Private training colleges would have to apply for licences and answer to the corporate regulator under a beefed up quality assurance regime for vocational education providers.
A standards review headed by former Labor treasurer and education minister
The National Skills Standards Council was asked to review benchmarks for registered training organisations in response to a loss of confidence in the training system by employers.
The federal government has already created a new regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, and clamped down on alleged visa rorting, but there were persistent concerns about patchy student outcomes, the validity of online assessment processes and credentials that can be gained in unrealistically short periods, Mr Dawkins said.
“This isn’t an attack on the integrity of the system as a whole, most organisations are preforming well," he told The Australian Financial Review.
“The problem is, however, that if you have some underperforming organisations at the margins, they can undermine the integrity of all qualifications issued. They are also providing the low-cost offerings that create unfair competition to the other better providers."
The National Skills Standards Council position paper proposes replacing the existing scheme of provider registration with a licensing regime that would include 18-month provisional licences for new operators.
All non-government providers would have to incorporate so their operations fall under the remit of the Corporations Act, which is policed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission .
Incorporation would ensure compliance with a uniform set of financial and governance requirements.
It is understood that approximately 500 sole traders and providers operating on trust or other arrangements would have to make the switch out of 4000 nationally. In addition, each provider would have to appoint an “accountable education officer" responsible for ensuring qualifications meet with learning and assessment standards. Non-compliance could mean the withdrawal of the officer’s registration, which would then have implications for the provider’s licence.
“A similar concept is applied by ASIC, whereby company CEOs are individually accountable for compliance against relevant business regulations," the discussion paper says.
Millions of students are enrolled in vocational education and training and, in the public system alone, governments invest more than $5 billion a year. In addition student contributions through fees are worth about $1.69 billion annually.
The Australian Financial Review