New ABS data shows work training decrease

The number of Australians undertaking work-related training has continued to decline over the last three years, according to new survey data.

Working-age people's participation in training courses, seminars and conferences fell from 27 per cent in 2013 to 22 per cent in 2016-17, Australian Bureau of Statistics data has found.

About 3.8 million people across the country participated in work-related training in the 12 months before the survey.

"Men's participation dropped from 27 per cent to 22 per cent, while women's participation dropped from 27 per cent to 21 per cent," ABS expert Stephen Collett said on Wednesday.

People with tertiary qualifications including trade certificates were more than twice-as-likely to participate in work-related training than those without a certificate, diploma, degree or higher in 2016-17.

Participation for tertiary-educated people dropped from 35 to 28 per cent from 2013 to 2016-17, while for those who had not completed a course after finishing school, participation fell from 16 per cent to 12 per cent.