Why the ACT Needs Stronger Support for Independent Training Organisations

This week is National Apprenticeship Week and it’s a great time to acknowledge the apprentices, employers, trainers and RTO support staff who make training at MBA so successful. At MBA Group Training we have a completion rate above 90% for apprentices, whereas other RTOs have more than 50% of those who enrol in their programs fail to complete.

But this week is also an important opportunity to remind the ACT Government to consider increasing support for independent training organisations in their budget later this year. Data released late last year by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows that 82% of all vocational education and training (VET) in the ACT is completed with independent training providers, while these providers only receive 11.1% of total government VET funding.

The majority of employers and students rely on independent training providers in the ACT to equip them with the skills and vocational education they require to enter the local workforce, however the proportion of Government funding received by these organisations is the second lowest in the country. The ACT’s total spending on vocational education and training is $115 million with 11.1% of this funding allocated to independent training organisations, despite independent providers training 82% of all VET students.

If the ACT is to achieve its economic objectives and train the workforce of the future, a new funding agreement from the ACT Government is needed to support independent training organisations.