competency completion counts for your your rto organisation? · rto success oct 2012 1 competency...

RTO Success Oct 2012 1

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Competency Completion Counts

Effects and Implications for your RTO

The Secrets to being a Successful Team Leader

RTO

Success M

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Oct 2012$14.95 inc. GST

Is Quality becoming a Barrier for your

Organisation?

2 www.rtosuccess.com.au

Supported by

The region’s largest B2B event for buyers & sellers of education, work, youth and student travel

The Australia New Zealand Agent WorkshopBrisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), April 17 - 19, 2013

Why you should attend

• Meet some of the highest producing agents for this region

• Easily develop a global network of high quality pre-screened agents

• Expand international sales by appointing new agents / resellers

• Renew & maintain existing relationships & sales channels

• Create a more diverse & sustainable client nationality mix

[email protected] Ph +61 7 5545 2912

For more information please contact Rod Hearps

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From The EditorWelcome to Our Magazine!

Publishers Details

RTO Success MagazineIssue 6 Oct 2012www.rtosuccess.com.au

Published by: RTO Success Group Pty LtdPO Box 8773, GCMC, Bundall QLD 9726Suite 2, 160 Cotlew Street, Ashmore QLD 4214Phone: 1300 031 312ABN: 85 142 708 361www.rtosuccess.com.au

Publisher: Sandeep [email protected]

Editor: Melissa Hamilton-Matt [email protected]

Copy Editor: Kendall James

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Subscripti on: RTO Success Magazine is a monthly magazineMonthly - $14.95Yearly - $179.40

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Copyright: No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s writt en permission.The names, images and logos of any third parti es and their informati on, products and services are proprietary marks and property of those third parti es. RTO Success Magazine does not lay claim to any third party intellectual property and nothing contained in this magazine shall be construed as conferring (by implicati on or otherwise) as RTO Success Magazine having any licence or right under any trademark or patent.

If you wish to seek request for permission to use the names, images or logos of any third party it should be in accordance with the individual copyright statement contained in that third party site.

Contributi on: the views expressed in the RTO Success Magazine by external contributors and adverti sers are not necessarily those of RTO Success Group Pty Ltd.not necessarily those of RTO Success Group Pty Ltd.

Designed in Australia, printed in India.

Supported by

The region’s largest B2B event for buyers & sellers of education, work, youth and student travel

The Australia New Zealand Agent WorkshopBrisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), April 17 - 19, 2013

Why you should attend

• Meet some of the highest producing agents for this region

• Easily develop a global network of high quality pre-screened agents

• Expand international sales by appointing new agents / resellers

• Renew & maintain existing relationships & sales channels

• Create a more diverse & sustainable client nationality mix

[email protected] Ph +61 7 5545 2912

For more information please contact Rod Hearps

www.icef.com/anza

ANZA2013_Advert v3.indd 1 10.05.2012 16:38:28

Dear Reader,

"The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people." Woodrow Wilson

I hope you have all had a great month. August and September were more hectic than usual as we were exhibiting at both the 2012 ACPET National Conference and the VELG Training 2012 National VET Conference. We met with many of our subscribers as well as RTOs that had received ourcomplimentary copy of the

magazine. I would like to thank everyone for the wonderful feedback and support we received.

The other day I was asked which conference was better and my answer was very simple, neither. Both organisations are doing an amazing job in and for the RTO industry and anyone who wants to pit themagainst each other is very silly indeed. This is probably one of two issues that have come to my attention recently that I fi nd very frustrating.

RTOs, industry bodies, industry associates and other third parties all need to stop seeing others as 'competition'. There needs to be cooperation, communication and support for the industry and the more we do that there is the greater and stronger the growth and success of this sector. I'm sure some may consider me naive but I do believe there is more than enough to go around for everyone in this industry and there can be even more if we just worked together instead of alone.

The second issue isn't a new one but comes in line with recent headlines relating to internet 'trolls' on Twitter etc. There is just as much of this happening in the RTO industry. There has been a lot of fear mongering happening out there, especially related to ASQA, on sites such as LinkedIn. The bad rap that ASQA has received, (to a degree deserved), does not help RTOs in anyway. Yes ASQA should be held accountable, but listening to people who have absolutely no idea or care for the industry is just disappointing. If you want to know something get it from the source, go directly to ASQA and ask, not from someone fool who is only using scare tactics to make a dollar.

In this month's magazine we introduce Rod Cooke the CEO of the Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CS&HISC) as a new featured contributor and he asks the question "Is qualitybecoming a barrier for your organisation?" We also look at the secrets of being a successful Team Leader, as well as Competency Completion Counts and the effects and implications for your RTO.

While at both conferences we met many people interested in contributing to the magazine. In the next few months we hope to bring you some of their articles. We are always on the lookout fornew contributors, if you or someone you know maybe interested in contributing please email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time, have a wonderful month.


CONTENTS Oct 2012

15 Competency Completion Counts Effects and Implications for your RTO

Do you find the Competency Completion Counts confusing? You wouldn't be alone in this. Quality Indicator - Competency Completion Counts were introduced in 2009 and today we still meet many RTOs who just draw a blank when it comes to them. In a similar way to issue 2 of the magazine where we tried to 'Demystify AVETMISS' we hope this article helps to better explain what Competency Completion Counts are,

the importance of them and how they effect and impact your RTO.

COVER STORY

11 Industry News

33 Book Summary - A Daily Dose Of Sanity

36 Tech Tools - Smart Sheet

40 ACPET 2012 Conference

50 Inspire Me - Daystar Foundation

55 Events

60 Time Out

REGULARS

22 InfocusMadalaine Blyth

Madalaine Blyth is one of the Whitehouse Institute of Design VET School teachers and this month we would like to introduce you to her.

Born in Sydney during the 1980’s, Madalaine's childhood was one of those blessed periods of change that you can only appreciate when older. Her father worked as a mechanic and her mother was working as an English Communications tutor at TAFE. Education has always been part of her life, Madalaine's mother often joked that Madalaine walked the halls of tertiary education when she was -6 months old so it is no wonder she's been doing it ever since. Growing up around the TAFE system, Madalaine knew a lot about drawing on the back of recycled board papers, where to find the best stationary cupboards and the network of people it took to make the system work. It was most likely on the back of some of that recycled paper that she first started drawing dresses.

08 The Secrets to being a Successful Team Leader

Leadership and Management are not the same thing, but they must go hand in hand. They are necessarily linked and complementary. A lot of time has been spent trying to delineate the differences, but simply put the manager’s job is to plan, organise and co-ordinate, whereas the leader’s job is to inspire and motivate.

Leadership is based on the ability to effectively lead any group of people towards the accomplishment of a single vision, goal, or objective. Team leaders are responsible for much more than simply making their staff feel supported, they also have an enormous impact, be it positive or negative, on the entire team and how it progresses towards its goals.

36

08

22


26 Is quality becoming a barrier for your organisation?

Training without quality will not meet industry’s need says Rod Cooke, CEO of the Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CS&HISC).

“Although the care industry doesn’t get the same coverage as other industries, work in community services and health job roles are experiencing a boom,” said Rod. “But due to poor training methods over the past four years, industry has shown resistance in seeking VET qualifi ed workers to fi ll places.

30 Should all NRT VET trainers be Regulated

No doubt the title of this article will have many a business in a tizz and many a trainer will be wondering “What now?”

But let us look at this suggestion for a minute; “How do you know that the person standing in front of the class, on the screen or even via a pod cast actually knows the subject matter, has experience in the fi eld being taught or is delivering the course in accordance with realistic timeframes and adult learning capabilities?”

46 Of Elephants, Education and Training

19th century poet JG Saxe created his own version of an ancient Indian story which has, for centuries, been used to illustrate a range of truths and fallacies. The story of the six blind men and an elephant has provided insight into the relativism, opaqueness or inexpressible nature of truth, the behaviour of experts in fi elds where there is a defi cit or inaccessibility of information, the need for communication, and respect for different perspectives. It is a parable that has crossed between many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu lore. The tale is also well known in Europe. "Six blind men each grab hold of a different part of the great beast and, based on their limited experience of a part, pontifi cates on the whole. Funny, if it weren’t so counterproductive". 46

56 7 Values based business growth strategies to revolutionise your business

Business growth is enabled through understanding what levers are available to you to use, which should be used and when. The levers that a business should use when they are just starting out are different to the ones a business should use in more advanced stages.

Chet Holmes, recognised as American’s top strategic consultants, having had 60 of the Fortune 500 companies as clients, completed a study and found that there were three key elements that took companies from low Millions to $100 Millions.

30

26

56

44 Maximising Revenue Per Student

In a competitive marketplace, leading RTOs have found raising their revenue per student is the key to having more marketing options, and greater ability to deliver a better experience.

Last year I attended a marketing conference in the USA held by well-known marketer Dan Kennedy. And as you might expect, the seminar itself was a lesson in maximising revenue from each customer, using a variety of creative methods.

44


FEATURED CONTRIBUTORSFEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

Clare Cope is the creator of the Values Pendulum, a dynamic new model that cuts through the noise in business and life, to pinpoint the pressure points holding business growth and individual performance back. Blending powerful code in human behaviour and adapting them to business in the 21st Century, you now have access to a model to facilitate sustainable and replicable growth and innovation. To identify the pressure points in your business visit www.valuespendulum.com/rtobusinessdiagnostic to receive a FREE Values Pendulum Business Diagnostic.

Clare Cope

Rod Cooke

Kerry Gubb, of DeltaPi: Developing People, is an eLearning and Education Technology specialist who prefers to be viewed as an "ET guy" rather than an "IT guy", insisting that Education Technology is ideally a highly cooperative meld of sound learning theory and teaching/training experience, expedited through current and socially relevant equipment. He is passionate about carefully and creatively utilising appropriate available technologies to enrich and facilitate a sound learning experience. Kerry’s operating maxim: Education/Training is fi rst and last about the learner. Always has been. Always will be. Check him out at deltapi.com.au.

Kerry Gubb

Will Swayne is an expert in “Leverage Marketing” - achieving greater marketing and sales results with less effort. He is the founder of Marketing Results, a digital agency that specialises in creating a consistent fl ow of quality sales leads and ideal clients from the web. Get the free e-course, 7 Steps To Doubling Your Website Leads at www.marketing-results.com.au.

Will Swayne

Rod Cooke is the CEO of Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CS&HISC). He has an extensive background in training, employment and in the vocational education sector. Rod has held senior management and training positions including the positions of CEO with Orana Education & Training Cooperative Ltd (managing an employment services agency), Na-tional Learning & Development Manager with NRMA, Training Manager for Integral Energy and the Director of the Army Training Development Centre.



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The Secrets to being a successful Team Leader

Communicate Expectations Clearly

Your employees, both new & existing ones, need to know what’s expected of them. It’s nearly impossible for an employee to know what they are expected to achieve if expectations have not yet been clearly set. The more visible expectations are, the easier it is to keep them in mind on a day to day basis. Have a monthly target list of goals you expect your team to achieve. Do a review meeting with staff on a weekly basis and identify if they are on target? What has happened, have there been issues that have steered them off course? How can you help them to get back on target or stay focused?

When you need to change expectations, a clear and

Leadership and management are not the same thing but they must go hand in hand. They are necessarily

linked, and complementary. A lot of time has been spent trying to delineate the differences but simply put the manager’s job is to plan, organise and co-ordinate, the leader’s job is to inspire and motivate.

Leadership is based on the ability to effectively lead any group of people towards the accomplishment of a single vision, goal, or objective. Team leaders are responsible for much more than simply making their staff feel supported, they also have an enormous impact, be it positive or negative, on the entire team and how it progresses towards its goals.

Whether your title is manager or team leader at the end of the day do you remember to be a leader of your staff?

RTO Success Oct 2012 9RTO Success Oct 2012 9

concise expression of the changes needs to be made. When an established routine changes, there will be staff who don't like change and it may sometimes cause unrest. Formally addressing these changes upfront can help keep people appraised as well as ease tensions.

Create and maintain an equitable workplace

Equity is about not showing favouritism, bias or otherwise being unjust. Praise, time off, ability for training are all issues that should be apportioned equitably. Offering all employees an opportunity for special projects or new training opportunities are chances that allow employees to feel valued and

possibly allow them to better themselves and their position.

Part of equity is balancing praise with criticism, or vice versa. You should avoid (at all costs) reprimanding employees in front of their peers. You should attempt to fi nd a happy medium of praise and criticism so your staff know that you are criticising them constructively and fairly and can tell the difference between excellent work, average work and below average work.

Small things DO count

Showing staff that you have invested time in getting to know them and what they care about really


benefi ts all parties involved. Remembering someone's name, greeting them in the morning, knowing little things that they enjoy really does matter.

Too many people overlook the value of praise. During a hectic workday, it's sometimes hard to see every task an employee completes. However, sometimes, it is truly benefi cial to take notice when someone goes above and beyond their duties to help other team mates, fi x a glitch or resolve a problem. It is a small step that can truly benefi t the morale of an employee and it doesn't require much effort.

Empower your team

For a team to be effective, every member of the team needs to feel as if they have a role to fulfi ll that matches not only their skills but interests as well. By providing that fi t between the needs of the team and the skills of the individual, will empower them to perform at a higher level. Additionally, showing them how their skills contribute to the success of the team as a whole will bring a pride in what they can provide, making them more likely to shine.

One very important area that many RTOs and businesses in general forget about is investing in the tools for their team to get their job done. It isn’t just good project management; it shows a respect and a concern for your team members as individuals. Making it easier for your team to do their job helps motivate them and keep things running smoothly.

You also need to have good listening skills as well as the ability to empathise. Your team need to feel like they are being heard and understood. Attentively listening (good eye contact, asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing suggestions) makes team members feel valued.

Try new ideas

Innovation is the key to productivity and continuous improvement. Give new ideas a chance.

As a manager or team leader, you may know & monitor your staff and there processes and procedures, but your staff will know them more intimately than you. Give your staff the opportunity to give you advice and feedback on how to do them better, faster, smarter or more simply. Give their ideas a trial for a week or more, there is nothing to say you can't go back to the old version if it doesn't work. But if it does work, it allows your staff to take ownership and have pride in something that improved what they do and how they do it and help with their

productivity. Great team leaders seek out and respond to the opinions and advice of their team members.

Be visible and make time to have fun

As a manager/team leader it may be all too easy to hide away in your offi ce or spend copious hours in 'meetings', with very little time in front of the people that really do matter the most. The hardest environment to work in is one where employees do not feel they can approach their manager/team leader. Spend a little time each day talking to your staff, understanding how things are going, how they are and this will help encourage them to feel comfortable coming to you with work-related issues and concerns.

Too many managers try to keep formal, professional boundaries. Don't be afraid to have fun! If staff feel you are approachable then they'll be more likely to be loyal and feel more comfortable discussing concerns, ideas and creations.

Last but not least and absolutely the most important, if there is a single characteristic that sums up what makes a good team leader, it is the word, trust. Developing mutual trust between individual team members as well as between individuals and the team leader, is a fundamental requirement for any truly successful team. Build relationships in your teams based on trust not authority.

To some these secrets may seem 'common sense', if that's the case evaluate you and your leaders and really see how many of the above you follow as a standard.

"To lead people, walk beside them … As for the best

leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The

next best, the people honour and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next,

the people hate … When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it

ourselves!"...Lao-Tsu


September07/09/2012 - Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) - Claims of crisis in VET sector overstated - Media Release

http://asqa.gov.au/verve/_resources/ASQA_Media_Release -Claims_of_crisis_in_VET_sector_overstated_070912.pdf

Over the last three weeks the ABC television 7:30 program has aired several stories on the vocational education sector. These stories claim that poor quality training and fraudulent activity is widespread in the VET sector and that the national regulator (“ASQA”) has been slow to respond to these issues. Chief Commissioner Chris Robinson, Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) today strongly refuted both these claims. “In ASQA’s fi rst year of operation we received a total of 4,873 applications for initial registration, registration renewal or change of scope. Of those applications that were completed by 30 June 2012, only 5% were found to have serious issues of non compliance”. “The majority of training providers in Australia are working hard to deliver high quality training outcomes” Mr Robinson said. “For the 5% that do not meet the required standards there are clear consequences and we are unapologetic about taking strong action against providers to ensure those standards are met” Mr Robinson said. “We have been given the resources and powers to take strong action, and we are deploying them”. ASQA Commissioners refused 202 applications between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012. Of these, 48 were rejections of applications to register as a new provider; 126 were rejections of applications to add new courses to a provider’s scope of registration; and a further 28 were rejections of applications to renew the registration of existing providers. In addition, ASQA took action to cancel or suspend the registrations of a further 18 providers.

ASQA is currently rolling out a very substantial audit program nationally with 676 audits completed and another 646 scheduled or underway during our fi rst year of operation. Some 377 of these were in Victoria. “What this means in practice is that we have undertaken audit activity in regard to some 40% of all RTO’s in Australia that fell within our jurisdiction in our fi rst year of operation (with the exception of Queensland providers which came under ASQA’s jurisdiction on 29 June 2012). Clearly this is not a ‘go-slow’ approach” Chris Robinson said. Two of the three providers featured on the ABC 7.30 program, Pow Wow Training Pty Ltd and Trade Institute of Victoria are regulated by ASQA. In both cases, ASQA was taking regulatory action in relation to them prior to when the story aired. This action will be fi nalised shortly. The ABC 7.30 program has stated that it has received numerous complaints from students on the training which they have received. ASQA is willing to take action on any complaints lodged and is disappointed that the ABC has not provided details of these complaints despite these being requested by ASQA on a number of occasions. The refusal to refer information indicates the 7:30 program is more interested in beating up a story than it is having the concerns of people with poor experiences of the VET system examined and acted upon. “Recent events highlight the importance of the national regulator in ensuring quality standards are applied across the VET sector. While there is much more work to be done, I am confi dent that we have the tools required to meet and ensure compliance with those standards”. Consumers and students can access information regarding regulatory decisions made by ASQA to suspend or cancel a training provider’s registration via its website at http://www.asqa.gov.au/about-asqa/regulatory-decisions/regulatory-ecisions.html

Extra - 03/09/2012 - New 2035 enrolment forecasts place East Asia and the Pacifi c in the lead

http://monitor.icef.com/2012/09/new-2035-enrolment-forecasts-place-east-asia-and-the-pacifi c-in-the-lead/

University World News is reporting that growth predicted from 2000-30 is likely to be higher than that experienced between 1970 and 2000. The number of students enroled in higher education by 2030 is forecast to rise from 99.4 million in 2000 to 414.2 million in 2030 – an increase of 314%. If an extra fi ve years is added to these projections, the number of students pursuing higher education by 2035 is likely to exceed 520 million. This growth is being fueled by the current transformation in the developing and emerging regions and countries of the world – a growth that will only accelerate in the next decades. By 2035, due to both population and economic growth over the past three decades, East Asia and the Pacifi c is likely to remain the region with the largest volume of enrolments globally, followed by South and West Asia, with Latin America and the Caribbean as the


third largest global region in terms of enrolments. Top ten countries in terms of student enrolment in higher education by 2035 include: China, India, Brazil, United States, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, Iran, Bangladesh, and Romania. Interestingly, the projections give no specific focus to the powerful Middle East region, nor to burgeoning Africa, nor to long-time key players Australia and Oceania.

North America and Western EuropeUp to 2002, more students were enroled in higher education in North America and Western Europe than in any other world region. In 1999 there were 28.2 million enrolments in the region, which comprised 30% of all global enrolments. But since 2003, there have been more students pursuing higher education in East Asia and the Pacific. While the number of enrolments grew to 35.5 million by 2009, the share as a proportion of total global enrolments has progressively declined and by 2009 stood at 22%. This share is projected to drop below 20% by 2014, and by 2035 will represent 10% of global enrolments. By 2035, student enrolments in North America and Western Europe are projected to be 52 million. Countries with the largest number of enrolments are the United States (projected to remain in the world’s top 10 by 2035), Germany (top 20 by 2035) and the United Kingdom (top 30 by 2035).

East Asia and the PacificThe East Asia and the Pacific region is expected to exceed enrolments of 100 million students between 2020 and 2021, and to exceed enrolments of 200 million between 2033 and 2034. By 2035, 42% of global enrolments (or 212.9 million enrolments) will be from this region, a sharp contrast to the 25% proportion it attained back in 2000. China will remain the country in the world with the highest number of students enroled in higher education by 2035 (anywhere between 20% and 30% of the world’s total). Other countries projected to have large numbers of enrolments by 2035 are Indonesia (world’s top 10), and Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines (all three in the world’s top 20).

South and West AsiaInterestingly, the region that will stand out in around 20 years is South and West Asia. In 2000 the region had 12 million enrolments – or a share of 12% globally, increasing to 21.4 million enrolments by 2009 (a global share of 13%). By 2035 it is likely that South and West Asia will have about 125 million enrolments in higher education – a global share of 24%, making it the region with the second highest number of enrolments. In part the growth in importance of this region is associated with the size of its population and its economic development, which is second to East Asia and the Pacific. India will remain in second place in terms of the number of enrolments. Iran and Bangladesh are expected to be in the world’s top 10, whereas Pakistan is expected to be in the world’s top 20.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Massification of Latin America and the Caribbean higher education systems is to continue well into the future, given the levels of inequality prevailing in the region. Increasing tertiary education participation and attainment is pivotal to cementing social mobility for people, particularly for those from disadvantaged socio-economic and indigenous backgrounds. Similar to the East Asia and the Pacific regions, the number of students from Latin America and the Caribbean has increased exponentially over the past four decades. In 1970, there were 1.6 million enrolments (about 5.6% globally) increasing to 7.1 million by 1990, giving the region a global share of about 10% of enrolments. This rose to 11.4 million enrolments by 2000. The number of Latin American and Caribbean enrolments as a proportion of global enrolments has remained at about 11% to 12% for the past 20 years. It is projected that this share of global enrolments will remain about the same up to 2035, when it is estimated that the region will have 59.4 million students enroled in tertiary education. By 2035, Latin America and the Caribbean will be the third largest global region in terms of enrolments. Brazil is expected to become one of the world’s top five countries in terms of the number of enrolments. Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela are forecast to be in the world’s top 20 countries by 2035.

Central and Eastern EuropeGiven the strategic geopolitical position of Central and Eastern Europe, this is a region that is often referred to as an emerging hub for the provision of educational services. Up to the end of the first decade of the 21st century it was ranked as the third global region with the highest volume of enrolments in tertiary education. Central and Eastern Europe is similar to Latin America and the Caribbean in that it has been gradually increasing levels of attainment in secondary and post-compulsory education and as a consequence, this region has observed an increase in levels of participation in tertiary education. The extent to which national educational policy reforms are implemented will dictate the extent of higher levels of participation and tertiary education attainment levels achieved in the next five to 10 years. A scenario that was considered in the projections to 2035 was that Central and Eastern Europe could possibly have a higher volume of enrolments than Latin America and the Caribbean. However, given the impact of the financial crisis on Europe and projected population growth over the next 20 years, the scope for growth in enrolments is more restricted. Russia, Turkey and Romania are projected to be in the world’s top 10 countries in terms of the volume of enrolments, and Ukraine is projected to be in the world’s top 20 countries.

Tertiary education participation rateIn terms of the proportion of the population aged 15 -79 in tertiary education, North America and Western Europe stood at 5% in 2000 and increased to 6% by 2009. Up to 2003 this region ranked first – ahead of Central and Eastern Europe. The ratio of tertiary education enrolments to general population is projected to increase steadily to 6.7% by 2020 and


continue to rise to 8% by 2035. Despite the ongoing increase in participation in tertiary education, this region will be ranked fourth by 2035. Since 2004, Central and Eastern Europe has been the region with the highest participation rate of all world regions, and it is estimated to rank first until 2029. In 2004, it had a rate of 5.8% and is projected to increase to 9.7% by 2035; however, by then this region will be behind East Asia and the Pacific and Latin America. East Asia and the Pacific had a tertiary education participation rate of 1.7% in 2000 – only ahead of South and West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, but it has been rising year on year. By 2009, it had achieved a rate of 3.1% and this is projected to be 5% by 2020, when it will be ranked fourth. East Asia and the Pacific is projected to become the region with the highest tertiary education participation rate by 2033, when it will exceed 10%. In 2000 Latin America and the Caribbean had a tertiary education participation rate of 3.3%, ranking third behind North America and Western Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe. By the year 2022 it is expected that it will attain a tertiary education participation rate of 6.9%, becoming the second highest region behind Central and Eastern Europe. However, Latin America may attain the highest rank temporarily somewhere between 2030 and 2032, when East Asia and the Pacific will overtake Central and Eastern Europe. It is projected that Latin America is likely to attain tertiary education participation in excess of 10% by 2034. Historically South and West Asia has had the second lowest tertiary education participation rate of all world regions, just ahead of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Policy implicationsThe nature and intensity of regional shifts in enrolments and higher education participation levels will have profound implications for the way higher education is planned, delivered, funded and quality assured across the globe. By 2035, the North America and Western Europe region is expected to drop to fourth position in terms of enrolment and participation rates, with East Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean rising up the ranks. Regardless of the relative growth that materialises up to 2035, it is clear that increased rates of access and participation in tertiary education will add pressure to debates about how higher education is funded by governments and is also likely to have an impact on how institutions operate and compete for resources as well as their ability to attract and retain academics and students alike.

Given the various levels of development and stages of economic and social reform around the globe, the degree of transformation in the education landscape varies from region to region, and as a consequence there will be different trigger points for ongoing education reform. In some countries the main issue remains access to higher education. Other countries are confronted with the reality of ageing populations and governments’ reduced ability to fund higher education and maintain its quality, standards

and regulation. The ongoing expansion of higher education brings numerous challenges as well as opportunities for governments and institutions; how these are managed largely depend on the relative stage of development or maturity they are at. The fact that many developed countries are confronted with economic crises that inhibit growth prevents them from ongoing investment in education, while others (mainly those in developing or emerging countries) are sustaining economic growth above world averages, which enables them to continue investing in or expanding access to post-compulsory education. For some countries the policy implications of expanding higher education reside in either establishing or consolidating robust quality assurance and monitoring processes to strengthen their national systems; developing a policy framework that provides access to education for socially and economically disadvantaged people; and providing a policy framework to encourage institutional diversity and plurality in funding mechanisms. As there are either new forms of educational delivery and sectors or types of institutions that are emerging, there needs to be in every jurisdiction clearly and objectively streamlined criteria and processes for establishing and regulating accredited higher education institutions. Given that the impact of globalisation and technological development has brought countries and remote regions closer together, there needs to be a greater level of cooperation and institutional partnering to promote sustainable development, particularly among the most impoverished regions. Developed countries could contribute to developing the capacity of less developed countries to implement policy reforms and widen access to all levels of education, by providing expertise as well as encouraging flows of capital for investment in education. As there are greater levels of student and staff mobility, these flows are prime vehicles for improving international collaboration and for strengthening the quality of education, where needed. Source: University World News

Extra - 11/09/2012 - Suitors line up for a strengthening Brazilian market

http://monitor.icef.com/2012/09/suitors-lin-up-for-strengthening-brazilian-market/

“Brazil is not an emerging superpower; it is a superpower.” — Paul Davidson, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)

Let’s consider a few developments, and if Brazil hasn’t been on your radar it quickly will be:

• Brazil is the No. 6 economy in the world by gross domestic product, moving from 7th last year and displacing the UK in the position (according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research).

• Of its nearly 200 million people, 33% are under the age of 19.


• The Brazilian currency, the real, doubled in value, from 3.5 to the US dollar in 2002 to 1.7 in February 2012, making study abroad far more feasible for students.

•Three Brazilian universities rank in the top 10 of Latin America’s best higher education institutes, according to the 2012 QS University Rankings: Latin America (second only to Chile, which has four in the top 10).

• According to agency association BELTA, 215,000 Brazilians studied abroad in 2011 compared to 167,432 in 2010. BELTA predicts a jump to 282,000 students this year.

• Brazil’s massive Science Without Borders initiative will send more than 100,000 Brazilian students abroad to study over the next four years, as Brazil seeks to redress a shortage of skilled labour in its economy.

A domestic education system influxThe facts assume still greater significance in light of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s August-enacted legislation that reserves half the spots at federal universities for public school students and gives priority to Afro-Brazilians. The legislation aims to increase access for poorer, often black and mixed race Brazilians; currently, only 2.2% of Afro-Brazilians have access to a University education. However, critics predict that the legislation will push a greater number of wealthy Brazilians away from free federal post-secondary institutions – which may take a hit in terms of the quality and reputation of their degrees as they adapt to the new affirmative action quota rules – to private, tuition-paying options. One of these options, of course, is study abroad.

Who is setting their sights on Brazil?With programmes like Science Without Borders, greater overall wealth, and nervousness about the domestic University system, study abroad is increasing in attractiveness to the huge student-aged Brazilian population. When Brazilian students leave their country for education, where are they going? The answer is fluid. To date, Canada and Britain have had more foresight than the US in setting Brazil as a target for foreign trade including education. Canada in fact has more overall investment in Brazil (a total of CDN $6.7 billion annually) than it does in India and China. According to Times Higher Education, “Canadian and Brazilian universities have already signed more than 110 exchange agreements, and 75 more, worth a collective CDN $17 million (£10.7 million) were negotiated in April.” Canada will also receive 12,000 of Brazil’s Science Without Borders students. “Here is a government that recognises that to be competitive in the 21st century you have to invest in education,” said Canada’s AUCC president Paul Davidson of Brazil.

The UK, for its part, sent a VIP-packed education delegation to Brazil in 2011 that resulted in an agreement that the UK would host roughly 10,000 Brazilian students and might lead to a research

partnership between the two nations, again according to Times Higher Education. However, a recent snafu saw over 100 Brazilian students set to study in the UK under Science Without Borders fail to pass a language test set by the UK Border Agency. Instead of taking the test again, the students chose to redirect to the US. The US, meanwhile, has begun to see what Canada and the UK have seen for some time in Brazil. In the 2010–2011 academic year, Brazilian students represented just 1.2% of the US international student body that year. But this month, the US is sending the biggest trade mission to date of the Obama administration to Brazil. US Commerce Undersecretary Francisco Sanchez is leading the mission, a principal goal of which is to attract Science Without Borders students. Sanchez is quoted as saying: [Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has] stated publicly that she wants half of [Science Without Borders’ 101,000 students] to go to the United States and specifically to study in the STEM areas: science, technology, engineering, and math.

Language and visa issues will figure into study abroad decisionsBrazilian students, whose mother tongue is Portuguese, are said to generally have less proficiency in English than their Indian or Chinese counterparts. Already, as noted above, Brazilians’ lower English proficiency has caused some to feel unable or unwelcome to remain in the UK to study. Unlike the UK Border Agency, however, whose visa system has also been criticised for confusing and/or barring entry to prospective foreign students, the US Department of State sets no minimum language requirement level to obtain a student visa (though individual universities may, just as in Canada). This may be affecting student mobility patterns as we speak. Times Higher Education notes: So far, just 580 [Science Without Borders students] are scheduled to take up places [in the UK] in September, compared with 2,000 for the US and more than 1,000 for Canada. Aside from overall country rules on language and visa requirements, it seems that preparatory language programmes and language support in general will be important to establish for universities seeking to recruit Brazilians.

The word is outSpeaking to Times Higher Education about Brazil, Canadian AUCC president Mr Donaldson joked, “I should say that there’s not much going on there.” The reality, of course, is much different. Canada’s strategy of pursuing Brazil not only for tuition-paying students but also research collaboration has been trailblazing, but other countries are showing their eagerness to earn a larger share of the market. Along with Canada, the US, and Britain, New Zealand and Australia have Brazil on their priority lists and other European countries are also eager. Tens of thousands of students from the world’s sixth-largest economy are faced with unprecedented circumstances allowing them to study abroad: what will your country, and your institution or agency, be doing to court them? Sources: Times Higher Education, University World News, Science Guide, Inside Higher Ed


The counts are always done for the previous calendar year to the year you are currently in. So when they were fi rst introduced in 2009 you submitted counts for 2008, in 2010 you submitted counts for 2009 and so on.

What is required is that you count or preferably your Student Management System counts for you the following:

At the Qualifi cation Activity level

Commencements - for the calendar year you are submitting counts for how many students commenced their studies in a full qualifi cation? You must not consider students that are only commencing studies in 1 or a few units of competencies or modules that will not lead to a Qualifi cation being issued. Don't worry as these students will be counted at the next level for Competencies/Modules.

Competency Completion Counts Effects and Implications for Your RTODo you fi nd the Competency Completion Counts confusing? You wouldn't be alone in this. Quality Indicator - Competency Completion Counts were introduced in 2009 and till today we meet many RTOs who just draw a blank when it comes to this subject. In a similar way to issue 2 of the magazine where we tried to 'Demystify AVETMISS' we hope this article helps to better explain what Competency Completion Counts are, the importance of them and how they effect and impact your RTO.

The basics of Competency Completion Counts

There are 2 main facets to the counts that are Commencements and Completions and you count these at the Qualifi cations and Competencies/Modules level.

Qualifi cationsQualifi cationsQualifi cations

CommencedCommencedCommenced CompletedCompletedCompleted

Competenciies/Competenciies/Competenciies/ModulesModulesModules

CommencedCommencedCommenced CompletedCompletedCompleted


In the diagram above you can see there are 3 different coloured bars that are:

Green - these are student enrolments into a Full Qualification that commenced in the Competency Completion Counts Calendar Year which for this example is 2011 and SHOULD be counted in your Qualification Commencement Count.

Blue - these are student enrolments into Units of Competency that won't lead to a full qualification and they SHOULD NOT be counted in your Qualification Commencement Count.

Red - these are student enrolments into a Full Qualification that commenced in either the Previous Calendar Year (Continuing Students and would have been counted in a previous calendar year count) or your Current Calendar Year which for this example is 2012 and they SHOULD NOT be counted in your Qualification Commencement Count.

Completions - for the calendar year you are submitting counts for how many students completed their studies in a full qualification? As with commencements you must not consider students that are completing studies in 1 or a few units of competencies or modules that will not lead to a Qualification being issued. Don't worry these students will be counted at the next level for Competencies/Modules.

Using the previous diagram there are 2 student enrolments in red that are completing in the Competency Completion Counts Calendar Year that SHOULD be counted.There are a few rules you need to remember for the Qualification Activity level counts that are:

1 You do not count Non-Accredited courses in these counts.

2 You MUST not enter a qualification or course code multiple times with different counts unless it is for different states. For example, let's say you have qualification of SIT50307 - Diploma of Hospitality but you have 2 streams that are Commercial Cookery or Patisserie so you have coded your qualifications in your student management system as:

SIT50307-CC Diploma of Hospitality - Commercial Cookery

SIT50307-PT Diploma of Hospitality - Patisserie

As the formal qualification they will receive is SIT50307 Diploma of Hospitality you MUST only show this code/name once in your counts unless point 3 applies.

3 If you are delivering training in multiple states then you must do your counts at a State level.


Where you are using a student management system to export your counts then your files would look something like this for the Qualification Activity file:

Single State Delivery

In this image below you will see rows of data and each piece of data within the row means something specific, the data collected includes:

Provider CodeYear of CountQual/Course CodeQual/Course NameStateCommencement CountCompletion Count

Multiple State Delivery

The rows of data and what they mean is the same as the Single State example the only difference is in this version you can have a qualification/course code repeat itself for each state that you deliver in, even if the count is 0 you must still show it.

As you can see in this image there is a qualification code displayed twice but if you go along you will see one entry is the counts for NSW and the other entry is for counts for QLD.

At the Module Activity (this includes competencies) level

This works in the same way as the Qualification activity but it looks at competencies and modules that were commenced or completed and not the qualification.

Commencements - for the calendar year you are submitting counts you need to look at each Unit of Competency and/


or Modules and count how many students started studying them in that year. And if you are delivering across multiple states then you must factor the counts for each state.

To understand Module Activity you have to drill down and look at each module/competency that a student is studying and what calendar year did they start studying them in? In the diagram above you can see three different students and some Competencies that they are studying. The students are:

Student 1 - this student has an enrolment in qualification SIT40407 with an enrolment start date of 02/05/2011 and an enrolment end date of 26/08/2012. Using the same years as we discussed in Qualification Activity the current calendar year is 2012 but the Competency Completion Counts Calendar Year is 2011. Now in 2011 this student started studying 5 different competencies in 2011 that were:

SITXOHS001A - this starts and finishes in 2011



SITXINV002A - this starts and finishes in 2011

SITHCCC005A - this starts in 2011 but finishes in 2012, it should still be counted.

These above 5 competencies SHOULD be counted.

This student has 2 other competencies listed in blue but they did not start studying them until 2012 so they SHOULD NOT be counted.

Student 10 - this student has an enrolment in qualification BSB40207 with an enrolment start date of 14/11/2011 and an enrolment end date of 14/09/2012. This student started studying 2 different competencies in 2011 that were:

BSBOHS407A - this starts and finishes in 2011

BSBCCO402A - this starts in 2011 but finishes in 2012, it should still be counted.

These above 2 competencies SHOULD be counted.

This student has 2 other competencies listed in purple but they did not start studying them until 2012 so they SHOULD NOT be counted.

Student 4 - this student started and completed their competencies in a previous calendar year of 2010 so they SHOULD NOT be counted.

Completions - for the calendar year you are submitting counts you need to look at each Unit of Competency and/or Modules and count how many students completed studying them in that year. And if you are delivering across

multiple states then you must factor the counts for each state.


Using the previous diagram there are 2 student enrolments in Green and Orange that are completing in the

Competency Completion Counts Calendar Year that SHOULD be counted. They are students 1 & 10.

There are a few rules you need to remember for the Qualification Activity level counts that are:

1 You do not count Non-Accredited modules in these counts.

2 You MUST not enter a competency or module code multiple times with different counts unless it is for different

states. For example, let's say you have a competency of SITHCCC005A - Use basic methods of cookery but you have 2

versions of this competency because at a Certificate IV level the assessments or delivery is different to a Diploma level

so you may have coded them along these lines:

SITHCCC005A-CLASS - Use basic methods of cookery - Class room based

SITHCCC005A-ONLINE - Use basic methods of cookery - Online

As the formal competency code/name is SITHCCC005A - Use basic methods of cookery and this is what should be on

the Academic Transcript you MUST only show this code/name once in your counts, unless point 3 applies.

3 If you are delivering training in multiple states then you must do your counts at a State level.

Where you are using a student management system to export your counts then your files would look something like

this for the Module Activity file:

Single State Delivery

In this image below you will see rows of data and each piece of data within the row means something specific, the data

collected includes:

Provider Code

Year of Count

Competency/Module Code

Competency/Module Name

State

Commencement Count

Completion Count

Multiple State Delivery


The rows of data and what they mean is the same as the Single State example the only difference is in this version you

can have a competency/module code repeat itself for each state that you deliver in, even if the count is 0 you must still

show it.

As you can see in this image there is a competency code displayed twice but if you go along you will see one entry is

the counts for NSW and the other entry is for counts for QLD.

Why are Competency Completion Counts critical to an RTO

The most critical reason is that it may affect an RTO’s risk rating and impact on an RTO’s registration.

The Quality Indicator data, both competency completion counts and survey data for Learners & Employers, is used

as one of the measures in determining an RTO’s risk rating. The risk rating is then considered when making decisions

about the frequency and scope of audits.

How can Competency Completion Counts be used within your RTO?

You can use the counts for the following areas:

Continuous Improvement review of

Your trainers - identify where certain qualifi cations and/or competencies have low completion rates and identify

are they linked to specifi c trainers? Is there further Professional Development that the trainers need or are there other

reasons for this?

Your delivery - similar to trainers, the way in which you are delivering your training and/or assessment is this

possibly the reason why you have a low completion count?

Continuous Improvement and Sales & Marketing review

Delivery locations - if you are delivering in different states and the commencement or completion counts for certain

states is lower than others look at how you are marketing in those states or how you are delivering in those states.

What can you do to improve them?


The Southern Cross Connection

ASQA Compliance Manager 2012For Registered Training Organisations

What is the ASQA Compliance Manager?

• The ASQA Compliance Manager is a structured system of folders and fi les, created to help private providers prepare the documentation and processes required to apply for and maintain RTO status in Australia.

• From July 2011, RTO registration, registration renewal or extension of scope must comply with the new 2011 Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) Standards. RTOs will need to upgrade their compliance systems to meet the new ASQA Standards.

• The ASQA Compliance Manager is designed to guide RTOs and RTO applicants through the process of upgrading / setting up their systems and documentation to comply with the new Standards.

• Policies and procedures are cross-referenced to both ASQA and AQTF Standards to aid transition.

• The system is divided into linked sections for ease of use:

ASQA Compliance Manager will help you get on top of the new compliance requirements.

Please visit our website www.southernxconnection.com where you can view in more detail how the ASQA Compliance Manager interface works.

The Southern Cross Connection(A.B.N. 85 848 685 910) 21 Worley Drive, Gilston Qld 4211 Tel: 07 5527 2551

Email: [email protected]

The ASQA Compliance Manager:

Simplifi es implementation and ongoing maintenance of the RTO’s Quality System.

Provides useful tools and information to simplify navigation, document control and customisation.

Provides tools to simplify ongoing maintenance of registers.

Provides quick access to forms and templates.

Supplies over 40 sample Forms, Registers and other useful documents are in the relevant folders.

The Quality Management folder system is fl exible and can be customised to refl ect the size and scope of your organisation and adapted as it changes over time

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Madalaine Blyth is one of the Whitehouse Institute of Design VET in School teachers and this month we would like to introduce you to her.

Born in Sydney during the 1980’s, Madalaine's childhood was one of those blessed periods of change that you can only appreciate when older. Her father worked as a mechanic and her mother was working as an English Communications tutor at TAFE. Education has always been part of her life, Madalaine's mother often joked that Madalaine walked the halls of tertiary education when she was -6 months old so it was no wonder she's been doing it ever since. Growing up around the TAFE system, Madalaine knew a lot about drawing on the back of recycled board papers, where to find the best stationary cupboards and the network of people it took to make the system work. It was most likely on the back of some of that recycled paper that she first started drawing dresses.

Living both in regional NSW and the Western Suburbs of Sydney, she attended several schools, all of which fostered her love of creative subjects such as Art and Design and Technology. It was in year 9, during a fashion illustration workshop held at school that Madalaine first met Leanne Whitehouse and was introduced to the Whitehouse Institute of Design, Australia. It was a defining moment that has shaped her goals and life ever since. Madalaine completed her secondary studies with a focus on subjects that would better suit her for further study in the areas of art and design.

Introducing Madalaine Blyth Recently we attended the ACPET 2012 Conference where the inaugural ACPET Awards for Excellence were held. One of the awards was Special Commendation - VET in School, which was won by the Whitehouse Institute of Design, Australia.


After a couple of years, between High School and further studies, spent travelling and working in the UK, Madalaine studied Art in Canberra before fi nally taking the step towards her life goal and applying to Whitehouse when Fee Help became available. Commencing in 2009, she undertook a Bachelor of Design, specialising in Fashion Design which included illustration, pattern making, the theory and practical side of design. Madalaine was awarded Student of the Year three years running and in 2011 was awarded the Principal’s Award.

Madalaine's fi rst role in education was working as the Workshops Coordinator at the Whitehouse Institute of Design. Their "Kickstart" workshops are 1 and 2 day courses designed to be delivered in schools or on campus designed to underpin and develop skills to work with the curriculum for Design, Art and Textiles students. "Working as both a secondary level facilitator and drawing knowledge from a tertiary level college, it was fantastic to understand and to cipher the knowledge into lessons and workshops that are best

going to help give students that all important leg up into pursuing further education in the fi eld. It has also given me the chance to visit many rural areas such as Wagga Wagga and the North Coast, and see the love of design and the need for more access to further design education for our rural and remote students."

When asked what skills she has developed over the years in the industry Madalaine commented "One of my very fi rst roles was working in Student Services for a private education provider in Sydney. Working closely with the students and the database systems I learnt a lot about the importance of organisation and preparation. It seems like a minor lesson but RTOs should exist and be structured around the students and provide not only quality education and training but support and experience.

The most important skills I have learned while working in the industry is observing how other teachers, tutors and lecturers perform in the classroom. Everyone has had a lesson to teach, a different drive for why they do


what they do and a unique way of looking at delivery and how to best engage the students while imparting the skills and the training for their course."

Madalaine believes the industry is headed into a different academic climate, with the Memorandum of Understanding between ASQA and TEQSA, she is hopeful there will be administrative and compliance effi ciencies for dual and multi-sector providers who are currently increasingly burdened by the changing regulatory environment. Madalaine hopes the quality of delivery will continue to improve, "though we currently run the risk of regulation stifl ing individuality in education and small providers who can provide unique courses and individual spins on training packages."

When asked what she feels are the weak points or mistakes made by some RTOs in the industry Madalaine feels "with the introduction of ASQA and a tightening of regulation, I believe the industry is facing a wave of RTOs who will focus their energy on compliance and standards. RTOs should look beyond these, to best practice and quality delivery, with a constant goal to better develop their programs, liaise further with industry and look to further the standards of the industry as a whole."

Madalaine believes the strongest aspect of the Whitehouse team is a belief in the creative industries and the importance of hand skills as fundamental building blocks on which to develop higher creative and design skills. "Vocational Education has always been an integral part of the Whitehouse and the creative industries rely on the skills and practical knowledge that are delivered through the training packages. What makes our courses so unique is the environment they are delivered in, with purpose built design campuses in the heart of the creative district in Sydney and Melbourne, we are able to offer studio environments allowing students to be supported whilst developing their skills. The staff that make up the Whitehouse team are a mix of academic, design and business orientated people which enables everyone to bring their own distinctive skills and industry views to the table and creates a constant atmosphere of development and improvement and provides broad knowledge bases for students to access."

Currently the Whitehouse Institute of Design is working on the expansion of their Vocational programs into remote and rural areas, from high school students to mature age students, to further expand the employment horizons for those in communities without the services and training facilities found in metropolitan areas. As a student, Madalaine studied in the New England area with little to no focus on tertiary design education, she is proud to be involved in developing these programs to reach out to those passionate about being part of the creative industries.

Madalaine believes the very best thing about working in this industry is meeting people from all walks of life, at different levels of education, coming together to learn about their shared interest or passion. "There have been so many people who have inspired and encouraged me into and through the industry, each imparting a little bit of wisdom and always with a sense of family and humour. I feel lucky to now be in a position to do the same for other young aspiring designers."

Madalaine believes that as a design educator, the most valuable "wisdom" she could share with everyone is to look outside of the box. "If you believe it can’t be done, look again from a different angle. Often there are solutions to problems that require you to get up and move. In a business though, I believe in ‘Vision, Values and Communication.’ As soon as an organisation has a leader with a vision, with values and who can communicate them, it makes it easier for the team to pick up and run with it."

Over the next 5 to 10 years Madalaine sees herself leading Vocational programs and continuing to look at new ways to expand the delivery of Vocational Design programs and high level industry involvement in developing courses with contemporary skill sets. "The creative industries are my life. I am fortunate to be able to both work in and be involved with the design community as a whole and look forward to making my own mark as a designer and trainer in the coming years."

We would like to congratulate Madalaine and all the VET in Schools staff at Whitehouse Institute of Design, Australia for their achievement and we look forward to watching their future success.

ACPET Excellence Awards, Special Commendation - VET in School awarded to Whitehouse Institute

of Design, Australia, Accepting the award is Ian Tudor, CEO


"Training without quality will not meet industry’s need, says Rod Cooke, CEO of the Community Services and Health Industry Skills

Council (CS&HISC)".

“Although the care industry doesn’t get the same coverage as other industries, work in community services and health job roles are experiencing a boom,” said Rod. But due to poor training methods over the past four years, industry has shown resistance in seeking VET qualifi ed workers to fi ll places.

A report into the quality of training in Children’s Service last month by the Sunday Herald Sun in Melbourne, cited the Victorian Children's Services Association in saying that (the quality of Certifi cate III and diploma graduates was) "so bad many children's services centres have fewer staff than they would like, rather than employing someone who is so poorly trained as to be a danger to the children".

“This is the most recent report of industry push-back that we’ve heard, but refl ects comments reported in the Productivity Commission’s papers on Aged Care, Disability, and Children’s Services in the past two years. Each report identifi ed the importance of addressing training quality in order to improve performance and reform, and to ensure consistent levels of vocational competency to reduce barriers to workforce development,” said Rod.

But what is Quality Training?

The Productivity Commission linked poor training quality to limited practical workplace training and experience, limited supervision when receiving on-the-job training, the experience and industry knowledge of trainers and the assessors, and overly short courses.

A simple rule-of-thumb on good practice vs poor quality that we’ve developed from industry feedback received looks like the following:

Good Practice Poor Quality

Employer and RTO collaboration and joint planning No employer engagement

Workplace learning and assessment to ensure industry-specifi c and practicals

No workplace learning or assessment

Mentoring and/or induction component No mentoring or induction in the workplace

Contextualised training, specifi c to learners and organisations needs

Non-contextualised training

Integrated core skill development in workplace training and assessment

Foundation competencies ignored, particularly LLN

Is Quality becoming a Barrier for your Organisation?


“Registered Training Organisations need to take on the board the need to fulfi l the requirements set out in the training packages, as well as deliver training that will meet employer and regulatory requirements. It is this interface with employers that is crucial to better training and the development of job-ready trainees. The way to achieve this is by developing the curriculum, delivery plan and assessment criteria in partnership with employers, so that training is contextualised to meet the learner’s and organisation’s needs.

“The best way to understand what can be done, is often to hear about what has been done".

“In western NSW, two organisations are setting the standard for raising quality in training through collaboration. Care West is a community based organisation that delivers a suite of key services including Aged Care, Disability, Indigenous Services

and Child and Family Services. It is a rapidly growing organisation, and has successfully gained funding for training of new and existing workers through a variety of government programs. In order to maximise this funding and ensure workforce development and sustained growth, Care West has developed a strong partnership with a local RTO, Skillset, to achieve specifi c, rapid responses to its training needs.

“Skillset and Care West are working collaboratively to identify training options for new workers. They are also involved in identifying training needs for existing workers to support them in adjusting to changes in job roles. With a key understanding of Care West’s core business and workforce development needs, Skillset is helping develop a responsive model to training delivery, enabling them to assist in the navigation of funding, and in effectively contextualising the training packages. Care West and Skillset have together developed a universal skills program, currently being

Is Quality becoming a Barrier for your Organisation?


piloted, that includes three units from the Certifi cate IV in Disability Services. With a strong emphasis on workplace learning and assessment, Skillset is delivering high quality training outcomes that ensure Care West has the workforce it needs, and is able to defi ne clear pathways for all its workers,” said Rod.

CS&HISC sees this collaborative approach as fundamental to resolving issues such as those raised by the Victorian Children's Services Association. Irrespective of the industry, it sees collaboration being the solution at a number of levels and in a variety of ways.

For our sectors in particular, we advocate several actions for improving quality in training that requires involvement by VET regulators, employers/workplaces, RTOs, trainees, and CS&HISC itself.

Regulators. Ensuring the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), Victorian and WA regulators and sector regulators such as the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) use clear indicators when reviewing and authorising licenses to RTOs with aged care, children’s services, allied health assisting roles and other care roles on their scope. CS&HISC is working with both agencies to help defi ne these indicators. Indicators would assist in identify both poorer and better practice by RTOs in the aged care sector, for instance. This would not necessarily mean making any changes to the regulatory process, but would support both authorities in managing risk and building industry engagement.

CS&HISC. Enhance the qualifi cations and competency standards within the training packages to specify and strengthen the need for training to include workplace experience and requiring assessment of competencies also in workplaces. We have already started our work on this by reviewing all 160 qualifi cations and 1,198 competency standards covered by the Community Services Training Package and the Health Training Package.

Employers. Workplaces need to open their doors to provide work experience to trainees, develop strong induction programs to support new staff and support work-based development, and establish a supervision and assessment schedule that includes an in-house training plan. Strengthening or mandating formal assessment of competency in the workplace will require a cultural change and an acknowledged employer role in the development of their employees as well as trainees.RTOs. Cultivate professional development support for RTOs to improve quality and incorporate ways for working with employers. CS&HISC will work with State/Territory training authorities and State/Territory Industry training advisory bodies to seek their support for implementing this support. RTOs need to ensure

they are using suitably qualifi ed trainers and assessors, and ensuring their industry currency is being maintained to improve curricula development and relevant delivery.

Learners. If you’re a worker or leaner about to undertake training – choose carefully. This is a message we give to all trainees who approach CS&HISC either through our website, at career expos or in conversations. We encourage all leaners to consider and investigate the employment outcomes advertised by the RTO, review their proposed program against other RTOs regarding cost and duration of the course, ask about the amount of supervisory support offered including fl exibility of delivery, and always check if there is work-based training and assessment included.

“Of course, this is only CS&HISCs view of world. We would like to start a wider debate on training quality and would appreciate hearing

your ideas and comments,” said Rod.

Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CS&HISC) supports Australia’s care sectors by helping set the direction for workforce development for the Community Services and Health industries by:

• Providing advice and intelligence so that decisions affecting our industries support the development and growth of our workforce and refl ect client needs

• Developing skills for the 800,000 vocationally educated and trained health and community services workers

• Supporting productivity, organisational and individual growth through workforce development

• Working in collaboration with State, Territory and Federal Government Advisory Bodies, unions, peak bodies, associations, State and Territory advisory boards and training providers to bridge the information gap on issues and activities impacting our workforce

CS&HISC is one of 11 national industry skills councils funded by the Australian Government. It is a not-for-profi t company limited by guarantee and governed by an independent and industry led Board of Directors.


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No doubt the title of this article will have many a business in a tizz and many a trainer will be wondering “What now?”

But let us look at this suggestion for a minute; “How do you know that the person standing in front of the class, on the screen or even via a pod cast actually knows the subject matter, has experience in the fi eld being taught or is delivering the course in accordance with realistic timeframes and adult learning capabilities?”

In the national print media recently there was an article regarding Child Care Centres sacking supposedly competent and qualifi ed staff with a Cert

III in Child Care, because they were found to have completed a course inside 8 weeks with no practical exposure to a child or infant? Would you want someone like that looking after your child or loved one based on a false belief that the person was actually trained and competent?

In NSW they recently had an ICAC investigation into an entire training Industry – Security. There was found to be considerable fraudulent training or no training at all and NRT qualifi cations were being handed out like confetti to all and sundry if their payments cleared. Hundreds, if not thousands of certifi cates were simply dispatched once the cheque cleared with little or no training, up skilling or competence


assessment. Does the person wearing the security uniform actually have the skills, knowledge and ability to perform the role competently? Could they help you in a crisis or are they more likely to be another rabbit in a headlight when the proverbial hits the fan?

So what about other industry areas, such as: Construction, HealthCare, Transport, Electricians, Plumbers, Bookkeepers, Business Management / Accounts, Public Safety and many more?

How can you be sure that the piece of paper that represents the student being deemed COMPETENT has actually been issued by a COMPETENT trainer /

training provider?

Up until now, the onus has been on the training provider to maintain quality systems designed to ensure that training being delivered is to the required standard and that trainers delivering on behalf of the provider are actually skilled, current, qualifi ed and experienced in the area they are assessing.

We have seen time and time again how some unscrupulous providers have rorted the system (whilst having a clear bill of health from an ASQA audit) and many now know how to play the paperwork game to overwhelm auditors in an attempt to hide these questionable practices.

By Damien Buckwell

Should All NRT VET

Trainers Be Regulated?


Is there a solution to this nightmare? Yes, there is…Registration for VET NRT Trainers with ASQA and relevant State and Federal Occupational licensing authorities.

Why All NRT VET Trainers Should Be Regulated?

Consider the ramifi cations to you or your loved ones by the actions or omissions of a person performing a task or function who doesn't fully understand a practical application of knowledge because they only ever dealt with theory.

Could you imagine dealing with a Doctor who only ever did theory in a class room and never actually had any clinical experience, hands on interaction with patients or medical apparatus…. would you want this Doctor looking after you or your loved ones??? I think not!!!

(Whilst we don't train Doctors under a NRT VET system {and be glad we don't}, the potential liability for issues like this to occur in VET training is just as high)

All Primary, Secondary and Higher Education teachers and trainers are required to be registered with a State or Federal Body whereby their ‘licence’ to train or teach is kept on record. They are required in many cases to maintain their own professional competence and provide evidence of such at time of registration renewal.

This allows for a record to be kept independently of a College, School or University which further puts the obligation back on the teacher or trainer to ensure that they are fully conversant with the requirements, skills, continuing professional development and VET industry knowledge.

Not every one meets the criteria for selection to become a Policeman or a Fireman and by the same token; not everyone should become a trainer. Registration of QUALIFED, COMPETENT trainers will eliminate a raft of problems occurring now and no doubt into the future by ensuring that only those meeting the Registration criteria can actually be employed, train and assess people that results in a NRT VET qualifi cation.

In having all NRT VET trainers registered and accredited to deliver training and assessment in their nominated fi elds; employers, Regulators and end users of the system could check the experience, validity and currency of a trainer.

Trainers could simply supply their registration number to ASQA during an audit instead of having to pull out cumbersome C.V’s / resumes, as the registration would list all current qualifi cations and CPD

undertaken within last 12 months.

New Trainers to the VET industry can be monitored to ensure that they are receiving CPD and mentoring rather than just being stuck up in front of a student with a PowerPoint presentation and a checklist of mandatory paperwork that has to be fi nished in the session they are delivering.

Experienced and Professional trainers (the ones who do CPD off their own back, the ones who look for current industry trends and developments to bring to their training delivery etc.) can rest assured that the registration system will eliminate bad apples and inferior trainers and assessors who will not meet registration criteria designed to weed out the ‘real’ trainers and assessors from the ‘blow-ins’.

Experienced and Professional Training Providers can rest assured that the trainer or assessor they have hired has been scrutinised by a third party and actually has the necessary skills, abilities and knowledge to train and assess your end users in accordance with quality training outcomes which benefi ts the entire country.

This process will inturn discourage the “fl y-by-nighters” or “the-ma-hat-ma-coats” (once they take your money, you don't see their hats or coats again) for attempting to operate as they would be required to advise ASQA of the registration numbers of the trainers / assessors they are going to employ on their behalf.

No one who has a registration as a Trainer / Assessor in your nominated fi elds would risk damage to that registration in order to facilitate dodgy practices at an RTO (or at least not those who are professional trainers and assessors)

So do we really need to have all trainers and assessors involved in NRT / VET training registered by some independent third party or even ASQA?

My suggestion is YES.

The evidence that this may soon be the way is mounting and it will only be a matter of time

before registration of trainers and assessors in the NRT / VET industry becomes a mandated

requirement.

At least if the NRT / VET industry takes the step now they may get some input into how the registration process might work; before

they are told how it will be.

Food for thought or is it coming to a menu near you soon?


A Daily D� e Of Sanity

Alan h. Cohen is the author

of 18 popular inspirational

titles, including the "Dragon Doesn't Live

Here Anymore" and "Dare To

Be Yourself". A frequent guest

on television and radio, he conducts

life mastery seminars in Hawaii and on-line, and is an acclaimed

keynote speaker for educational,

health, church and corporate groups. He lives on Maui,

Hawaii.

A � ve-Minute Soul Recharge For Every Day Of � e Year


This one, a daily dose of sanity, is precisely what the sub-title promises “a five-minute soul recharge for every day of the year.”

Being In Integrity

You are in integrity when what you are doing on the outside matches who you are on the inside. Do not second-guess yourself, let guilt undermine your joy, or wonder if you should be somewhere else. Either do it with a whole heart or do not do it. Be total, when you are total: it is good; and when you are divided, it is evil. Divided you suffer; united, you dance, you sing, you celebrate and it is not a question of which part you follow, it is a question of whether you go totally into it or not. To be total in your action brings joy. Even an ordinary, trivial action done with total intensity brings a glow to your being a fulfilment, fullness, a deep contentment and anything done half-heartedly, however good the thing may be, is going to bring misery. Buddha echoes this goodness. He tells us: “if anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart”.

Blink!

Locking someone into your penetrating, unblinking gaze isn’t intimacy; it’s more like walking up to someone you have never met and shoving your hands in their pants. True intimacy involves respecting social norms and healthy boundaries while allowing a true connection to form over time rather than trying to prove your spiritual superiority through unblinking stares.

The Voice That Keeps Knocking

The difference between those who move the world forward and those who stay stuck in a furrow is that the world movers trust the

voice that keeps knocking, and they act on it. You can and will be among the movers if you listen to the persistent call of greatness and move with it. We all have a little voice that comes knocking. The question is, will we answer it? To refuse the call means stagnation. What you don’t experience positively you will experience negatively. According to Jesus, if you bring forth what is inside you, it will save you. If you don’t bring forth what is inside you, then it will destroy you.

Replicate Yourself

“Insist on yourself; never imitate”

The best way to be more like me is to be more like yourself. This brilliant answer contains the wisdom of a lifetime! If you are trying to imitate someone else’s greatness, you have missed the point of greatness. The secret is to find your own unique style and talents and bring them forth. No one has ever attained mastery by replicating another. The truly great simply replicate themselves. Our own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous, half possession that which each can do best, none but his maker can teach him. No man yet knows what it is, nor can, till that person has exhibited it. Every great man is unique. The scipionism of scipio is precisely that part he could not borrow. Do that which is assigned to you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. You will always be the second best anyone else.

Go For The Light Inside

When asked how to remain an individual in the face of great commercialism, Bradbury

suggested, “You just live your life and write your stories. If you set out to write a bestseller, it can’t be done. People who try to make a name for themselves are usually surpassed by people authentically expressing their joy and talents”. Those who live to see their name in lights usually miss the light within themselves. They place fame and glory at the top of the ladder of success and overlook personal satisfaction and creative expression. People who sweat to become stars rarely do, while those who live to share their gifts and enjoy the ride often find their way to the upper echelons of success. The Fact is, when you obsess about achieving some extraordinary level of fame or power or whatever, you’re less likely to get it and perhaps most tragically, you’re also less likely to ever discover and live with abiding happiness. Science unequivocally shows us that those who go after the fame, wealth, beauty and other external markers of success are significantly less psychologically stable than those who focus on deeper relationships, personal growth, making a contribution and simply expressing themselves authentically the intrinsic stuff we want to pay attention to that leads to fulfilment.

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.

Inner Critics & Inner Fan Clubs

Fire your inner critic and reinstate your inner fan club. It’s time to promote your inner fan club to the most important job in your head. Anger is fear under pressure behind every angry upset there is a fear. If you attempt to deal with anger at the level of anger alone by either venting it or repressing


it, you are manipulating the symptom without addressing the cause. If you can discover the fear behind the anger and dismantle it in the light of awareness, the anger dissipates. The next time you are angry, ask yourself, what am i afraid of? Odds are the inner critic running the show and creating compelling visuals of all the things that will go wrong in your life. The fear that bubbles up in anger, is usually about something unrelated to whatever it is you’re supposedly so upset about. Next time you’re feeling angry, check in and see if you can identify what you’re afraid of. As it is said, if we can discover the fear behind the anger and dismantle it in the light of awareness, the anger dissipates.

Mastering Love

Psychic self-injury is neither heroic nor practical. You cannot say that you have mastered love until you include yourself in its embrace. If you make everyone in your life happy but yourself, you have missed the point of living and loving. Self-honouring is the beginning of true service. When you practice self-nurturing, others around you will catch the energy and you will create a wave of well-being that far supersedes the illusory benefits of self-sacrifice. Do not do anything to yourself that you would not wish on anyone else. Instead, do everything for yourself that you would do to make others happy and you will see that the world will be a happier place for everyone. Ayn Rand quotes that we cannot say I love you until we can say the “I”. Follow this platinum rule, to our moral code: 'do not do unto yourself what you would not do unto others'. When the Dalai Lama was then asked to clarify whether indeed the object of compassion may be the self, he responded “yourself first, and then in a more advanced way the

aspiration will embrace others. In a way, high levels of compassion are nothing but an advanced state of that self-interest. That’s why it is hard for people who have a strong sense of self-hatred to have genuine compassion toward others. There is no anchor, no basis to start from.” Here’s to including ourselves in our loving embrace and remembering to rock the platinum rule as we remember to love ourselves first.

Are you getting all freaked out by boggarts?

It’s time to grab your wand and get your inner wizard on with your “riddikulus!” Charm.

Riddikulus!

The Film “Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban” depicts a group of young wizards in training standing before an imposing armoire, a boggart box which contains terrifying shape-shifters assuming the form of whatever a person fears the most. Luckily, instructs Professor Lupin, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart: “riddikulus!” After the students practice the chant, the professor explains that what really finishes a boggart off is laughter. One by one the boggarts come forth, and when the students proclaim them “riddikulus!” And laugh at them; they shrink to humorous, non-threatening forms. Bamboo & You

Bamboo is a fascinating plant, the fastest growing in the world.

A bamboo stalk can grow six inches or more in one day, I know a fellow who swore he actually saw it growing. One of the clever adaptive qualities of bamboo is that it grows its leaves in the summer and its roots in the winter. It takes advantage of each season, and while it appears dormant, it is not. The roots grown in winter prepare for rapid branch and leaf development in summer. We, too, go through seasons, all of which afford us opportunities for different kinds of growth. In a prosperous economic season, there is a lot of building and external expansion. When an economic winter comes, with little activity in the outer world, that is the time for inner deepening. We all go through seasons and be like the bamboo and take advantage of every season as you develop your roots and get ready for your next phase of rocking life.

Wisdom at it’s Best!!

“Consider a question you are wondering about. If you knew the answer, what would it be?”

~ Alan Cohen

“When you discover your mission, you will feel its

demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning

desire to get to work on it.” ~ W. Clement Stone

“If you are struggling, stop and ask yourself how you would

proceed if you made creative self-expression the platform for your vocation rather than

ambition for glory.” ~ Alan Cohen

“Choose to live, rather than study how to live.”~ Alan Cohen

“The record books never list the score at halftime.” ~ Source

unknown


Tech Tools

Featured this Month -

Smartsheet is an online project management and collaboration tool that offers a host of work management applications for users. The applications include the capabilities to manage and track projects, sales activities, marketing, human resources, and more – online, from a single login for your convenience. Not only those, Smartsheet also offers paid crowd sourcing capability – having people to work on your project simultaneously, allowing you to fi nish your project faster with quality.

Smartsheet will also send you regular updates for individual tasks. Project management is complex, but Smartsheet is simple. The best thing about Smartsheet is that it can be used to poll other people about tasks, but they don't have to sign up for Smartsheet because they can use it directly. This is a well thought-out project management system, worth a try by anyone who's ever kept a list of things to do in Excel.

Smartsheet Integration

Google Apps and Google Accounts Sign-In: Integrated sign-in enables Google Accounts and Google Apps users to sign up or log in to Smartsheet using their existing Google credentials.

Google Docs: Native support for attaching, importing from, and exporting to Google Docs.

Zimbra: Embedded within Zimbra Collaboration suite, integration with Zimbra Contacts, Calendar, and Briefcase.

Live Work: Smartsheet serves as a workfl ow engine to Live Work crowd sourcing platform.

Amazon Web Services: S3, Cloud Front, and Mechanical Turk are utilised to deliver secure fi le storage, web acceleration, and crowd sourcing on a global basis.


How to get started with Smartsheet?

To start using Smartsheet solutions, you need to sign up fi rst. Unfortunately, Smartsheet is not free – However, their service plans are attractive at affordable price tags, starting from $15.95/month for “Professional” version to a custom fi t plan for “Enterprise” version. The higher level the plan, the more features you can get, such as more sheets, more storage capacity, more “sheet creators” access, better support, and many more benefi ts. Smartsheet offers free 30-day trial. Smartsheet claims that the sign up process only takes 60 seconds to complete. All you need to enter is your email address. You can cancel your account anytime, at your convenience.

Inside your account for the fi rst time, you will be provided tutorials on how to get started – the tutorials are very helpful. Smartsheet – it’s very simple to use.

You fi rst step would be to create a sheet. In Smartsheet, your work is organised as “sheets”; a sheet stores your information, such as a project, an event plan, a list, etc.

To create your sheet, you can choose from dozens of templates, such as project management, team task lists and many more. You can preview your template before start using it. You can save your created sheets for your personal use and/or share them as public templates for other users to benefi t from.

How is Smartsheet different from other

solutions?

Works in Minutes – Smartsheet looks and feels like a

spreadsheet, a concept that's familiar to many. With no

training necessary, your team will be collaborating in no

time.

Works for Your Projects - Whether you manage projects

in sales, marketing, engineering, operations, events or

anything in between, Smartsheet is fl exible, helping you

manage any kind of work.

Works Where You Do – Smartsheet is safe and secure in

the cloud. With nothing to download or install, you can

conveniently access projects from your desktop, laptop,

smart phone or tablet.

Works with Other Apps - No one needs another

"standalone" app. With a single sign-on, you'll be using

Smartsheet along with many of the most popular web

apps on the market i.e. Instant productivity.

Use of Smartsheet

Project Management


Sales and Leads Management

Task Management


Marketing

HR Management

Possible Uses of Smartsheet in RTO Sector

• Smartsheet can be used to monitor class sizes which is benefi cial for the trainers.

• Nationality counts for students admissions and classes can be tracked with the help of Smartsheet.

• Manage annual budgeting and performance review processes

• Smartsheet can be used as a Bulletin Board for the admin staff and any important notifi cation can displayed there. For Ex:- It can also be used to display a list of public holidays.

• Smartsheet can be used for an ‘Open day’ list of attendees or even ‘Study tours’ list of students for a set tour, etc.

• Maintain teacher and curriculum credentials and paperwork

• Smartsheet can be used to maintain a list of lead students i.e. students who have shown interest in some courses but have not enrolled yet.

• Set alerts and notifi cations so as information is changed or milestones met, team members are notifi ed

• Upload fi les, including Google docs or links, and send a link to the fi le via e-mail for easy updating


RTO Success Magazine was an exhibitor at the recent ACPET 2012 Conference. We were able to catch up with some of our subscribers as well as other friends within the industry that we haven't seen for a while.

The feedback from subscribers and RTOs who have received a complimentary copy of the magazine was lovely and some great ideas were received. We have also met some interested contributors and we hope to bring you some of their articles in the coming months.

If you have never been to an ACPET conference these pictures will give you an idea of what it's like. The conference was over 2 days and the flow of their program was very well done. Some of the presentations included:

ACPET 2012 CONFERENCE


Reinvigorating your business for future prosperity - Michael Pascoe, Economics Commentator

More than competent: Does VET have a role to play in productivity? - Rod Cooke, CEO, Community Services & Health Industry Skills Council

Managing quality in a diversifi ed training sector - Bruce Callaghan, Managing Director, BCA National Training Group


Benchmarking international student satisfaction (ACPET ISB survey results) - Ingeborg Loon, International Engagement Manager & Executive Offi cer (ACT), ACPET Kevin Brett, Director, i-graduate Australia

Beyond standards - towards excellence - Ian Tudor, CEO, Whitehouse Institute of Design

A unique approach to Work Integrated Learning: meeting Industry, Teaching and Regulatory needs - Carmen Maria Pavia, Academic Director, Kenvale College


On day one there was a Welcome reception held down at the Italian Village, The Rocks. On day two after the close of the conference there was the conference dinner and ACPET Awards for Excellence.

We thoroughly enjoyed the conference and are looking forward to the 2013 conference.


In a competitive marketplace, leading RTOs have found

raising their revenue per student is the key to having

more marketing options, and greater ability to deliver a

better experience.

Last year I attended a marketing conference in the

USA held by well-known marketer Dan Kennedy. And

as you might expect, the seminar itself was a lesson in

maximising revenue from each customer, using a variety

of creative methods.

The reason why this concept is crucial to RTOs is

this: marketing and particularly online marketing is

competitive. 'Pay Per Click' click costs are rising. SEO is

more competitive and you have to put in more effort for

the same results. Social media websites are “noisy”, with

everyone vying for the attention of potential students.

If your value per student is “average”, then the only edge

you have is being incrementally better at customer

acquisition tactics. Online, this could mean your ads

have a slightly higher click through rate or your landing

pages get a slightly higher conversion rate than your

competitors.

These things are all good things, but ultimately you’re still

playing the same game as your competitors. In order to

leap ahead, you need to change the game.

Maximising REVENUE PER STUDENT


One potential game changer is to boost the economics of

your business. If each student is worth 2X or 3X more to

you than they are to your competitors, a 10% rise in click

costs isn’t going to ruffl e your feathers. You’ll still have

profi t left over, while your competitors are struggling to

break even.

Back to the Dan Kennedy seminar.

At most seminars, the extent of the transactional model

is: “Sell the seminar tickets... maybe allow some or all

speakers to sell from stage... possibly promote a higher-

end product or service at the end".

Here are some of the things Dan Kennedy did differently

in order to maximise customer value:

The seminar fee was around $2,000, with ascending

levels of discount depending on continuity program

membership level ($500 discount for Tier 3, $800 for Tier

2, $1,200 for Tier 1 etc.)

There was an option to attend a Bonus Day for $297

to $597, again depending on membership level. The

psychology here is: "it's easier to sell a 3 Day + 1 Day

seminar for $1,500 + $400, than it is to sell a 4-day

Seminar for $1,900".

There was an option to bring up to two guests at $597

apiece.

Prior to the seminar, Special Offer to acquire a recently

promoted $2,000 training program for $500 (adding

profi t and also increasing client “stickiness”).

They conducted multiple marketing campaigns to

different customer segments, resulting in 1,200 paid

attendees.

There was a catalogue of products sold at a booth

at the back of the room, staffed by knowledgeable

salespeople, trained in selling. Products ranged from $15

book through to individual courses, discounted bundles

and even an $11,000 “Whole Enchilada” package.

There was a product catalogue included in the Seminar

“showbag”, including a “30% Seminar-Only Discount”

Multi-speaker format. Some were “No Pitch”. Others

were high-quality, actionable content with a pitch for

more advanced follow-up training or services.

Exhibitor Hall (additional profi t stream), featuring

generally high-quality exhibitors with offerings highly

relevant to the audience.

Some higher-profi le endorsements of specifi c

exhibitors' products or services.

Order forms for DVD recordings of the 3-day event for

$397. Separate DVD order forms for the Bonus Day for

$97.

Reception and networking function for members of a

$99/month membership program, with the option to join

onsite.

Special “Diamond Lounge” for higher-level members:

a highly visible “perk” of membership and impetus for

upgrade.

Pitch to join high-level Mastermind Group (6 days per

year, $28,000).

Pre-sales for next year's event at a deep discount.

Now that's how you turn a 7-fi gure seminar, into an

8-fi gure seminar, and have your customers and clients

love you for it.

I know what you may be thinking: “Yes, but I’m a RTO. I’m

not in the seminar business.”

Even so, the same principles can apply:

• Do you offer “levels” for each course?

• Do you offer any continuity support services such

as newsletters, membership sites or coaching?

• Do you promote advanced courses or

complementary courses systematically to existing

students?

• What perks and benefi ts do you offer your best

students?

• And so on.

The willingness to challenge convention and

creatively adopt new thinking is the key to surviving

and thriving as an RTO.


THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANTby John G. Saxe

It was six wise men of Hindustan, to learning much inclined,who went to see the elephant (though all of them were blind)

that each by observation might satisfy his mind. The fi rst approached the elephant, and happening to fallagainst his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:

“Oh bless me! But the elephant is very like a wall!”The second, feeling of the tusk, cried, “Ho! What have we here?So very round and smooth and sharp! To me ‘tis mighty clear

this wonder of an elephant is very like a spear!”The third approached the animal, and happening to take

the squirming trunk within his hands, thus boldly up and spake:“I see", quoth he, “the elephant is very like a snake!”

The fourth reached out his eager hand, and felt about the knee,“what most this wondrous beast is like is mighty plain,” quoth he;

“‘Tis clear enough the elephant is very like a tree!”The fi fth, who chanced to touch the ear, said, “E’en the blindest man

can tell what this resembles most; deny the fact who can,this marvel of an elephant is very like a fan!”

The sixth no sooner had begun about the beast to grope,than, seizing on the swinging tail that fell within his scope,

“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant is very like a rope!”And so these men of Hindustan disputed loud and long,

each in his own opinion exceeding stiff and strong,though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!

19th century poet JG Saxe created his own version of an ancient Indian story which has, for centuries, been used to illustrate a range of truths and fallacies. The story of the six blind men and an elephant has provided insight into the relativism, opaqueness or inexpressible nature of truth, the behaviour of experts in fi elds where there is a defi cit or inaccessibility of information, the need for communication, and respect for different perspectives. It is a parable that has crossed between many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu lore. The tale is also well known in Europe. "Six blind men each grab hold of a different part of the great beast and, based on their limited experience of a part, pontifi cates on the whole. Funny, if it weren’t so counterproductive".

The relevance to Education and Training, “to learning much inclined”?

Sometimes, Higher Education and VET behave similarly with respect to each other. Not that they’re actually blind in real life. Just sometimes unwilling to appreciate the contribution made by the other; in frequent competition with and

Of Elephants, Education and Trainingby Kerry Gubb


disparagement of each other. Having grabbed the AQF by an ear, or a tail, or a leg. Disputing loud and long, each in their own opinion exceeding stiff and strong. Each partly right, each wrong, because of failure to appreciate the contribution of the other.

Pity, really, given that they’re supposed to function as two arms of the one body. When human limbs can’t work together we deem the person to be “unco” – uncoordinated. Perhaps even dysfunctional. This is not a universal problem, thankfully. It’s defi nitely on the wane, which is encouraging. Increasingly, we receive email date-claimers for PD events which bring together valuable input and collaboration from both Higher Education and VET … on the same program. Brilliant!

And yet, we’ve all heard it. Every now and then, somebody from VET takes a swipe at the “impracticality of Higher Education” … or an academic remarks on VET “as distinct from real education”. Sometimes, the philosophical rift is conveyed with such passion, one wonders if the twain can ever totally meet (much less marry) under the same umbrella. But that’s the underpinning principle of the AQF: a single national integrated standard. But not all the players are, inclined in that direction. Funny, if it weren’t so counterproductive. Shades of the blind men and the elephant.

Classic example: “Authentic Assessment” – assessment situated within the learner’s real-world life experience (such as the workplace), reinforcing the content with direct life relevance in order to ensure transfer and retention – reframing assessment as a learning experience in itself. It doesn’t get much better than this! Higher Education has relatively recently begun to adopt authentic assessment – because it’s only recently begun to appreciate the benefi ts. Yet this has been at the very core of VET assessment since the year dot. For some, this has served as grist to the mill, to justify and reinforce the impracticality view that some in VET still have toward Higher Education. If only we’d been conferring more …

Classic counter-example: “Training To The Test” – training just enough to get a learner over the line and not much more. In a milieu where “Competent” and “Not Yet Competent” are the only two results, in which so many busy managers still view training time in terms of lost productivity, in which so many learners need the qualifi cation but are training under sufferance, “TrainingTo The Test” is a massive potential pitfall in VET. Add to that the number of erstwhile cowboy operators, most of them now out of business, offering cheap, suspect weekend certifi cates and

diplomas. It takes a lot longer to restore a sector’s reputation than to destroy it. For some, this has served, to justify and reinforce the dodgy standards view that some in Higher Education still have toward VET. Yes – we have safeguards in place like repetition and consistency over time. But VET could probably learn something from Higher Education about adequate rigour in assessment. If only we’d been conferring more …

If the AQF could, for a moment, be likened to an elephant … and if our individual places in its grand scheme put us closer to an ear than a tail – or the trunk than a leg – we can nonetheless function more effectively if we communicate and share and value each other. Better still, if we supersede functional blindness and seek through cooperation to appreciate the whole beast! Some always have. And thankfully, we’re all starting to. Recent fi rst-class examples of this collaboration have been QVDC’s Assessment eHub; Digital Capability’s Program: Is Your Training Organisation NBN Ready? and the Australian Flexible Learning Network’s e-Startup program.

The fact is that VET and Higher Education live in the same world. And that world is rapidly changing. Paradigms in Education: Shift Happens

Building on LeGrew (1995) and Schuyler (2000) , the table below poses some food-for-thought: different valid perspectives of societal paradigm shifts in practice, policy and direction. You may not agree with every one of them.

Intrinsically, higher education will necessarily deal somewhat differently with paradigm shifts than does VET. That’s not a problem. Indeed, it’s highly desirable. We’re not all “tradies” and we’re not all “knowledge workers”. So we needn’t function as rivals. We each make our valuable contribution in a different sector of a composite whole which is as effective as its cooperating elements enable it to be. Or as ineffective as its competing factions hobble it.

Consider the items in each column as complementing the other. Each can stand on its own as a valid response to shifting paradigms. But each would be that much more effective if it collaborates or, at the very least, allows itself to be informed by – if not modifi ed by – the other. Generalisations, admittedly, but certainly not right vs wrong; just different, in most cases – helping ensure that the complete AQF covers as many of the bases as possible in the process of educating and skilling the nation:


HIGHER EDUCATION Responding to a shift from …

VET Always had – and still has – a pragmatic, here-and-now orientation:

• Industrial society to information society.

• But we still need tradesmen.

• Technology as peripheral to multimedia as central.

• Technology comes easier to younger than older (re-skilling) workers who form a large percentage of currently enrolled trainees.

• Once-only education to life-long learning.

• Yet many VET learners are in training programs out of obligation.

• Fixed curriculum to fl exible curriculum. • With AQF mandates requiring very specifi c outcomes for particular qualifi cations, how “fl exible” can training afford to be? Perhaps better instructional design and more creative assessment tools and consultation with auditors?

• Institutional focus to learner focus. • RTO’s can respond to this – but employers will need to cooperate.

• Self-contained learning to partnerships. • Collaboration is eminently workable in learning activities – but ultimately, qualifi cations are issued to individuals, not partnerships.

• Local focus to global networking. • The interests of VET trainees rarely surpass immediate requirements.

• Focusing on instruction to focusing on learning.

• Real-world time constraints in training suggest collaboration with employers and those who mandate the elements within competencies.

• People studying primarily while young to studying at different times throughout their lives.

• Includes re-skilling, upgrading, RPL and retaining older workers.

• Static knowledge and curricula to development so rapid that learning is dating very quickly.

• Training packages are revised – but are these revisions keeping up with real-world developments? Perhaps more consultation with auditors.

• Learning primarily of content to learning how to learn as just as important, if not more important.

• Learning how to learn is important to stay current. So is content, particularly in matters of OHS. 240V can always kill you – and poorly-soldered pipes under pressure can still burst.

• Institutional learning to learning highly integrated into the workforce and society.

• Management needs to learn (and make decisions congruent with realising) that training is a desirable investment – not a necessary evil (cost). This would accelerate such integration and transform workplace ethos.

• Objective to constructed conceptions of knowledge and learning.

• Let’s keep our feet on the ground in terms of practicality, particularly (see above) in matters of OHS.

• Teacher-only to greater use of technologically mediated process in communication and learning

• This is gradually increasing with use of tablets, internet research & referencing and – the biggie – establishing eLearning and eAssessment platforms with VET-specifi c applications

The point of the AQF is that Education and Training together comprise the ultimate package to enhance the country’s current workforce and ensure the quality of its future.

The elephant in Saxe’s poem was experienced and argued over by six blind men. Here, we’ve applied the principle to just two: Higher Education and VET. Life’s not always that binary, though, is it? Are there any other potential players in the quest for cooperation? Of course! There are employers, accountants (who infl uence training budget allocations), ASQA auditors, the people who assembled the original AQF elephant and those who might be charged with keeping it current and effective.

None of us has the whole picture, though at times each of us is tempted to think we do. If you take nothing else away from reading this piece other than “We’re in this together”, then mission accomplished.


Latest discussions, know-how and trends- participate and be informedThe ultimate forum website open for all in the VET Industry. An online resource dedicated to RTO’s of

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Inspire MEFeatured this month –

Daystar works with children from early childhood throughout their education to help increase their connection to school. Working with some of the lowest socio-economic schools in South West Sydney, helps them in developing in-school education programs to help children stay at school longer, have a positive school experience and ultimately increase their life opportunities.

"Daystar is committed to early intervention of youth problems."

This is accomplished by linking schools, families and communities; and mobilising resources in the form of

money, services, goods and volunteer time with a clear message that everyone can make a difference. They

have created community environments to help children stay at school longer, have a positive school experience and ultimately increase their life opportunities. They are committed to working collaboratively with communities

in order to create supportive environments that encourage children to engage in their education, there by empowering

them to make informed life choices.

What They Do?

Safeguarding Children Accreditation & Daystar’s BLAST Programs

The Safeguarding Children Program is a unique voluntary accreditation scheme for organisations that have a duty of care to children and young people whilst delivering a service or activity to them and/or their families. This Accreditation demonstrates that Daystar has achieved and maintained best practice standards for protecting children and young people from abuse and exploitation whilst they participate in our services and programs.

Daystar Foundation's Before, Lunchtime, After School Transformation (BLAST) Programs currently run in 15 schools in South West Sydney. Daystar continues to strive to meet the demand from other schools which have a need for their in-school programs. Daystar's BLAST Programs are Breakfast Club, Literacy Buddies, Garden Club, Music Club, Homework Club and Basic Needs Drives.


"The program provides a great way for Zurich's employees to make a real difference in the lives of young children from

disadvantaged schools... great relationships are formed between the buddies over the year." - Alice Cahill, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Zurich Financial Services Australia.

Daystar provides breakfast each school week for around 3700 children at 14 schools in South West Sydney. They believe that children who eat breakfast are more likely to attend school, be better behaved and have positive interactions with fellow students and teachers. Skipping breakfast adversely affects a child's ability to concentrate at school, their social behaviour and physical development. And hence Daystar works with volunteers from the community including parents and school staff, together with their corporate partners to run their Breakfast Clubs each school day.

One local school conducted a survey of students' families in mid 2006 to determine how many children regularly ate breakfast, and what they ate. The survey revealed that nearly 70 percent of children were not eating a healthy breakfast, and that the staple diet of most children at the school was a "soup in a cup". Recently at Breakfast Club at Sarah Redfer High School, Daystart began providing basic lunch items for students to make their own lunches in the morning.

Daystar felt compelled to act after reading a Macarthur Chronicle article on 5 February 2007, which stated "The Macarthur region of South West Sydney has one of the highest rates of obesity in NSW" and also hearing Professor Andrew McDonald, (former) Head of Paediatrics at Campbelltown Hospital state, "This generation of children is likely to be the fi rst to die before their parents". McDonald's comment is directly correlated to the

problem of obesity resulting from poor lifestyle choices and eating habits. It is this problem which Daystar seeks to address through its Garden Club.

"One of my students was suspended for four consecutive terms - mainly due to chair throwing and window smashing in class. Since his participation in Garden Club, his is into his third terms without a further suspension. Garden Club has

been the single biggest infl uence in calming his behaviour." – Teacher Claymore Public School

The focus of our Garden Club is their Organic Produce Gardens which they are now operating in eight schools teaching children how to construct garden beds, plant seedlings and care for the growing plants.

What Did They Achieve?

Through their Organic Produce Gardens, they are already seeing an impact on the food choices of students who participate in Garden Club - many are eating 'green' for the fi rst time; a number of students have established produce gardens at home; and some are taking food home to eat. Some Garden Clubs are selling the produce to their school canteen, using the funds generated to buy further seedlings for replanting. This initiative not only introduces the children to some basic business principles it also contributes towards the gardens becoming self-funding and therefore sustainable.

Students are loving the experience, and at a very basic level are understanding that not all food comes in plastic wrapping, although one student did comment "you can't eat that, it's got dirt on it".

Claymore Public School Deputy Principal, Tina Crocker, actively teaches students in Garden Club. She is thrilled with the program and the progression students have made, "Students who two months ago would not eat a fresh bean, now cannot wait to get out of the classroom to pick a bean to eat. I have seen confi dence build as students learn something they can teach their parents and their friends. If we can teach this generation about healthy eating, we have the opportunity to break what is a generational problem; we can break the cycle."

Because they don’t have horticulturists in their staff, they rely on the support of their collaborative partners: Sydney Botanical Gardens Trust and The Macarthur Centre For Sustainable Living.

morning.


Literacy Buddies is an in-school program which involves over 800 corporate volunteer and student buddies. Each month students write letters (in class) to their corporate ‘buddies’, with the aim to encourage reading and writing, and to provide interaction with positive adult role models.

What are their Aims?

They aim to:

• Enhance students’ literacy skills

• Establish a friendship between the student and corporate role models

• Assist students in their learning and personal development

• Engage students in a creative, personal and meaningful program

• Raise awareness in the corporate community of issues that students may face

• Provide corporate volunteers with the opportunity to give back to the community by making a difference in a child's life

• Engage corporate volunteers in a program that can make a real difference without taking too much time from their busy schedules (less than 15 minutes a month!)

• Provide an opportunity for corporate employees to meet people from within their own organisation who they might not come across in their day-to-day job role

• Help improve staff morale at corporate organisations

"The talent some of these children posses is second to none. I expect some students will achieve great musical heights in their future. Without Daystar such talent may

never have been discovered and developed." - Alan Caswell Music Teacher

There are two elements to Daystar’s Music Club - providing a music teacher to teach musically talented students where the school is unable to fund its own teacher; and providing music therapy to assist intellectually disabled and emotionally disturbed students to improve their communication and cognitive skills.

What Did They Achieve?

The first impact of the program is the reduction in truancy and absenteeism, as all students turn up for school on the day they attend music therapy! Other results to date are very encouraging with therapists and teachers seeing improvement.

1 They got third place in The Australian Schools Song writing Competition and won certificates for the boys involved as well as several hundred dollars worth of musical equipment for the Music Club. These boys, who had never received any awards at end of year ceremonies, were paraded before the school and community. These young people were not only seen as winners but it has empowered them to create and reach for higher goals.

2 Two Music Club members have moved to other schools as a direct result of their Music Club experience.

3 One student won a scholarship to Macarthur Anglican College to receive further expert tuition as a guitarist.

4 The other was invited by Campbelltown Performing Arts High School to take up an offer to join the vocal class full time; according to Sarah Redfern High School’s Principal he is the first student to be offered a place without an audition.

5 Two members of Music Club also went on to become the Head and Vice Head of Sarah Redfern High School in 2008..


6 The Vice Head also won an AFS scholarship to study flamenco guitar in Spain and has recorded an album with 7-times Golden Guitar winner Alan Caswell.

7 An increase in each student’s success in forming relationships - between student and therapist, student and teacher and between the students themselves.

8 A building or strengthening in each student’s experience of self-regulation, listening and concentration, expressing their emotions and feelings as well as self-esteem and self-confidence - teachers have noticed students are staying on task longer resulting in improved work quality.

9 An increase in the students’ social skills in the areas of tolerance and co-operation.

Daystar recognises that for many students, their basic needs are not met. To address this issue Daystar provides essentials such as toiletries, towels, Winter clothing, food items and stationery to children and families in need. They also provide financial assistance to the schools from time to time to enable a special experience for students. At present Daystar provides this service on an ad-hoc basis following requests from families or identification of such needs by Daystar volunteers.

The local community and some of our corporate partners support our Basic Needs Drives as required.

• Food items - non-perishable food to feed students and their families

• Back to School Backpacks for students which included essential stationery items and a dictionary

• Winter Woollies appeals with donations of socks, blankets, jumpers and the like

• Mother's Day donations so students have presents for their Mums on Mother's Day • Hundreds of dollars worth of general stationery items used in Homework Club and given to the schools

For Campbellfield Public School, Daystar provided a financial contribution to enable the engagement of a major Aboriginal Dance Troupe to help all the children celebrate National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) week.

Homework Club currently operates from two schools, Sarah Redfern High School and Sarah Redfern Public School. The High School also caters for students from Campbellfield Public School, Minto Primary School and The Grange Primary School. Sadly, many children do not have suitable home environments in which to study. Many parents do not support their children to do homework. Through Homework Club they have achieved steady improvement of student’s performance.

How Do They Work?

Corporate supporters

The following corporate, professional services, private trusts and foundations have provided funding, volunteers and/or gifts-in-kind which Daystar is currently drawing on to run its BLAST Programs.


Community Organisations

At Daystar Foundation our commitment is to provide services that help our children and young people engage in their education. Where we do not have the specific skills required to deliver what is needed we collaborate with other not-for-profits that do. In all cases Daystar acts as the conjoint to reach students through schools thus enabling specialised community organisations to share their skills and improve educational outcomes for our children and young people.

How Can You Help?

Make a Donation

During Winter Daystar provides much-needed basic needs such as blankets, socks, jumpers and tinned food to families in need. Your donation will help fund these basic needs for students and their families - their aim is to raise $4000. These funds will be used to fund their basic needs. You can donate in any of the following ways:

• To Give a one-off donation online

• To Give a regular donation online

To Donate by mail To Leave a bequest please read the wills and bequests page for Daystar Foundation

For more information on how to donate in any of the above formats please go to www.givenow.com.au/daystar

Become a Volunteer

Daystar Foundation is always looking for volunteers to help with any of their BLAST Programs. With around 450 volunteers sharing their vision and commitment to help in delivering their goals, their top priority is ensuring that each volunteer receives high quality training to ensure they each provide appropriate mentoring and advice to students.

Most of the volunteers being from the corporate sector are participating through their Literacy Buddies program. As a volunteer you write to a student 8 times a year encouraging your Little Buddy to read and write and providing him or her with a positive role model.Volunteers must attend Daystar’s training programs aimed at preparing volunteers for participation in Daystar’s BLAST Programs.

Become a Corporate Partner

The more corporate partners Daystar secures, the more BLAST Programs they can deliver to the schools they currently work with, and potentially expand into other schools.

Daystar requires a minimum of 30 corporate volunteers to team them up with one class of students and they can also provide corporate volunteer opportunities to serve breakfast to students at their Breakfast Clubs.


4th Annual Vocational Education Summit 2012

Location: MelbourneStart Date: 31 Oct 2012End Date: 01 Nov 2012

Featuring keynote presentations from:

• Chris Robinson, Chief Commissioner, Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)

• Philip Bullock, Chair, Australian Workforce & Productivity Agency (formerly Skills Australia)

With presentations and case studies addressing:

• National VET regulation• Meeting Australias skills needs through to 2025• Skills for All: The South Australian policy, implementation and progress• National VET e-learning strategy• Australias public provider (TAFE) network: Re-structure or refi t for national entitlement• Quality versus compliance• Vocational education in Australia: Private sector perspective• Skilled migration options for VET sector international students: Latest policy developments• Challenges for the health and community services sectors and the role of VET• Skills Reforms: A practical guide to preparing your RTO• Back to the future: Beyond the NBN• Gippsland integrated community health education program: A university, TAFE and industry partnership model• Professionalising the personal injury sector in Victoria• Work placement: The quest for quantity and quality• Lessons learnt: Dual sector partnerships in action

Key contributions from:

• Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology, SA• NSW Department of Education and Communities• TAFE Directors Australia• Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council• Quality Training and Hospitality College• University of Melbourne• Challenger Institute• Deakin Prime Victoria University College• Monash University, Gippsland• VelocityWorx• eWorks

Effective strategies for competency-based assessment and RPL workshop

IBSA – Perth17 October 2012

IBSA – Adelaide19 October 2012

Cost, Time & How to Register

Full day workshop 9.30–16.30 including lunch: $490 per participant (inc. GST).

This national Professional Development Program is comprised of eight one-day workshops taking place across Australia over six weeks, presented by Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA) in conjunction with Skill Resource Management Systems Put Ltd.

Competency-based assessment (CBA) and the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) continue to present the greatest challenge for Vocational Education and Training (VET) practitioners. This is refl ected in high levels of National VET Regulator (NVR) / Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) non-compliance, yet it is upon high-quality assessment (including RPL) that the credibility of VET certifi cation rests.

Who will benefi t from the training?

VET practitioners, trainers and assessors

What will be covered?

Understanding the fundamentals of CBA and RPL

Meeting the requirements of Training Packages and NVR / AQTF Standards

Developing and using CBA assessment strategies and tools to gather quality evidence

Making safe assessment judgements for CBA and RPL

Supporting candidates through the CBA / RPL process.

EEEVENTSVENTSVENTS


7Business growth is enabled through understanding what levers are available to you to use, which levers should be used and when. The levers that a business should use when they are just starting out are different to the levers a business should use in more advanced stages.

Chet Holmes, recognised as American’s top strategic consultants, having had 60 of the Fortune 500 companies as clients, completed a study and found that there were three key elements that took companies from low Millions to $100 Millions.

I bet you are dying to know what they are!

You may be thinking advanced marketing strategies that increase lead generation and lead conversion rates, or you may be thinking strategic thinking and innovation. Or you may have even thought cutting edge product development or technology advancements.

You may be surprised to learn the elements are as follows:

1. Systems2. Policies 3. Procedures

Why these three elements? Put simply these three elements, when done properly, set clear standards, enable consistency of results to be generated, and most importantly when developed at a deep level of specifi city allow for a targeted approach for growth and expansion to occur. The more granular you can be with your Systems, Policies and Procedures the more powerful these elements become as leverage points for growth.

Values Based Business Growth Strategies to Revolutionise Your Business…

Part Two of Three By Clare Cope


Imagine not only knowing which system could be leveraged but at exactly which point or steps within the system TO leverage to get transformational results.

Put another way you can’t manage something if you can’t measure it! Have solid Systems, Policies and Procedures in place enable critical and targeted measurement to occur in your business. And as Keith Cunningham says “What gets measured and reported can improve exponentially”.

Being able to measure and report on your business through these three key levers is central to what we will explore together in this article as we dive into the middle layer of the Values Pendulum Business Growth Model.

The Values Pendulum Business Growth Model

In this fi rst article of this series we covered the bottom layer – the Egoistic Values Levels of Survival, Connection and Power. These three levels focus on the fi rst stage of business growth that takes a business from start up to fast revenue growth. Now, we are going to explore the middle layer – the Socialistic Values Levels of Stability and Independence. These next two levels focus on the second stage of business growth that drives stability in business to move from fast revenue growth to sustainable and replicable revenue generation through to measurement to enable profi t to be reported and points of leverage identifi ed.

Consistent and Replicable Results Drives Sustainability

Being able to anticipate the future and make more educated and committed choices is a sign that your business is growing up. It’s knowing how to limit what you focus on so that you remain focused on the systems that will shape aspects of your business to ensure you have success over the long-term.

To create structure and order in your business to drive consistent and replicable results requires processes to be generated, systems to be implemented and policies to be created on all areas of business operation. These Structures, Systems and Policies must be reviewed and

maintained on a regular basis to ensure they remain up to date and relevant as the business grows.

Each system and structure must have a way in which it can be measured otherwise what use does the system or structure serve?

The question you need to consider: do you have structure and systems in place to ensure your team can complete tasks? If so, you are driving a transactional business where your team merely steps through their day completing task after task after task with little thought. Where you want to be is where your structures and systems are in place to support your team to deliver excellence – where the structure and systems provide guidance but are not so rigid as to stifl e the way in which someone in your team delivers outstanding levels of service and value to others. Is your team empowered to suggest improvements to the structure and systems they utilise to drive even better results, to add more value and to serve at higher levels?

Now the risk is, if a business stays at this level and does not move to the next level where innovation is required then you risk creating a culture of complacency, mediocrity and ultimately no growth. Create the stability your business needs so that innovation can thrive!

Altruistic Values Levels CommunityMission and Culture

UniversalityLegacy

Socialistic Values Levels StabilityStructure and Systems

IndependenceInnovation and

Leverage

Egoistic Values Levels SurvivalBusiness Fundamentals

ConnectionRelationships

PowerLeadership and

Positioning


Innovation is the Ultimate Lever for Leverage

99% of all businesses are tactical, not strategic. Being tactical enables you to work harder. Being strategic enables you to work smarter.

Put simply – Strategy Drives Sales!

Any successful strategy must contain a component of ensuring consistent and replicable results in the core part of the business AND improvements and innovations to extend, grow and shape the future direction of the business. Without innovation your business will stagnate and eventually die.

There is a difference between improvement and innovation. Improvement extends on and builds on the core functions of the business to lift the standard and ultimately to create a new norm of excellence.

Innovation involves initiatives that have not been done before in the business. Innovation drives new direction, explores other potentials your business could explore and enables your business to stay at the fore-front of your industry and to be a leader paving the way on how business should be done to better serve your clients in your market.

In what ways do you encourage innovation and creativity in your business? Did you know that once a week within the Google business, each member of the team is able to work on their own projects and initiatives for a period of time? Anything goes! It has been from this that some of the features you see as standard within Google have been developed. The Disney corporation have

developed a model, aptly called “The Disney Model” for brainstorming and innovation that many businesses around the world now use as a way of encouraging and developing innovative and creative thinking within their teams.

I say if it is a strategy that some of the most successful businesses of all time use to get the results they have then it’s probably a strategy I should use in my business! How about you?

The Socialistic Values Levels teach us that success in business is knowing how to sustain and replicate results in business whilst also driving new thought through innovation to shape and guide the future direction of what is possible for your business.

In the next article of the series we will explore the third layer – the Altruistic Values Levels of Community and Universality. These two levels focus on the third stage of business growth that focuses on how to take your business that has a solid foundation of sustainability, replicability, results and innovation to a business that is led by a mission, culture, values and a reason for being in essence the ‘stuff’ that business legacies are made of!

Regardless of where your business is within its growth phase, take this opportunity now to review your business against the benchmarks set here for you. Where you fi nd your business coming up short against these measures take the actions necessary to raise your bar.

Go to http://valuespendulum.com/rtobusinessdiagnostic to receive a FREE Values Pendulum Business Diagnostic that will assist you identify how you measure up against these benchmarks.

These growth levers are always present in your business you just need to know which one to use, when, for the outcome you desire.

Action

Track the journey of your average client through your business. Begin at how they fi rst engage with and experience your business, what they receive, what offers are made available to them for additional services or products, how they are communicated with, when, by whom and for what purpose, all the way through to the end ensuring you cover what happens upon completion of their time with you.

As you track your clients journey take note of every detailed step capturing what happens, by whom, in what format, when and how. What decisions need to be made and what happens if the answer to the question is a yes and what happens if the answer to the question is a no.

To be successful at this action you should familiarise yourself with process mapping or perhaps engage someone with the skills to come in and facilitate these sessions for you.

Action

Identify how much time you spend “thinking” about your business, specifi cally ON your business and the potentials, possibilities and opportunities available to you and the growth of your business. If "think time" is something you are poor at, it is likely that your team do not value "think time".

Whatever you “look at” in your business is what your team will “look at”.

If you have come to the realisation that you are too focused on the details of doing day to day business you must immediately schedule time in each week for brainstorming, thinking and creativity ON your business.

RTO Success Oct 2012 59 RTO Success July 2012 59

INDUSTRY CLASSIFIEDS

Pricing for Classifi eds and Jobs Vacant

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Up to 250 words + logo + boxed ad - $165 incl. GST

This section is dedicated to Industry Buy/Sell and Jobs Vacant Ads

Please send ads to [email protected]

For Sale – iPad 2 - $4506 months old iPad 2, 16GB Black Wifi +3Gwith some minor scuffs. Also have anApple iPhone 2G 4GB Mobile Phone in good condi-tion for $150. Please call 12 34567890 or email [email protected]

Simple Ad

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150 wordsAd + Logo

Training Room for HireStrategically Positioned CBD basedtraining rooms available for rent. 3different sized rooms available based onrequirements. Each room has WiFi plusprojector connections available as wellas a whiteboard. One room is setup as acomputer lab style training room.

Classifi eds - Buy and Sell

Sample

Sample

RTO Success Group is dedicated to bringing cutting edge, practical and engaging resources to the RTO Industry.

We help RTOs get better in every aspect of their business including Management, Compliance, Marketing, Administration, Academics and Technology.

We are passionate, thrive on a challenge, driven to succeed and serve at the highest levels. Above all, we want the journey to be fun and rewarding for all involved.

We are based in Queensland (Gold Coast) but distance is not a problem for the right candidate. We are pioneers in Virtualising and would invite all candidates from aroud Australia to apply.

If you are someone who resonates with the above, then we are looking to fi ll the following two roles -

1. Business Development Manager - You have experience in working with Businesses and the Corporate sector. You love the challenge of taking a company through fast paced growth from 0 to 1.5 Million + in 18 months.

You are already well into your business journey and have built up a wealth of experience, contacts and confi dence that you can bring to the group and are happy leading and growing people around you.

2. Telephone Sales - You are someone who is a people person. Loves to talk on the phone and build relationships. You have a calm, confi dent manner and experienced in dealing with business clients. You love variety and would like to be part of a fun, dynamic and growing team.

If the above sounds like fun, please email [email protected] with your details and we can arrange a chat.

Classifi eds - Jobs Vacant Advertisers Index


02 – ICEF – The Australia New Zealand Agent Workshop.Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), April 17 - 19, 2013

07 - Total Synergy Business – An idea whose time has come. Virtual Admin staff for your college.

21 - ASQA Compliance Manager 2012

25 - Media Sphere - LMS that provides the total online solution.

49 - RTO Forum - Latest Discussions, Know-how and Trends, Participate and Be Informed.

64 - RTO Software - TEAMS has your college covered.


Medium Hard Solutions for the above Sudoku puzzles in the next issue

Solutions from last month, Sep 2012

Medium Hard

7 2

9 1 7

5 4 6 2 9

6 5 1

1 9 8 6

2 7 4

4 8 2 1 6

1 3 8

4 1

6 3 1

8 4

4 9 2 3

1 7 5

4 5 8 9 6

8 4 9

1 4 8 6

5 1

7 2 3

4 5 3 6 2 9 8 7 1

1 7 6 8 5 3 9 2 4

9 8 2 4 7 1 3 5 6

8 4 9 7 1 5 2 6 3

2 3 7 9 8 6 1 4 5

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Word Puzzle

BachBartokBeethovenBergBernsteinBizetBrahmsChopinCoplandDebussyDvorakGershwinGlassHandelHaydnLisztMahlerMendelssohn

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N H O S S L E D N E M X U K N

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C C A D O S M H A R B E Z E W

S N M M S I O B O E V E Y I B

A E S M O L V L Q J U S Q E B


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