TAC Update - Issue 69 - December 2021

TAC News TAC Update - Issue 69 - December 2021

TAC Update - Issue 69 - December 2021

16/12/2021

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Issue 69 - December 2021

Updated 16/12/21

Welcome to the December TAC Update

Welcome to our final TAC Update for 2021. We hope that you have time over the next few weeks to draw breath, spend time with loved ones and re-energise for the next year ahead.

The Council recognises that 2021 has been another eventful year for RTOs as they navigated COVID-19 restrictions, adapted delivery and assessment to meet changing landscapes and maintained commitment to quality. The Council acknowledges the substantial efforts of RTOs during this period and their commitment to their learners and quality delivery over this period.

In supporting RTOs to provide quality training and assessment, the Council has remained commited to the TAC Education Program, its registration and accreditation functions and delivered the following key projects:

the Focus on Quality: TAC Regulatory Strategy 2021-2023;
the final report on the Community Services Strategic Industry Audit;
improved RTO Portal functionality; and
education initiatives including:
- 19 webinars delivered to over 1000 participants;
- 2 regional workshops hosted in Albany and Broome;
- TAC third party provider event;
- new and revised TAC Fact Sheets and a TAC LinkedIn profile;
- TAC Talks podcasts and the TAC YouTube channel.

Consultation to inform Council's education program for the next financial year is planned for early next year and we look forward to hearing your thoughts on areas that will continue to support quality in the VET sector.

Issues related to quality at the national level will also be front of mind early next year through the national Quality Reform agenda including revised Standards for RTOs. It is expected that the Department of Education, Skills and Employment will release a draft of the revised Standards in early 2022, and we recommend you keep an eye out for any announcements during this period.

Finally, the TAC Secretariat will close for a short period from Christmas Day 25 December 2021, re-opening on Tuesday 4 January 2022. The Council and Secretariat staff wish you all a wonderful festive season and look forward to working with you in 2022.

What's in this edition?

TAC Secretariat Christmas closure dates
TAC Education Program
Focus on quality - RTO Marketing and Advertising
RTOs to check delivery sites are up-to-date
Recent updates to the RTO Portal
Transition Extensions
First aid unit delivery
Course Accreditation update
New Year 9 taster program to launch in 2022
Other important updates

TAC Secretariat Christmas Closure

The TAC Secretariat will be closed from 4.30pm, Friday 24 December 2021 and will reopen 8.30am, Tuesday 4 January 2022.

TAC Education Program - upcoming events

January 2022

11 - Design and Development of an Assessment System

February 2022

1 - Designing and Using Assessment Tools

24 - Making an Assessment Decision

Click here to view the full TAC Education Program schedule and/or register for an event:

The full list of Education Program recordings and resources is available on the TAC Website

Focus on quality

RTO Marketing and Advertising

As RTOs commence planning for course delivery in 2022, TAC reminds RTOs to ensure all marketing, including that done on its behalf through a third party, complies with the requirements of the Standards and reflects the services delivered by the RTO.

RTOs are also reminded to ensure marketing only covers nationally recognised training products on their scope.

Clause 4.1 of the Standards provides a comprehensive list of requirements that ensures accurate and accessible information about RTO services and performance to enable prospective and current learners to make informed decisions about their training and assessment needs.

RTO marketing and advertising encompasses a number of media, including:

websites and social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram) and online environments such as Groupon, Scoopon, etc;
printed materials such as brochures, advertisements in newspapers, online or hardcopy directories; and
television and radio.

For further information on RTO marketing requirements, view the TAC Fact Sheet Marketing and Advertising.

RTOs to check delivery sites are up-to-date:
uploads to training.gov.au occurring in 2022

Maintaining accurate and factual information, including advising the Council of accurate delivery sites, is a requirement for RTOs under Standard 5. In 2022, your RTO's delivery sites will be added to training.gov.au allowing learners surety and understanding about where courses may take place.

To check your RTO delivery sites and what will be available on TGA, you can see the delivery sites noted against your RTO on the RTO Portal.

We recommend that you check the RTO Portal is showing accurate records for:

the physical and postal address for the head office;
the physical address of the organisation's principal place of business; and
the physical address of the sites or campuses from which VET courses are delivered on a permanent basis (whether in Australia or offshore).

Recent updates to the RTO Portal

A number of updates have been made to the RTO Portal. The following enhancements have now been implemented to assist RTOs in managing their registration:

Invoices: view the status of your invoices from TAC;
Applications: view training products that relate to an application;
Scope of delivery: export your scope into an Excel spreadsheet;
Third Party: this new tab lists the RTO's third party arrangements and assists RTOs in managing their arrangements; and
Draft applications: once an RTO commences an application, you can save it and return to the application at a later stage. A list of an RTO's draft applications can be found on the Application Forms tab.

Transition Extensions and Reductions

At the 295th meeting in December 2021, the Council agreed to:

extend the transition periods for:

Ten qualifications from the Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management (AHC) Training Package
Nine qualifications from the Construction, Plumbing and Services (CPC) Training Package
Nine qualifications from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Training Package
Seven qualifications from the Maritime (MAR) Training Package
One qualification from the National Water (NWP) Training Package

reduce the transition period for:

Nine units of competency from the Transport and Logistics (TLI) Training Package.

A full list of training products approved for an extended and/or reduced transition period is available on the TAC Website.

First aid unit delivery

Information received recently has prompted TAC to issue the following reminder to RTOs delivering first aid units.

Qualifications and skill sets often import units from other training packages as a core unit and, at times, into mandatory electives required to achieve specialisation in a qualification. These imported units are called 'named' units.

Be aware if a qualification has a named first aid unit that has been superseded, the RTO must continue to use the named unit until such time that the qualification has been updated on training.gov.au and identifies the replacement unit.

Clause 1.27 of the Standards states an RTO must continue to deliver the 'named' unit in the qualification or skill set even if it has been superseded in its source training package. Non-adherence to these requirements could result in a finding of non-compliance.

Course Accreditation updates

Council extended the accreditation period for the following course:

52825WA Certificate II in Building and Construction (Pathways-Para-Professional) to 31 May 2023.

A new Year 9 taster program to launch in 2022

The Council was pleased to accredit a course supporting the Year 9 career taster program commencing in 2022. Around half of Year 9 students across the State will get a taste of the world of work and post-school opportunities through the Year 9 Career Taster Program (CTP).

The CTP will give schools the flexibility to design career exploration experiences that allow students to learn about different industries, current and emerging occupations and career pathway, and will provide secondary students with the tools to make more informed choices and position vocational education and training (VET) as a viable alternative to university. The program delivery is planned to commence from Term 1, 2022 and run for four years. For further information click here.

Other important updates

Skills Reform update

Skills Reform to lift quality standards and support RTOs to deliver the training needed for the Australian workforce, now and in the future, are underway.

A key focus of the reform is to strengthen the Standards to remain fit for purpose and support high quality outcomes. It is anticipated the Department of Education, Skills and Employment will release a draft revised set of Standards in early 2022. The draft has been informed by feedback from stakeholders who reported generally the following areas for improvement within the Standards:

greater focus on training delivery and learner wellbeing
improve clarity for both RTOs and regulators and focus more on outcomes for learners and employers
ensure any new requirements align with, but do not duplicate, existing obligations and requirements
balance flexibility and clarity in the revised Standards so they set an appropriate baseline for quality while enabling excellence and innovation in training delivery
ensuring the Standards work for the range of different RTO types and sizes, and contexts in which training is delivered.

Another key area of reform is the establishment of Industry Clusters to provide strategic leadership in identifying, forecasting and responding to current and emerging skills needs and workforce challenges in their industries.

Stage 1 of a two-stage grant process to establish Industry Clusters is now open. For further information via the Skills Reform website, click here.

NCVER webinar recordings now available

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) recently hosted their webinar on the research findings of their report Attracting Industry Experts to Become VET Practitioners: A journey, not a destination. Click here to listen to the webinar recording.