In this article, we will discuss the issues registered training organisations are experiencing in their day-to-day operations.

You have the following help available: 

RTO consultants

Extend your own understanding and get an unbiased evaluation of your training and assessment from a consultant who can evaluate your practices and give you feedback.  Contact a few and ask them about their experiences dealing with compliance matters. Ask how many ASQA audits they have participated in and what the outcomes were for the RTOs they worked with. Discuss how they can help you. Experienced consultants deal with hundreds of training organisations, therefore, they can advise and guide you. Ask colleagues, peers, or your peak body for recommendations, or consider other public information to help ensure you are choosing a reputable consultant. 

Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA):  

ITECA is actively pushing for an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) review of ASQA in order to ensure that it is an effective regulator that faithfully enforces its regulatory framework in a timely, transparent and consistent manner.

The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) is a membership-based peak body bringing together independent providers in the higher education, vocational education and training sectors. Individually and collectively these providers share a commitment to providing students and their employers with the quality outcomes they are looking for.

The ITECA Higher Education Network brings together more than half of the independent providers in the higher education sector and the membership numbers are growing. 

These independent providers deliver training to around two-thirds of all students undertaking vocational education and training in Australia.

Click the following link to find more information https://www.iteca.edu.au 

Enterprise Registered Training Organisation Association: 

ERTOA (Enterprise Registered Training Organisation Association Incorporated) is a National association representing and supporting: 

• Organisations operating as registered training organisations (RTOs) under the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Quality Framework and who deliver training primarily to their employees and/or volunteers;​

• Organisations who are not RTOs (or those who or engage with an external RTO) who deliver training primarily to their employees and/or volunteers; and​

• Individuals working actively as trainers, assessors or facilitators who deliver accredited training under the VET Quality Framework. 

The organisations supported by ERTOA represent a distinct and unique component of the Australian VET sector, because they are in fact industry.   

ERTOA’s goal is to assist these organisations achieve their business needs in terms of training and development.  ERTOA also supports trainers, assessors and facilitators who work within the VET industry.

Click the following link to find more information https://www.ertoa.org.au

TAFE Directors Australia 

TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) is the peak national body that represents Australia’s 58 government-owned Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes, university TAFE divisions, and the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC).

The core business of TDA is to support members with advocacy for the important role of TAFE under state and territory jurisdictions in meeting Australia’s need for increased productivity, participation and educational attainment in the workforce. The public provider (TAFE) network provides a diverse and integral series of technical and further education services for individuals, enterprises and communities in the emerging tertiary education sector in Australia.

Key to the role of TDA is to position TAFE nationally as the major provider of high quality skills; lead policy development for TAFE and VET sectors; and to lead advocacy for improved outcomes for students. TDA conducts and commissions research and data collections in order to build a strong evidence base from which to advocate. Thus, TDA is involved in data collection and economic modelling; consumer and industry research; producing and publishing position papers in response to policy initiatives, government reviews and inquiries.

Click the following link to find more information

https://www.vta.vic.edu.au/108-research-directory/national/291-tda 

Community Colleges Australia (CCA)

Community Colleges Australia (CCA) lobbies for greater recognition of and enhanced support for the community education sector, to achieve the social, economic and cultural aspirations of the diverse Australian communities where our members operate.

As the national “voice” of not-for-profit community education providers, CCA advocates with a range of government portfolios on the benefits achieved by community learning provision. As the education sector continues to evolve and population demographics change, CCA encourages governments to recognise community education providers as essential community centres of “connectivity and learning”. These centres offer learning options for all, notably:

• Education and training for persons with a disability

• Migrants and others who need ‘second-learning’ opportunities

• Lifelong and personal learning

• Social inclusion for older and vulnerable people

• Encouraging young people to participate in education and training that leads to a sustainable future, through providing employment and job readiness skills, including a growing network of not-for-profit community-based high schools

• Health, wellbeing and care

• Indigenous community development

• Community safety and child protection

• Juvenile and corrective services participants

CCA also provides “thought leadership” in public, media and community discussions, leading towards the improved recognition of and funding for community education and training in Australia.

Click the following link to find more information

https://cca.edu.au/who-we-are/about-us/

We will continue with part 2 of this series in our future newsletters.