASCO Identifier / A / 7 / X
At School Flag / A / 1 / X / X
Client Identifier - Apprenticeships / A / 10 / X / X / X
Client Identifier - TYIMS / A / 10 / X
Contact Name / A / 60 / X
Country Identifier / A / 4 / X
Credit Flag / A / 1 / X
Date of Birth / A / 8 / X
Date of Training Contract Commencement / D / 8 / X
Date of Training Contract Completion / D / 8 / X
Date of Transaction / D / 8 / X
Disability Flag / A / 1 / X
Email Address / A / 80 / X
Employer Identifier / A / 10 / X / X
Employer Legal Name / A / 100 / X
Employer Size / A / 6 / X
Employer Type Identifier / N / 2 / X
Employment Arrangement Identifier / A / 2 / X
Existing Worker Flag / A / 1 / X
Facsimile Number / A / 20 / X
Full-time Identifier / A / 1 / X
Highest School Level Completed Identifier / A / 2 / X
Indigenous Status Identifier / A / 1 / X
Main Language other than English Spoken at Home Identifier / A / 4 / X
Name for Encryption / A / 60 / X
Nominal Duration / N / 2 / X
Postcode / A / 4 / X / X / X / X
Prior Educational Achievement Flag / A / 1 / X
Prior Educational Achievement Identifier / N / 3 / X
Qualification/Course Identifier / A / 10 / X / X
Qualification/Course Name / A / 100 / X
School Level Identifier / A / 2 / X
School-based Flag / A / 1 / X
Sex / A / 1 / X
State Identifier / N / 2 / X / X / X
Statistical Local Area / A / 4 / X / X
Telephone Number / A / 20 / X
Training Authority Identifier / A / 10 / X
Training Authority Name / A / 100 / X
Training Contract Identifier / A / 10 / X
Training Contract Identifier - Previous / A / 10 / X
Training Contract Status Identifier / N / 2 / X
Training Organisation Identifier / A / 10 / X / X
Training Organisation Name / A / 100 / X
Year Highest School Level Completed / A / 4 / X

Type Legend

A - Alphanumeric field

N - Numeric field - must contain only integers

D - Date field - in format DDMMYYYY

History of releases

Until July 1997 the collection specifications for training contract and VET provider data were contained within the same volumes of AVETMISS. The AVETMIS Standard for VET Providers was updated in May 1996, but no changes were made to the Contract of Training Supplement, which was renamed The AVETMIS Standard for New Apprenticeships in September 1998.

Before 1 January 1998, annual data for the national data collection were derived from the collection for the quarter ending 30 September (for statistical reporting on the previous financial year ending 30 June).

From 1 January 1999, annual data for the national data collection are derived from the collection for the quarter ending 31 March (for statistical reporting on the previous calendar year ending 31 December).

The change from fiscal to calendar year statistical reporting was made to align the reporting requirements of New Apprenticeship information with other national data collections as well as to enable retrospective annual reporting of statistics from the implementation of New Apprenticeships on 1 January 1998.

AVETMISS releases

AVETMISS Release / Publication Date / Implementation Date
1.0 / November 1993 / 1 July 1994
1.1 / May 1995 / 1 July 1995
2.0 (COT Supplement) / July 1997 / 1 July 1997
3.0 / September 1998 / 1 January 1999
4.0 / September 2001 / 1 January 2002
5.0 / January 2004 / 1 April 2004
6.0 / March 2008 / 1 July 2008

Collection structureHistory of releases

1

File specifications

Release 6.0 March 2008AVETMISS Apprentice and Trainee Collection specifications

Guide to file specifications, format and content

Definition

A description of the contents of the file.

Context

The reason for collecting the data contained in the file.

Structure

File must not contain header records.

Defines the order, position, length and type of fields within a record in the file.

The structure of the file is outlined in a table with four columns:

Fields

Lists the names of the fields contained within each record in the file.

Where applicable, contextual information is given in the format:[Xxx]. This context is not part of the data element name.

Position

Specifies the starting column position of a field within a file.

Length

The length of the field.

Type

Indicates the type of field where:

AAlphanumeric fields must contain any printable ASCII character (for example '@'). All alphanumeric fields must be left justified and space filled to the length of the field.

NNumeric fields must contain only integers. All numeric fields must be right justified.

DDate fields must be numeric. All date fields must be in the format DDMMYYYY, where each sub-field is right justified and zero filled. Valid dates are further limited where the day field (DD) must be in the range of '01 - 31' and the month sub-field (MM) must be in the range of '01' to '12'.

File relationships

The relationships between files within the collection specifications.

Rules

The rules required to accurately report data to the submission managing agent.

The AVETMISS validation software generates errors and warnings whendata recorded in the data filesdo not comply with the rules in the AVETMIS Standard.

Submission to Managing Agent (APP00005) File

Definition

The Submission to Managing Agent (APP00005) File contains a single record holding data about the authority submitting information to the Apprentice and Trainee Collection managing agent.

Context

The Submission to Managing Agent (APP00005) File identifies the authority submitting information to the Apprentice and Trainee Collectionmanaging agent and is used for correspondence.

This file is only submitted by state training authorities that have a formal agreement with the Apprentice and Trainee Collectionmanaging agent to submit their data directly.

Submissions to the Apprentice and Trainee Collectionmanaging agent will normally be made by an authority within a state or territory government and not by a training organisation.

Structure

Fields - Submission to Managing Agent (APP00005) File / Position / Length / Type
Training Authority Identifier / 1 / 10 / A
Training Authority Name / 11 / 100 / A
Address First Line[Postal] / 111 / 50 / A
Address Second Line[Postal] / 161 / 50 / A
Address Postal-Suburb, Locality or Town / 211 / 50 / A
Postcode[Postal] / 261 / 4 / A
State Identifier[Postal] / 265 / 2 / N
Contact Name / 267 / 60 / A
Telephone Number / 327 / 20 / A
Facsimile Number / 347 / 20 / A
E-mail Address / 367 / 80 / A
Record length for national data collection: / 446
Carriage return/line feed (ASCII 13/10) / 2

File relationships

Not applicable

Rules

This file must contain exactly one data record.

Address First Line

This field must not be blank.

Address Postal-Suburb, Locality or Town

This field must not be blank.

Address Postal - Suburb, Locality or Town and Postcode and State Identifier in combination must be valid when matched against the Australia Post postcode datafile, available for download via Australia Post's website, except where Postcode is 'OSPC - Overseas address location'.

Address Second Line

This field can be blank.

Contact Name

This field must not be blank.

E-mail Address

This field must not be blank.

Facsimile Number

This field must not be blank.

Postcode

This field must not be blank.

Postcode must not include the values '0000', 'OSPC' or '@@@@'.

Address Postal - Suburb, Locality or Town and Postcode and State Identifier in combination must be valid when matched against the Australia Post postcode datafile.

State Identifier

This field must not be blank.

State Identifier must not be '99 - Other (Overseas but not an AustralianTerritory or Dependency)'.

Address Postal - Suburb, Locality or Town and Postcode and State Identifier in combination must be valid when matched against the Australia Post postcode datafile.

Telephone Number

This field must not be blank.

Training Authority Identifier

This field must not be blank.

Training Authority Name

This field must not be blank.

Registered Training Organisation (APP00010) File

Definition

The Registered Training Organisation (APP00010) File contains a record for each registered training organisation associated with a training contract.