The Essential Guide to Building a Successful RTO

By Gillian Heard and Karen Sell

What Every RTO Should Know to Build a Better Business
This book will support RTOs to take a proactive approach to manage compliance and build their business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781543943900

Book preview

Copyright © Gillian Heard and Karen Sell 2018

Print ISBN: 978-1-54394-389-4

eBook ISBN: 978-154394-390-0

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Contents

About the Authors

Forward: Get Smart and Build a Better RTO

Section 1

What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Compliance to Build a Better Business

Introduction

Establishing the System

Chapter 1: Getting Started

Chapter 2: The Compliance Management Policy

Chapter 3: Compliance Obligations

Chapter 4: Compliance Obligations Register

Chapter 5: Developing a Compliance Culture

Chapter 6: Documentation

Chapter 7: The Cycle of Review

Chapter 8: Implementing the Cycle of Review

Section 2

What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Providing a Quality Student Experience

Introduction

Chapter 9: Regulatory Approach

Chapter 10: Student Centred Audit Approach

Chapter 11: Developing a Quality Training and Assessment System: Framework and Strategy

Chapter 12: Building the System

Chapter 13: The Student Journey – Who are your students really?

Section 3

What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Building a Successful Team

Introduction

Chapter 14: Recruitment

Chapter 15: Conducting Effective Interviews

Chapter 16: Onboarding

Chapter 17: Performance Appraisal

Chapter 18: Strategies to Build and Develop a Great Team

Conclusion

Glossary

About the Authors

Gillian Heard

Before starting The Learning Community, Gillian worked in the University sector as a Research Academic and Senior Staff Development Officer, providing organisational and professional development programs. Gillian also has a wealth of experience in the analysis, design, and delivery of custom learning and development solutions. Gillian has worked in the VET Sector for over 17 years and has expertise in training, assessment and compliance.

Karen Sell

Karen has worked in both the private and public sector in Human Resources and Training & Development. She has experience working with a diverse range of staff and particular expertise in the analysis, design, and delivery of learning and professional development solutions. Before starting The Learning Community, Karen held leadership positions at St. George Bank and The University of NSW. Karen has worked in the VET Sector for over 15 years and has expertise in training, assessment and compliance.

The Learning Community

Based in Sydney Australia, The Learning Community helps Registered Training Organisations get smart with their people, their resources, and their compliance.

Forward

Get Smart and Build a Better RTO

The Learning Community has worked side by side with RTO owners and staff for more than 15 years, helping set up RTOs, managing day-to-day compliance, preparing for audits and solving problems. From our time working in the industry, we know that operating a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) business can be a time-consuming job and a real source of stress with compliance management as the number one headache! Compliance management can certainly feel like a hindrance rather than being helpful for your business.

In 2014 we published our first book ‘The Essential Guide to RTO Compliance: What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Compliance to Build a Better Business’. Whilst much of the content in this book is still relevant and important for RTO professionals, our sector is constantly changing so we felt it was time to update! In doing this we have also broadened our focus to include discussion about the student experience, risk based auditing, building quality training and assessment programs and building a great team for your RTO.

You might ask why there is a need for consultants like us, and books like this? Simple – the RTO world is full of jargon. Setting up and managing an RTO requires careful navigation of the legislation and standards. Also, the bureaucracy surrounding the RTO business can be overwhelming, not just to newcomers but also for veterans. We can help reduce your stress!

The content in this new book is presented in 3 Sections. We hope it will be essential reading for you and your staff so that you can build and sustain a successful RTO. Here is what you will find in each of the Sections.

Section 1: What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Compliance to Build a Better Business

Section 2: What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Providing a Quality Student Experience

Section 3: What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Building a Successful Team

You will find a Glossary at the end of the book to help you navigate the jargon of the Vocational Education sector. We have also compiled helpful templates and tools that you can use in the day to day operations of your RTO. You can find these in The Workbook: Companion to ‘The Essential Guide to Building a Successful RTO’. It is available from our website at http://thelearningcommunity.com.au/product-category/books-and-guides/

Our aim is to assist you on your journey to RTO success and we hope that our book will be your constant companion on that journey. Don’t forget we are also here to help so don’t hesitate to contact us at [e-mail]

Section 1

What Every Registered Training Organisation Should Know About Compliance to Build a Better Business

Introduction

The words ‘compliance’ and ‘risk’ can evoke powerful emotions. You may look forward to the challenge of managing compliance and risk. If you do, then this book will be a delight to read. On the other hand, if you fear compliance management this first Section of our book will bring you hope with easy to follow compliance solutions. We will show you how to remove your compliance headache and help you get smart with your compliance to improve and grow your business. As an RTO owner or manager, you must be able to demonstrate significant and ongoing commitment to operating your business. This commitment is demonstrated through your approach to governance, management philosophy, systems, policies, communication, and actions. Of course, you should also commit to the compliant delivery of quality training and assessment so the most obvious place to start is with the standards or legislation for the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. These vary depending on which State you are in, where you plan to operate as an RTO and whether you wish to deliver to local students or to international students.

Compliance standards

Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA): If your RTO is operating or will operate under ASQA’s jurisdiction you must work within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Quality Framework. This comprises the:

Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015

Australian Qualifications Framework

Fit and Proper Person Requirements (part of the Standards)

Financial Viability Risk Assessment Requirements

Data Provision Requirements.

Victorian Registration & Qualifications Authority (VRQA): If you wish to operate an RTO for local students within Victoria you must comply with:

Australian Quality Training Framework’s Essential Conditions and Standards for Continuing Registration

2016 VRQA Guidelines for VET Providers.

Training Accreditation Council Western Australia (TAC: WA): The Training Accreditation Council (the Council) is responsible for registering training providers delivering nationally recognised training to domestic students in Western Australia only, or in both Western Australia and Victoria. TAC does not register or regulate training providers in WA who deliver nationally recognised training to:

students in states other than WA and Victoria, including online delivery or to

international students on a student visa.

If you wish to operate under the jurisdiction of TAC you must comply with the Standards for RTOs 2015. If you would like to stay on top of these requirements, we regularly update our website. Please visit http://thelearningcommunity.com.au/. The best way to stay informed is to join our email list and you will receive regular updates. You can sign up to the mailing list on our website.

But is following the Standards enough to enable a successful RTO business?

Whatever the regulatory framework is, you must align closely with all the requirements. However, one of the biggest problems in RTOs is that owners are so focused on meeting these specific RTO compliance obligations that they forget they are also running a business. Managing compliance is just a part of running a good business! We believe that you should develop a ‘good for business’ approach rather than a ‘have to’ approach to compliance.

What do we mean by this? You should encourage proactive and systematic monitoring of all components of business operations. You should engage staff and managers and share quality data and information across the RTO. Compliance management is part of good business management. This is the focus of this Section of our book. We designed this Section to support you as you develop, implement, and maintain your RTO compliance systems, with a focus on good governance and management of your business operations. We will explain the concepts of governance, compliance management and structured continuous improvement in the RTO context and why you should know about them.

We have outlined the steps for developing and implementing a compliance system to reflect the core values of your organisation. For this reason, the content in this Section is consistent with the Australian Standard Compliance Systems AS ISO 19600:2015¹. We have written an RTO story to demonstrate how easy it can be to adopt the ‘good for business approach’ to compliance and grow your business at the same time. The story is on the companion workbook. But first, let’s be clear on some important terms used throughout the book. You will find a glossary at the end of the book but a number of important terms are also defined throughout the book. Over the next few pages we will define ‘governance’, introduce the role and responsibilities of compliance management, and begin to explore the importance of continuous improvement.

Governance, compliance management and continuous improvement

What is Governance? Governance is a system of rules, practices and processes by which an organisation is directed and controlled. The system must include decision-making processes, allocation of power and accountability, verification of performance, and reporting cycles and protocols.

A good governance system enables management to achieve the vision and goals of the organisation and at the same time ensure that the needs of the many stakeholders are met. In an RTO, these stakeholders may include owners, students, funding bodies, staff, community members, employers, and accrediting bodies. The governance system must be tailored to the size and purpose of the organisation so that it can achieve strategic business, compliance and risk objectives. Good governance includes clear, values that will frame a proactive approach to compliance management. It is the values of the organisation that will set the tone for all operations. An RTO that values quality training and assessment practices will be driven to achieve quality outcomes across all aspects of the business.

Finally, the governance system should also incorporate clear policies and processes, information about your organisational structure, and systems to manage students, customers, human resources, finances, and risk and compliance. A structured continuous improvement system is also necessary if you are to stay on track with improvement of your operations.

What is Compliance Management? Management of compliance is an obligation of all organisations and a basic skill for managers so that they can achieve good business outcomes. If a positive compliance management attitude becomes part of the culture of the organisation, one of the business outcomes will be ‘compliance’! Implementation of a compliance management system provides an opportunity to not only improve an organisation’s performance but also to manage risk and reduce the cost of failing to meet legal and other obligations. A compliance management system is an integrated system of documents, functions, processes, controls and tools that help organisations comply with legal requirements, and any standards or guidelines. This system should be aligned closely with the organisation’s values, objectives, strategy and compliance risks (AS ISO 19600:2015). To be successful with compliance management there must be a ‘whole of organisation’ commitment to achieving compliant operations, including a commitment from the governing body, leadership, effective communication channels, training and support, and a continuous improvement ‘good for business’ approach to monitoring and managing the system. After systematically identifying compliance obligations, an organisation should implement a rolling review of all legal and regulatory changes relevant to their compliance obligations. These changes will be ongoing, so after the system is established organisations must be vigilant to keep on top of their compliance requirements in reference to changing laws and regulations. An RTO must ensure it delivers quality training and assessment for individual students, industry, and the vocational education and training (VET) sector.

RTO management must establish an effective governance, risk and compliance system that enables the organisation to demonstrate a commitment to the provision of quality training and assessment. The systems must include clear management philosophy, systems, policies, and communication channels. The regulatory frameworks for RTOs (both AQTF and VET Quality Framework) promote a very strong continuous improvement approach to management.

Who is Responsible for Governance and Compliance Management in an RTO? Leadership and commitment from both the governing body and management team are the two essential characteristics for establishing and maintaining effective compliance in an organisation. The Chief Executive of an RTO holds the responsibility for governance and compliance risk for the organisation. In other words, they are accountable for governance and compliance. All RTOs are required to comply with a governance standard (Clause 7.1 of the Standards for RTOs 2015). If, at the time of a regulator audit you are found to be non-compliant in any clause, you will be assessed as being non-compliant against Clause 7.1. For this reason, it is essential that the person who is responsible for governance and compliance is equipped for the task. That person must ensure the development and implementation of a comprehensive management system that spans the depth and breadth of the RTO and incorporates compliance management.

Continuous Improvement in an RTO: A number of Clauses from the Standards for RTOs 2015 are concerned with quality improvement and monitoring of RTO training and assessment practices (Clauses 1.6, 2.1-2.4, 7.1, 8.4 and 8.5). The cycle of improvement is also an essential part of the compliance management system in an RTO. Systematic and continuous are the two words to reflect on as you prepare to either develop a new continuous improvement system or review an existing system in the RTO context. We will explore the type of system that you will need to ensure a good for business approach to RTO and compliance management.

Compliance Management Systems: The AS ISO 19600:2015 Compliance Management Systems Standard² provides guidance for establishing, evaluating, maintaining and improving an effective and responsive compliance management system within an organisation. We used this Standard to frame the remainder of this Section to encourage you to embed compliance in your business thinking and practice. Figure 1 illustrates the key steps required to establish an effective compliance management system in your RTO. The diagram includes a reference to the Clause (numbers) within the Compliance Management Standard. The requirements for good governance and leadership and commitment to the establishment of a compliance culture are included throughout the Chapters as we outline the Steps for Implementation. A series of Case Studies are also provided in The Workbook: Companion to ‘The Essential Guide to Building a Successful RTO’. The Case Studies illustrate how to build a compliant and successful RTO. In the next few chapters, we also work through the steps required to identify internal and external issues that may impact on the compliance of your RTO and the importance of identifying your key stakeholders and their impact on compliance.

Figure 1. Steps for Establishing an RTO’s Compliance Management System

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1 https://infostore.saiglobal.com/en-au/standards/as-iso-19600-2015-1809224/

2 Ibid

Establishing the System

Chapter 1

Getting Started

Your compliance management systems should incorporate a mix of policies, procedures, documentation. In addition, you should develop internal auditing schedule, make provision for third party audits, and implement security controls that align with your key business areas. The system must meet the requirements of either the VET Quality Framework, including the Standards for RTOs 2015 or, the AQTF. Its design must ensure that your business is both sufficiently resourced to both monitor and address all compliance obligations. The system components are listed below:

Compliance management policy that clearly outlines the:

governance approach

leadership commitment

structure of the compliance system

links to risk management

roles and responsibilities of management and employees

accountabilities and required behaviours

communication channels and strategies

relationship of compliance to the key business areas of the RTO.

A Compliance Obligations Register, including the obligations outlined within either the AQTF or VET Quality Framework (including the Standards for RTOs 2015)

Processes and documentation including:

policies

work flows

monitoring flows

controls

communication and reporting strategies

records management

forms and templates

audit processes.

Training and support requirements

Resourcing strategies

A proactive process for compliance monitoring and reporting cycles.

In establishing your system, we recommend that you take a quality assurance (proactive) approach as opposed to a quality control (reactive) approach to compliance management. This will minimise the occurrence of compliance breaches and the need for urgent rectification when the breaches occur. Taking a proactive approach will enable you to think in advance about the possible pitfalls of managing compliance. You can prepare your staff and develop a proactive approach to managing these pitfalls rather than reacting when a breach has occurred. The following chapters explain each of the system components and outline the steps for implementation.

First steps -doing the research

The first stage of establishing a compliance management system is to determine the context of the organisation. This involves researching the: organisation, its governance principles and its context; needs and expectations of stakeholders or interested parties and the scope of the compliance management system. Gathering this information will help clearly define your purpose and structure. You will then be able to prioritise the specific external and internal compliance obligations. This in turn will allow you to design governance and compliance systems to ensure compliance with all relevant requirements. You may be thinking at this point – but we have the Regulatory Framework, what else do we need? To develop the ‘good for business’ approach to RTO management we encourage you to start thinking about compliance in terms of key business areas. Each RTO is different in its size, structure, governance arrangements, scope, purpose and operational approach. In other words, there