Countdown to implementation
With only three months to go until the implementation of AQTF 2007 there’s plenty of preparation work going on to meet the 1 July deadline. The National Quality Council has now endorsed the Essential Standards for Registration and the Standards for Registering Bodies. Ministerial approval is expected by the end of April and both sets of standards will be ready for use at RTO workshops across the country in May and June. Interested RTOs can also read the final drafts on www.training.com.au from early April.
What’s in the Essential Standards for Registration?
The standards will apply to all existing registered training organisations and any organisation seeking to become an RTO. The three components are:
- conditions of registration - the RTO Chief Executive will sign and return this to the registering body in their jurisdiction by 1 July. It is expected that conditions of registration will only be audited where there are identified risks determined by the registering body. In determining risk the registering body will consider levels of compliance with the essential standards, performance against the quality indicators and any complaints received about the RTO.
- standards – the three standards cover training and assessment, client services and management systems. More information is contained in the final draft of the Essential Standards for Registration.
- quality indicators – information gathered against these indicators will be used by RTOs to support continuous improvement and by registering bodies as part of their risk assessment.
RTOs with high quality outcomes can expect less regulatory intervention from registering bodies. Where the AQTF quality indicators raise questions about the performance of an RTO, there will be full opportunity given to the RTO to discuss the quality indicator data with auditors as part of the audit process.
What are the quality indicators?
The three quality indicators agreed by the National Quality Council are:
- Employer satisfaction (this includes competency development and training & assessment quality). This indicator will focus on employer evaluations of learner competency development, its relevance to work and further training and the overall quality of the training & assessment.
- Learner satisfaction (this includes learner engagement and competency development). This indicator will focus on the extent to which learners are engaging in the types of activities which are likely to promote high quality skill outcomes, as well as learners’ perceptions of the quality of their competency development and the support they receive from RTOs.
- Competency completion rate. This will be calculated for qualifications and units of competency/modules delivered, based on data provided by RTOs on the number of enrolments in the previous calendar year as well as the number of qualifications completed and/or units of competency/modules awarded in the previous calendar year. Registering bodies will use this data to assess risk, and auditors will use it to get an indication of performance, however provider competency completion rate data will not be publicly distributed.
Most RTOs already collect data under these categories and use it for a range of purposes including continuous improvement. AQTF 2007 will make this data collection nationally consistent. RTOs will be expected to record data about competency completion rates from 1 July 2007 and to report this to registering bodies in 2008. Exact details of what data is to be collected, by whom and from what sample size are still being developed, however at a local level, RTOs will collect employer and learner satisfaction data in line with their scope.
Standardised tools are currently being developed for collecting and reporting data on the employer and learner indicators. The new tools will build on some of the high quality tools already in use. Selected RTOs will participate in pilots during 2007 to test the tools and the processes for local collection of data and ensure cost to RTOs is minimised. There will also be a pilot of central collection tools and processes.
More information about the quality indicators and their use will be made available before data collection starts.
What’s in it for me?
AQTF 2007 has many benefits for Registered Training Organisations. Some of the principles underpinning the changes include:
- Reducing the regulatory burden
- Streamlining and standardising processes for national consistency
- Ensuring stakeholder confidence in quality skills outcomes
- Continuous improvement of training & assessment
The outcome will be improved quality of training and assessment in the sector. Those RTOs wishing to have their performance recognised at a higher standard will be able to do so using the Excellence Criteria, to be introduced in January 2008. The second draft of the Criteria will be on websites for comment in late April, and final drafts will be available for workshops in September and October 2007.
The National Quality Council has made a commitment to examine the impact of AQTF 2007 on RTOs and on registering bodies including costs, benefits and regulatory burden. This will happen while piloting work is underway to ensure that all relevant factors contribute to final decisions about the implementation of AQTF 2007.
