Government-contracted Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are delivering courses to a high standard, a year after tough new regulation measures were introduced.
Under the new regime, 12 RTOs were sacked and 43 were sanctioned.
Minister for Training and Skills Development and Minister for Employment and Small Business, Di Farmer said the Government’s message was clear.
“Make no mistake, if you’re an RTO refusing to meet the high standards we expect of our training providers, we will throw the book at you and I make no apologies for that,” Ms Farmer said.
“We put investing in skills at the heart of our Economic Recovery Plan and every Queenslander should know that, when they access vocational training subsidised by the Government, they’re going to have access to a world-class education that leads to a great qualification.”
Ms Farmer said she was sick of the many stories of RTOs letting down students through dodgy practices and poor performance.
“That’s why in July 2020 we started something called Skills Assure Supplier agreements with RTOs, which means they have to meet quality and training delivery standards to access taxpayer funding,” she said.
“Those RTOs are subject to full data compliance checks, with further audits carried out on those that raise red flags.”
Ms Farmer said a small number of providers would not have their agreements with the Government renewed for the 2021-22 financial year.
“We work with over 400 RTOs, and the vast majority are excellent,” she said.
“We’ve seen an increase of over 25 per cent in students enrolling in TAFE Queensland in the last 12 months and more than 35,000 students have benefitted from our free training arrangements in recent years,” Ms Farmer said.
