VET
Blowing the whistle on dodgy providers
ASQA’ s chief commissioner Chris Robinson explains the need for strong regulation. By John Mitchell.
How many current VET providers are shonky operators? Is it one per cent, two per cent or five per cent of the 5,000 or so registered training organisations( RTOs)? And how many ill-prepared applicants want to set up as new training providers?
For the first time, some compelling data about these issues has become available. The data was tabled in a recent interview with Campus Review by Chris Robinson, the chief commissioner of the national VET regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority( ASQA). And more than 10 per cent is the quick answer to the questions above. A bigger number than most would have expected.
“ How big is the problem? I can tell you what we have discovered so far,” said Robinson.
“ In the 21 months of ASQA’ s operation, from July 1 2011 to March 30 2013, of the 1,150 RTOs applying for re-registration, we completed [ processing ] 64 per cent of them by the March 31 this year. 736 of those applications have been completed, and of those 81 or 11 per cent were refused registration. That gives you an idea of the numbers that we have found serious enough noncompliance with, to not accept their application for renewal.”
“ So the problem is around the ten per cent mark for that random sample of providers that happened to come up for registration in that period. A few of those have gone off to the tribunal and they’ ve used the time and that process to become compliant. Around 20 of them became compliant by the time they were due to be heard in the tribunal.”
Robinson provided another set of relevant figures about the proportion of applications for registration that were unsuccessful.
34 | May 2013