CBAA, the national representative for community radio and television broadcasters, became an RTO in 2001.

CBAA's Membership Services Manager, Christina Alvarez, said registration has opened up many opportunities for CBAA and has consolidated its current training activities.

Christina said that by becoming an RTO, CBAA has placed itself in "a good position to apply for funds to support the development of training resources, specifically in the area of management training, and the provision of training at stations".

"It also means that we may be able to bid for and supervise traineeships on behalf of stations," she said.

There are other established training schemes currently running in Australia, such as the Australian Ethnic Radio Training Project (AERTP). However, CBAA did not plan to reinvent the wheel by writing new courses for broadcasters - it focused on other areas that the market demanded.

"Most other community broadcasting organisations like the AERTP - which has been developing an excellent resource over the past several years - have focused on broadcast skills," Christina said.

"As far as the CBAA is aware, no other community organisation plans to concentrate on station management training, and we are obviously the right organisation to provide the service."

The CBAA offeres Certificates II & III in Broadcasting (Radio) - nationally accredited qualifications that are recognised across the entire Australian radio industry. The training covers skills ranging from basic production and presentation to operating a studio panel and writing for radio.

The response so far to the CBAA's RTO status has been "extremely positive", with notable mention in training industry newsletters as well as support coming from the national arts training organisation, CREATE.

For more information about CBAA, visit www.cbaa.org.au.