Australian government ploughs extra funding into skills and training
9 October 2014
The Australian government is ploughing $68m (£37m) of additional funding into the country’s national training regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), as part of efforts to maintain standards in the skills and training sector.
Thu, 9 Oct 2014The Australian government is ploughing $68m (£37m) of additional funding into the country’s national training regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), as part of efforts to maintain standards in the skills and training sector.
The funding will be distributed over four years, at the same time as implementing an updated set of standards for registered training organisations (RTOs).
In a press statement, industry minister Ian Macfarlane said: “The government is serious about its reform agenda to create a more streamlined and industry-focused skills and training system that delivers job-ready graduates.”
He also said it was the first time ASQA has been properly funded to focus its attention on serious breaches of standards after being “forced to act as a book-keeper” under the previous Labour government. Macfarlane added there would be “no tolerance of unscrupulous activities, in particular from brokers”.
It was also confirmed that ASQA will hold national information sessions on the new standards in both capital cities and major regional centres to ensure RTOs have full details about the changes and expectations for service delivery.
The funding will be distributed over four years, at the same time as implementing an updated set of standards for registered training organisations (RTOs).
In a press statement, industry minister Ian Macfarlane said: “The government is serious about its reform agenda to create a more streamlined and industry-focused skills and training system that delivers job-ready graduates.”
He also said it was the first time ASQA has been properly funded to focus its attention on serious breaches of standards after being “forced to act as a book-keeper” under the previous Labour government. Macfarlane added there would be “no tolerance of unscrupulous activities, in particular from brokers”.
It was also confirmed that ASQA will hold national information sessions on the new standards in both capital cities and major regional centres to ensure RTOs have full details about the changes and expectations for service delivery.
