As the Australian Government sets about reforming the skills training system, it continues to overlook a critical piece of evidence – that independent skills training providers lead on critical student and employer satisfaction measures. That’s the position of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak body representing independent providers in the skills training, higher education, and international education sectors.
“The data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, a government-owned research body, highlights that private Registered Training Organisations, outperform public providers on key measures of student satisfaction,” said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.
Recently released NCVER data show that 89.4% of the 4.5 million students in skills training choose to study with an independent skills training provider.
“When nine-in-ten students choose to study with an independent skills training provider rather than public TAFE colleges, it’s a pretty good sign of high student satisfaction levels,” Mr Williams said.
Many students receive taxpayer support to study with independent RTOs. The NCVER data show that taxpayers receive better value from supporting students to study with private RTOs than when the investment is provided to public TAFE colleges.
“The NCVER data is clear; students in government-funded training at private RTOs achieve higher completion rates across all qualification levels than their counterparts at public TAFE colleges. This is a clear demonstration that not only is independent skills training great for students, it’s also great for taxpayers,” Mr Williams said.
The NCVER data reveal that private RTOs consistently deliver superior outcomes for students and taxpayers.
“On key measures of student satisfaction including satisfaction with teaching, learning resources and support services, private RTOs achieve better outcomes than public TAFE colleges,” Mr Williams said.
ITECA’s comments follow the announcement by the Australian Government that a new integrity unit will be established within the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to stamp out non-genuine providers.
“ITECA shares the Australian Government’s resolve to protect and enhance the integrity of the skills training system. That said, as the Australian Government approaches the issue, it also needs to be cognisant that when it comes to delivering quality outcomes, ITECA members achieve the best results,” Mr Williams said.
