Velg Training

Session Overview:

TAFE NSW - Western Sydney Institute (WSI) is a large training provider enrolling more than 100,000 students annually. It incorporates the Open Training and Education Network (OTEN) as a separate Registered Training Organisation (RTO). OTEN is the largest provider of online and distance delivery in Australia. In 2012, WSI was the first TAFE NSW to successfully complete 2 re-registration audits by Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) for both RTOs.

While having the same central administration, these two RTOs differ in terms of how qualifications are delivered to students. The complexity and diversity of two very different RTOs meant different challenges in terrms of how to meet standards SNR 15.2, SNR 15.4 and SNR 15.5.

WSI's practical approach to these re-registration audits will be demonstrated using case studies for qualifications delivered face to face, mixed delivery and online delivery. Lessons learnt, tips for success and where to expect surprises will be shared.

The process used in ensuring compliance has had a positive impact on the Institute leading to changes in attitudes, practices and procedures.

The presentation will stimulate discussion around compliance, audit preparation and practices. Participants will take away clear ideas and practical solutions to meet compliance for a range of delivery modes.

Presenter Biographies:

Since joining TAFE NSW - Western Sydney Institute as Director, Ms Susan Hartigan has established the Institute as a widely recognised award winner, renowned for delivering innovative, quality vocational education. Ms Hartigan leads a team of dedicated staff located across seven delivery sites and the specialist distance education provider, the Open Training and Education Network (OTEN).

Susan has undertaken a myriad of educationally based roles and is committed to providing educational excellence, encouraging strong alliances with industry and the community, promoting sustainability and fostering innovation. Ultimately, Susan is passionate about giving people educational pathways that make a difference in their lives.

Francesca Saccaro is currently the Associate Director, OTEN and Organisational Capability at TAFE NSW - Western Sydney Institute (WSI). In this role she has responsibility for the largest distance and online vocational education and training provider in Australia and leads strategic planning, workforce capability and performance management of compliance and quality assurance proccesses for WSI.

Francesca began her career in banking and finance prior to joining TAFE NSW. She has over 18 years' experience in the education sector at both practitioner and managerial levels across a broad spectrum of TAFE Institutes and faculty areas.

Session Overview:

Back by popular demand, this session previously delivered at a number of Velg Training events, will focus on the key players and stakeholders within the Australian National Training System. The session will provide an overview of who’s who within the vocational education and training (VET) sector and what role they play. This session will explain how to stay up to date with the emerging changes and issues facing the sector by looking at which organisations a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) should be following (i.e. Newsletters, Newspapers, Magazines, Media Release, Websites) to gain regular updates. She will explore how social media can become a main source of information, focusing on social media tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn Groups.

Presenter Biography:

Kerri has worked in the VET sector in Queensland for fourteen years. She has been employed in roles such as a high school teacher, trainer/assessor (BSB, ICA and TAE), VET Manager, Compliance Officer, Senior Lead Auditor (with the Queensland Studies Authority, conducting AQTF audits for Qld School RTOs) and most recently as a consultant. Kerri is experienced in development training and assessment materials, compliance resources and has also written a number of accredited courses (accredited through DETE Qld and ASQA). Kerri is currently employed by Velg Training as a consultant.

Session Overview:

This presentation looks at the unavoidable stresses of managing an RTO in a highly regulated environment and recognises the need to do more than survive the regulatory environment but also thrive in it. It provides proven strategies for reducing the pre audit apprehensions typical in an RTO.

Topics include:

• Avoiding Humpty Dumpty outcomes
• Getting along with all the King's Horses and all the King's Men
• Techniques for coping with 'audit outcome' performance pressures
• Strategies for reducing audit stress
• Maintaining audit readiness and avoiding the audit jips

The presentation identifies the desired outcomes for the VET sector through quality assurance regulation and embraces the need for an RTO business culture that is founded on Quality Management Strategies, that both supports the growth of the business and also provides the RTO Manager and staff with a confidence they can overcome, then adapt, in the ever changing environment.

Presenter Biography:

Peter Basell is the Managing Director of RTO Answers Pty Ltd. RTO Answers provides VET consultancy services, NVR, AQTF and CRICOS compliance products to RTOs and training organisations across Australia. Over the last 13 years Peter has held various positions in RTOs such as CEO/Principal/Director of Training/RTO Manager. Peter also has experience as a contracted NARA Lead Auditor and endorsed Quality Consultant from 2009 - 2011.

Session Overview:

Back by popular demand! Transform your training with learning skills that separate the extraordinary from the mediocre in this fun-size train-the-trainer boot camp experience. In 120 minutes over 2 session times, participants will learn how to create powerful new openings and incorporate highly effective closers by using proven participant-centred techniques. These techniques can be used to get better results from your training and more enthusiasm from your participants. There will even be an opportunity to work in teams to create brand new openers and closers that can be incorporated into your own training.

This will be a highly dynamic session where participants will get a taste for the instructor-led/participant-centred approach to learning, which is at the heart of the 2 Day Train-the-Trainer Boot Camp.

Presenter Biographies:

Marc Ratcliffe is the CEO and founder of MRWED Training & Assessment. He has been involved in Vocational Education for 21 years and has conducted more than 300 Training and Assessment courses over the past 15 years. In 2009, he was named as one of the top 10 young trainers in the world by US Training Magazine and was awarded a Global HR Award for "Strategic Leadership" by the World HRD Congress in 2012. Marc continues to push the boundaries of "edu-tainment" and believes that participant interaction and fun are integral to the learning experience.

Jason Ash has more than 12 years of training and assessment experience, gained predominantly in corporate environments. He has specialised in delivering training in sales, coaching, business communication and management and has received international acclaim for his work in Learning and Development. Jason was the winner of the Platinum Award for Best Young Learning Leader at the 2011 LearnX Asia-Pacific Awards and was named a young trainer to watch by US Training Magazine in 2012.

Session Overview:

With so many competing priorities faced by VET teachers, assessment is one area that cannot be neglected. Issues regarding assessment is one of the most common causes for student complaints.  This session is designed to be as practical as possible and take participants through the steps of developing quality assessment tools and how to validate them using examples provided.  Participants are also welcome to bring an example of their own assessment tools to use in the session.

Presenter Biography:

Kerrie-Anne has recently set up her own training and assessment consultancy to support RTOs to meet the requirements of SNR 15 and 16, against which the most number of non-compliances are found. Until 2013, she held the role of Learning and Academic Support Manager for a large Victorian TAFE and worked both at the coal face with teaching staff and managers to enhance their training and assessment practices and provided strategic advice to the institute, including developing policies and procedures related to these standards.

Session Overview:

This 2 hour interactive workshop will involve:

• Undertaking actual mapping
• Creating marking guides
• Making 'satisfactory' and 'competent' judgements
• Understanding the differences between competency-based assessment and norm-based assessment.

Resources will include a unit of competency with a set of developed assessment tools and some templates for workshop activities.

Presenter Biography:

John is a national AQTF/VQF trainer and consultant with experience in education spanning more than 50 years. He brings extensive registered training organisation (RTO) experience to Velg Training, having a comprehensive history in developing and delivering a range of workshops on assessment, compliance, recognition of prior learning (RPL), and moderation and validation processes relating to AQTF/VQF compliance. Previously, John was the Manager of Competency Assessment and Development Services of the Global Institute for Learning and Development (gild). John has been a pre-qualified AQTF consultant registered with Queensland’s Department of Education and Training (DET) and has also been employed on a contract basis through Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment as the TAA/TAE Technical Advisor for Audits.

This is an area where Velg Training members can come together to network.

It is opened during session times and closed during breaks.

This room will have a networking facilitator to help people to get to know each other.

Session Overview:

For private colleges and RTOs, sourcing quality teaching material and diverse content from textbooks, research papers, newspapers, magazines, reports, websites, journals and newsletters is essential to meeting both student and teacher expectations and to achieving the best possible education outcomes. This presentation will endeavour to cover the main areas of copyright as it relates to vocational education providers. Topics will include:

• What copyright protects and who owns it
• Copyright Infringement and how to avoid it
• Copyright clearances and how to get them
• Some myths and misconceptions
• Copyright and new technology
• Working with copyright in RTOs
• How does Copyright Agency fit in
• Q&A

Presenter Biography:

Virginia Morrison is a senior lawyer with Copyright Agency. Prior to the commencement of a services agreement between Copyright Agency and Viscopy in 2012, she was Head of Legal at Viscopy. Virginia has many years of experience in the field of copyright law, having also worked as an independent copyright consultant and a senior lawyer with the Australian Copyright Council. She has also worked in private practice at two of Australia's leading law firms and has lectured in entertainment law. Virginia has degrees in Arts and Law from UNSW.

Session Overview:

Not since the industrial revolution has the world of work seen so much change, only this time it's happening at a pace never experienced previously. While change brings significant opportunities, it also presents uncertainty, fear and risk. So, what do you need to know in the new world for your business to succeed? This session will highlight:

• The myths and old ways of doing things that don't work anymore
• What matters and why
• Strategic planning that works
• The most important asset in your business
• The most important thing your business needs to focus on

Presenter Biography:

Delivering results that change business operations, Yvette Bartlett transforms business cultures to ensure business sustainability and growth. With considerable experience in the VET sector, combined with business operations, leadership, marketing and more, Yvette stands out as a leader who provides focus and direction, execution on strategy, and a sounding board and trusted advisor to business owners and executives. Each challenge she confronts embeds imaginative, yet practical solutions with unique business insights and perseverance.

Session Overview:

Through an examination of functional compliance, contractual compliance, ethics and integrity RTO managers and compliance officers will develop an understanding of how to manage compliance within an increasingly regulated framework.
 
The presentation will provide an examination of:

• How and what compliance applies at the practitioner level and its influence upon "praxis",
• hHw to overcome the stricture of compliance without having to compromise.
• Non-conformist conforming - a means of surviving and prospering within a compliance driven environment

The following questions will be addressed:

• Where does the process of quality assurance fit into regulatory compliance?
• Is there a way forward?
• Is there a place for a professional body or a quality assurance program?
• How can SSA assist you? "Right Way"

Presenter Biography:

Steve has an extensive academic and professional background including corporate and project management, VET compliance and workforce development. His experience extends across a range of industries including retail, manufacturing, education, sport and tourism and traverses Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands.
Steve has held a number of board positions including: Queensland Studies Authority, Athletics NSW, Luge Australia, as well as various charities.
Steve is currently managing the national Workforce Futures program.

Session Overview:

This session critically examines the behaviour of a 'pass the audit' approach to RTO management and the value of being deemed compliant. The session aims to identify the characteristics of a high performing RTO and instigate debate amongst RTO Managers on key governance issues, including:

• Impacts of a 'pass the audit' management approach
• Engagement with RTO standards, regulation and alternative concepts
• Ownership and accountability for registration
• Public perceptions and realities of RTO motivation and behaviour
• VET landscape in the next five years

Presenter Biography:

Simon Hitchick provides specialist consultation services drawing on his extensive VET sector experience. Simon played a key role in the development of the regulatory approach adopted by the National Audit and Registration Agency (NARA) and as General Manager led the transition of NARA operations to current national regulation arrangements. Simon started his career as a workplace trainer/assessor and progressed to senior management positions in several private RTOs and is currently the General Manager Education and Training for Open Colleges.

Session Overview:

Create a culture of continuous improvement and business sustainability through examining how compliance with the VQF can be incorporated into existing business operations and strategic planning. Build compliance into RTO operations to promote improvement opportunities that enhance business development, creating revenue. Foster relationships with partners, clients and team members that build long term business sustainability. You will:

• Continuously improve RTO operations through purposeful collection, analysis and action of feedback
• Build 'living and useful' strategy documents that incorporate every aspect of training/assessment and are tailored to your client's needs
• Engage, inform and empower your clients
• Form and monitor strategic partnerships that grow your business
• Attract and retain professional, committed staff through creating a culture of inspiration, fun and open communication that drives high and sustained performance.

Presenter Biography:

Tracey Flitcroft is the founding Director of NUA Horizons Consulting Services and leads a team of experienced VET consultants across Australia. Tracey's focus is the delivery of PD to RTO staff and mentoring at management level. She believes in empowering RTOs to become quality, financially viable learning and development organisations and dares to stretch the boundaries with inspiration in VET. Her approach to PD is collaborative and engaging. Tracey has Diplomas in VET, Training Design/Development, Quality Auditing, Business and Government.

Session Overview:

The national standards require RTOs to demonstrate they are running a financially viable and sustainable business and the evidence presented is usually a Business Plan. However, these Business Plans are often out of date, complicated, unachievable and pages and pages in length. This session will workshop with delegates how to write a simple business plan that is user friendly and clearly outlines what is to be achieved in that financial year. Delegates will also learn:

• The difference between a Strategic Business Plan and a Business Plan
• Who should be involved in the process to gain ownership and accountability of the outcomes
• Benefits of business planning that go beyond meeting compliance standards

Presenter Biography:

For over fifteen years, Tamara Simon, aka 'The Business Scene Investigator (BSI)', has been helping organisations find the evidence that's costing them time and money in their business, and then increasing their profit and productivity by solving the case!

With a background in change management, organisational development and VET, her management and leadership expertise was recognised when she was a Qld Finalist in the Telstra Young Business Women's Awards and a Brisbane Finalist in AIM's Management Awards.

Session Overview:

This workshop will look at a range of issues and questions related to the role and importance of literacy and numeracy skills in teaching and learning in VET. What are the potential classroom and training impacts of low LLN skills on an adult's capacity to improve and learn either as part of their training or in their participation in the workplace? How do literacy and numeracy skills impact on our assessment practices? Based on knowledge about adults' skills in literacy and numeracy, about the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy and of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF), this workshop will discuss both the overall literacy and numeracy issue and what options, strategies and activities there are that RTOs, teachers and trainers can undertake to address and support any literacy and numeracy gaps that exist or are identified.

Presenter Biography:

Dave is widely recognised as one of Australia's leading adult numeracy personnel, and has worked in schools, TAFEs, ACE, university and AMES workplaces, with over 30 years experience in the VET sector. He has wide experience in training, and in state, national and international research, curriculum, assessment and materials development. Dave had major responsibility for the numeracy domain of the ACSF. He was a member of the Numeracy Expert Group (NEG) responsible for the numeracy component of the international ALLS survey and for PIAAC.

Session Overview:

In this workshop you will experience the five principles of Brain-Friendly Training, when we experience simple, practical things to include in training delivery, so that we know we are getting our message across, and you know it will stick.

• Keeping it real - make it highly business and life focused
• State is everything - get participants into a highly motivated, resourceful state to learn. They will then use this state when applying the learning
• Honour uniqueness and difference - tailor training to the learning styles of the participants and to the unique culture of the organisation
• Make the training rich and multi-sensory
• Have participants create meaning of the information, not just consumption - then they will use it

To practically demonstrate this, the focus will be on practical ways to cater for different learners using individual learning styles and a plethora of ways to entice learners' brains to absorb all that you have to teach.. and then some!

Presenter Biography:

Laurie Kelly speaks both nationally and internationally on current knowledge of how the mind works to maximize the impact of training, and to create an openness factor in our approach to change and new learning. With over 30 years experience, he has a reputation for having an uncanny ability to communicate on a level that everyone can appreciate and is passionate about the importance of the information he shares. Laurie's experience in improving trainers' skills in engagement is vast - he is one of the most sought after presenters in his field.

Session Overview:

This Master Class will focus on the technical aspects of setting up a professional social media account using both LinkedIn and Twitter, after which an exploration of the National RTO Network LinkedIn Group will occur. In this Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)* session, participants will use their personal tablet, laptop or mobile to set up a LinkedIn profile and Twitter account for professional or business use. Participants will leave this Master Class with an activiated professional LinkedIn and Twitter account, the technical knowledge to further utilise these social mediums, awareness of social media best practices, content examples, basic tips for interacting on Velg Training's National RTO Network and basic scheduling tools for Twitter - as well as active online Vocational Education and Training (VET) community to connect with and 'Tweeps' to follow!

*You must bring your own device to participate in this session. Velg Training will be unable to supply devices on the day. If you do not have a personal device to use, please do not register for this session.

Presenter Biography:

Amy Lynch is a marketing and communications professional, with over six years of experience in media, marketing and communications roles held in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in Canada and Australia. Amy is currently the Marketing and Communications Manager at Velg Training.

Session Overview:

Air Force, as one of the four Defence RTOs, is a significant player in the National VET system. Air Force is an Enterprise RTO that delivers millions of dollars of training every year to Military employees and some of this training aligns to National Qualifications.

Training is conducted in accordance with the Defence Training Model and a raft of written policy and associated procedures approved by the Chain-of-Command. Air Force policy is to train to capability requirements and no further, which does not fit neatly into the familiar TAFE-style model of training delivery. A significant challenge that Air Force has faced in moving towards registration under ASQA is to meet all the SNRs without creating extra work for the sake of 'ticking the boxes'. This presentation will outline how Air Force manages compliance using a robust auditing system, mapping compliance processes, and communicating with ASQA.

Presenter Biography:

Deborah has a strong VET background with 10 years at WSI TAFE NSW as a teacher, professional development officer, learning technologies administrator and project manager, learning technologies. Highlights for Deborah have been receiving a TAFE NSW Quality Award in 2006, and developing and delivering the "How Difficult Can This Be?" workshops for teachers of students with learning difficulties. She was recruited by Defence in 2011 to lead the project to move Air Force from a Canberra based RTO, to a low-risk RTO under the new regulation of ASQA.

Session Overview:

So, you've got a website and you're updating your social media but how do you use these channels effectively to attract your next cohort of students?

This session will explore:

• Effective advertising to attract students
• Converting traffic to applications
• Engage with current students to attract their connections
• Making your engagement engaging

Presenter Biography:

Net Natives are digital marketing experts for the education sector. Partnering with over 150 education institutions to ensure that they are marketing effectively to current and potential students across online platforms.

Alex Hughes is the Commercial Manager for the brand new Sydney branch of Net Natives. After heading up the Education team in the UK, she's been sent down under to share her expertise with Australian Education Providers; helping them reach more students, reduce their cost per acquisition, manage their brand and engage more effectively online.

Session Overview:

Making sense of Consultation, Validation & Moderation - why they are important, what they are, what they are not and how an RTO can implement structures and strategies to integrate these triggers across their operation to better its performance. Using a case study example to identify the real-time benefits of this approach and what the outcomes can provide your business by way of:

• Quality assurance
• Customisation
• Engagement
• Satisfaction
• Compliance
• Business productivity and streamlining

A practical session providing tools, tips, techniques and 'takeaways' for your RTO operation to implement practical, simple and user-friendly structures that embed the triggers of industry consultation, validation and moderation that will drive continuous improvement for your business across all areas of your RTO operation.

Presenter Biography:

Managing Director and founder of Think.Learning, Jenny is a professional working in the education space. Over the last 16 years, she has presented to, supported and advised businesses across Australia specialising in vocational education, learning and development, human resources and corporate workforce development functions. The aim always being to implement practical solutions with a focus on building businesses to better the outcomes of their people through leadership, learning and development initiatives.

Session Overview:

This workshop will give an overview of the processes and requirements of clustering units of competency together in learning materials and assessments, as well as the opportunity to practice this concept in a workshop. This will include:

• The business case for clustering learning materials and assessments (i.e. what is in it for an RTO and learners)
• Clustering requirements/rules (When can I cluster? When should I not cluster?)
• The pitfalls of clustering (what can go wrong and why?)
• The clustering process - how to do it (step by step through an example of clustering 2 units for an assessment)

Presenter Biography:

Wendy has been a Workplace Trainer and Assessor for over 20 years. She has spent many years successfully training trainers and assessors in Certificate IV Training and Assessment. She is known nationally for her abilities and skills in Recognition of Prior Learning and Clustering. Wendy is the Director of CatoHR and RPL Assist. CatoHR is a specialist company providing resources for TAE to RTOs. RPL Assist provides support to RTOs, enterprises and individuals in the development and achievement of RPL across all industry sectors.

Session Overview:

In April 2011, the then National Quality Council (NQC) agreed to develop a Foundation Skills Training Package as part of a national, systemic approach to developing foundation skills units of competency, qualifications and skill sets.

The NQC decision was driven by recommendations in the VET Products for the 21st Century report, which identified foundation skills development as a key area of reform required to ensure Australian VET can accommodate the diverse needs of businesses, industry and individuals.

In developing this package, IBSA's approach has been guided by an objective to expand available options for supporting the foundation skills development of VET learners.

The package comprises:

• Three (3) new Foundation Skills qualifications at AQF levels 1 and 2
• Ninety one (91) new foundation skills units of competency

Presenter Biography:

Coming Soon

Session Overview:

Audits are most often used to detect regulatory risks (a point in time) – non compliance/s with the standards. However audits can be used to optimise continuous improvement by ensuring that balance is achieved between the ‘assurance and advisory’ functions.

An audit program is a long term road map which aligns the organisation’s strategic goals, stakeholder expectations and regulatory requirements. An effective audit program and auditing process is part of an overall plan for continuous improvement and can become a vehicle for recognising high performance organisations.

Presenter Biography:

Carol is the Principal of RTO Services and Consulting. Her experience in management in the VET sector includes Director, Training Quality and Regulation, Manager, Audit Services and Manager, Training Secretariat to Training and Employment Recognition Council and Training Employment Board (Queensland) within the Department of Education and Training (Queensland).

Carol has worked in operational roles in both public and private RTOs, in policy and curriculum development, and as a secondary teacher.

Session Overview:

Industry Skills Councils have been working feverishly over the last couple years to streamline training packages to meet the new design model. Newly endorsed training packages will now start to reflect the new design. This presentation aims to explain the new design, where to get more information and what your RTO can start doing now to evolve, adapt and embrace the updated training packages including:

• Professional development ideas for trainers (continue to develop VET knowledge)
• Updating your assessment tools
• Validation activities
• Industry consultation

Presenter Biography:

Therese Hickey is an independent Vocational Education and Training consultant. Her experience stems across various roles including quality and compliance manager, consultant, auditor and National Quality Council project officer.

Therese has a keen interest in reinvigorating how the VET sector and industry approaches workforce capability and skill development. Therese debunks the regulations, policy and research to empower participants with the tools and knowledge to cultivate and maintain a strong approach to meeting the VET Quality Framework.

Session Overview:

This presentation looks at the 'business' of running an RTO, including business planning, strategy, diversifying, budgeting and the changing environment. This presentation is a practical guide, based on real life experiences.

Presenter Biography:

Richard is owner and Managing Director of the Quality Training and Hospitality College. The College was formed in 1992 and has 3 campuses (including a Head Office) in Adelaide and an additional office in Sydney. The college delivers predominantly hospitality courses from entry level to Advanced Diploma. Richard is also a board member for ACPET, Chair of the ACPET VET committee, owner and operator of Quality Catering at the Adelaide Zoo and the Buffalo Restaurant in Glenelg, and a board member of Restaurant and Catering SA.

Session Overview:

Do you have an idea of where you want your e-learning to be but cannot get it started? Are you clear on your e-learning goals? Is it time for you to lead the change?

Change management strategies in every organisation are different, as the current state and desired end state are always unique to that particular organisation. So too is the culture, staff, infrastructure, stakeholders, market segment and capability of each entity. There are different people who require different levels of support. Changing the way an organisation does business involves changing the way an organisation thinks. This of course means there is no recipe to make e-learning work, but there is still hope.

Sarah talks about the change process when introducing e-learning into an RTO: the components, the models, the case studies, the activities and the tricks and tips. Leading your organisation to change involves creating change agents, setting up support systems and building a common vision.

Presenter Biography:

Sarah has worked in a range of areas within VET including Learn Local, TAFE, Industry and Private sectors and works in technical development, educational design and organisational strategy. Sarah has consulted on change management within e-learning for many years with organisations including industry associations and has a broad sense of e-learning application responsive to the sector. Sarah is an E-learning Consultant at eWorks and has the role of Victorian E-learning Coordinator and Content Services Advisor for the National VET E-learning strategy.

Session Overview:

SNR 15.2 requires each RTO to have developed strategies for training and assessment that not only meet the requirements of the relevant benchmarks but have also been developed through ‘effective consultation’ with industry.

The broadness of this standard is a cause for confusion for many RTOs; what is ‘effective’ consultation and how can we ensure it happens?

This session will discuss what it means to have effective consultation and how this process can help RTOs develop more effective strategies for the delivery of training and assessment.

In particular, the session will cover:

• The role of the TAS/LAS as more than just a ‘compliance’ document
• The importance of industry consultation in TAS/LAS development
• How to encourage and foster ‘effective’ consultation with industry at all stages of training design and delivery

Presenter Biography:

Matthew is a Melbourne-based education practitioner who has delivered Vocational Education both nationally and internationally. With a focus on assisting learners to achieve both personal and organisational change, Matthew believes in a fully interactive learning environment to assist the development of learning and has a keen interest in the processes and principles of quality assessment. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, a Graduate Diploma of Education and a Masters in Adult Education. Matthew is a member of the AITD and SIA.

Session Overview:

Bite the bullet and commit to raising the bar in your own practice. Group based facilitation skills are suffering at the expense of compliance. We spend too much time worrying about "ticking all the boxes" and not enough time considering the students.

The Cert IV in Training and Assessment gives us a base to work from but by no means gives us either the full skills or knowledge to be effective educators, especially in the classroom.

• Are your learners fully engaged in your classroom sessions 100% of the time, or do you have social loafers, who see your training as a bit of an excuse to kick back and relax?
• Do you experience the 80/20 rule, where 20% of the people answer all your questions and the other 80% let them?
• Does your learning environment promote enough safety that every learner contributes, holds themselves accountable and is included at all times?

This hand on session explores the tactics and strategies to establish this environment.

Presenter Biography:

Karen is an experienced adult educator who sees learning as a vocation, not a job. She has been closely studying and sharing advanced facilitation techniques through experimentation, research and self-reflection. She has undertaken extensive study over the last 18 months, completing diplomas in Training and Education; Vocational Education and Training; and Training Design and Development. Karen’s background includes working for the Department of Child Protection and BankWest.

Session Overview:

As someone in the RTO who has a responsibility to manage and lead people you’re ready to drive this bus!

• You know where you’re going!
• You’ve got the physical resources on board!
• You know the journey is going to be worthwhile!

BUT

• You’re not sure if everyone else is on board!

AND

• You need the bus to be full and everyone ‘enjoying’ the trip

This master class session of 100 minutes focuses on developing a quality culture in an environment that encourages contribution and success.

The session includes:

• Leading cultural change
• Sense making, Relating, Visioning, Inventing and implementing new ways (Sloan’s leadership style)
• Developing a functional leadership style
• Establishing an environment based on effective communication that encourages problem solving and innovation
• Understanding what motivates staff
• Focusing on success when fostering continuous improvement

Presenter Biography:

John has been an educator and trainer for over 36 years and in that time has worked as a Head of Department at TAFE, mentor, facilitator of national workshops covering delivery and assessment, risk management, auditing, leadership and interpersonal skill development.

John has been a keynote speaker at conventions and conferences, and maintained a grass roots level approach to dealing with people at all levels of the organisation.

He has also assisted over 300 organisations in Australia to achieve quality certification to the range of National Training Standards including: Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations; Australian Quality Training Framework standards (AQTF from 2001 – 2010) Australian and International ISO9001 standards (AS/NZS and ISO from 1987 – 2008) and worked with them in establishing continuous improvement systems and strategies for both human and physical resource development.

Session Overview:

Coming Soon

Presenter Biography:

Coming Soon

Session Overview:

Four million Australians reported having a disability in 2009. The definition under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is broad and includes mental illness, chronic medical conditions and learning disabilities. This means that nearly one in five of your students and potential students are likely to have a disability. There are ways your organisation can improve its appeal to people with a disability and steps to ensure you are meeting your obligations under the DDA and Disability Standards for Education. This includes making reasonable adjustments during enrolment, course delivery and assessment. These adjustments will not affect the academic standards of the course and are mostly simple and inexpensive. The National Disability Coordination Officer (NDCO) Program is funded by the Australian Government to support people with disability to access and succeed in further education, training and employment. NDCOs have a range of knowledge and experience, and have developed a number of resources that are available at no cost to RTOs. This presentation will detail the benefits of taking proactive steps towards disability confidence, both in terms of business development and compliance with legal obligations. It will introduce key concepts, strategies and useful resources to help RTOs improve their practices and build their confidence.

Presenter Biography:

Coming Soon

Session Overview:

Examines the concept of a "risk based approach to regulation" and the role risk assessment plays in regulatory intervention. The session examines the risk assessment tools published and utilised by VET regulators, and how they are used in the risk assessment process. The session also profiles characteristics that contribute to high and low risk ratings and how the RTO can integrate a risk based approach to their compliance regime.

Presenter Biography:

Simon Hitchick provides specialist consultation services drawing on his extensive VET sector experience. Simon played a key role in the development of the regulatory approach adopted by the National Audit and Registration Agency (NARA) and as General Manager led the transition of NARA operations to current national regulation arrangements. Simon started his career as a workplace trainer/assessor and progressed to senior management positions in several private RTOs and is currently the General Manager Education and Training for Open Colleges.

Session Overview:

A genuine RPL applicant is already competent and is seeking recognition of that competence. Accordingly, RPL assessors need very sound competency-based assessment knowledge and skills and competency and currency in the vocational area involved. They need an understanding of, and the ability to make judgements about, “wild” evidence, drawing on a real understanding of the rules of evidence. RPL assessors also need sound recording and reporting skills, supported by effective and efficient evidence-gathering and recording tools. They also need highly developed interpersonal communication skills.

Challenging? Certainly! Rewarding? Without a doubt! Get on board!

Presenter Biography:

John is a national AQTF/VET Quality Framework trainer and consultant with experience in education spanning more than 50 years. He brings extensive registered training organisation (RTO) experience, having a comprehensive history in developing and delivering a range of workshops on assessment tools, recognition of prior learning (RPL), moderation and validation processes relating to RTO compliance. John is currently working at Velg Training as a trainer/ consultant for the VET sector. Previously, he was the Manager of the Competency Assessment and Development Services of the Global Institute for Learning and Development (gild). John has been a pre-qualified AQTF consultant registered with Queensland’s Department of Education and Training (DET), and has also been employed on a contract basis through DET as the TAA/TAE Technical Advisor for Audits.

Session Overview:

Continuous Improvement is implicit throughout training and assessment standards and when it is implemented successfully as a system it drives business improvement.

This 30 minute elective session will include:

• How to prise out the most important component of systematic continuous improvement in a practical way
• Avoiding the ‘one right answer’ syndrome when problem solving
• Effective analysis of data
• Using Continuous Improvement techniques

Presenter Biography:

John has been an educator and trainer for over 36 years and in that time has worked as a Head of Department at TAFE, mentor, facilitator of national workshops covering delivery and assessment, risk management, auditing, leadership and interpersonal skill development.

John has been a keynote speaker at conventions and conferences, and maintained a grass roots level approach to dealing with people at all levels of the organisation.

He has also assisted over 300 organisations in Australia to achieve quality certification to the range of National Training Standards including: Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations; Australian Quality Training Framework standards (AQTF from 2001 – 2010) Australian and International ISO9001 standards (AS/NZS and ISO from 1987 – 2008) and worked with them in establishing continuous improvement systems and strategies for both human and physical resource development.

Session Overview:

What would happen to your RTO if you were unable to take enrolments into a qualification because 'someone' didn't transition to the new qualification? This is happening in RTOs across Australia. To avoid this happening to you, attend this session to develop an understanding of:

• Keeping up to date with changes to training packages
• The planning process for transitioning
• Teach out requirements
• Managing teach out
• ASQA's requirements for transitioning

Presenter Biography:

Angela McGregor-Goodwin is the owner and principal consultant of RTO Consulting who has been offering consulting services throughout Australia. RTO Consulting was also established to provide guidance, coaching and assistance to businesses wanting to become a RTO, existing RTOs and businesses wanting to develop nationally accredited courses.

Angela has successfully set up her own RTO in January 2003, which she successfully sold in July of 2012.

As a practitioner dedicated to sharing knowledge, Angela has consulted through many forums pertaining to compliance issues and improvement strategies for training and assessment services. Angela is known for her current industry, knowledge and success in developing accredited courses and track record in setting up RTOs and assisting RTOs with compliance against the VET Quality Framework.

Angela holds a number of qualifications including; Diploma of Quality Auditing, Diploma of VET Registration and Management, Diploma of Business, Diploma of Training and Assessment and Bachelor of Business majoring in Marketing.

Session Overview:

We would like to invite you on a guided tour of our process of commencing a Registered Training Organisation. We will be travelling through this vista on a 'warts and all' trip in this emotional odyssey. Embarking on this journey of compliance after our previous (few) years training experience, and attendance at our first VET conference in 2012 - we WILL be RTO compliant by June 2012! We have our travel diary with us and we want to share with you our hard work, commitment, blood, sweat and tears as each step is taken. This diary chronicles our travels on this passage - through illnesses (including an RFDS flight) and heart-ache to eventual successful compliance. We hope you will enjoy our heart felt voyage too!

Presenter Biography:

Darren has worked in diverse areas of tourism for over 20 years ranging from double decker bus driving in London, tour guiding through Africa, Asia and Cape York to holiday park managment. This led Darren into training. Qualifications delivered include Tourism Certs III, IV and Diploma. Acknowledging his passion for training, Darren was elected as a board member for CPAQ and to the training committee for CRVA. Successfully operating a tourism management business for 7 years, the next challenge is becoming RTO compliant.

Session Overview:

An entertaining yet informative presentation about changing the way Australia views careers in trades and skills. The primary focus of National Skills Week, is to promote the opportunities and diversity available within the VET sector, and challenge perceptions on trades and skills. National Skills Week aims to deliver these messages to the public, by bringing skills into the community.

Presenter Biography:

Brian Wexham is the Chief Executive Officer of SkillsOne Television, and National Skills Week. Currently, he is acting Chair of WorldSkills Australia, and holds several non-executive board positions at organisations and charities such as the Australian Childrens Music Foundation. Brian built his career in publishing as an executive, and on the Board at The Times and The Observer in London, and was also Chief Executive of Lonrho International Publishing PLC, Kenya. He is the author of several books and an international cartoon strip.

Session Overview:

eLearning has been widely embraced in the vocational education and training sector and is seen as a way for learners to access education and training when and where they want. Training can now be accessed by a range of devices from desktop to hand held. The underlying assumption is that delivering education and training this way makes it highly accessible and meets the needs of learners.

Tocal College delivers online training to clients from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of educational backgrounds, meaning one size does not fit all. As part of evaluating its eLearning delivery, the college wanted to know what learners are seeking from the online experience and is it meeting their expectations?

This presentation will discuss the results of the evaluation of some specific courses that have been delivered online and how the results of evaluation can be adopted to improve outcomes for learners and the overall eLearning experience.

Presenter Biography:

Julie White has worked in the education sector for 15 years. More recently, she has been involved in adult education in agriculture and natural resource management. Julie currently works in adult education with a focus on monitoring and evaluation, and eLearning at Tocal College. For the past 3 years she has been overseeing the development and delivery of online courses for the college and the management of student and staff interaction with the online delivery platform.

Session Overview:

In most situations, a carefully selected game or activity will support the trainer in attracting and maintaining interest in their session. If they are not playing they are straying, so we need to find the ying and yang relationship of content and supporting activity. Remember, games are not the antithesis of content. They help to challenge, reinforce, persuade, refocus and reassure participants. This master-class provides a dynamic A-Z of proven tips and tricks for the trainer's tool kit aimed at engaging and supporting learning. It promises 26 activities that will enhance the educational experience. These techniques include openers, warm-ups, energisers, "fun" summaries and a range of other tips to keep your students on their toes! Participants will have a chance to practice a selection of the techniques, participate in debriefing these and will be involved in creating their fun-tastic new techniques.

Presenter Biography:

Marc is the CEO and founder of MRWED Training & Assessment. He has been involved in Vocational Education for 21 years and has conducted more than 300 Training and Assessment courses over the past 15 years. In 2009, he was named as one of the top 10 young trainers in the world by US Training Magazine and was awarded a Global HR Award for "Strategic Leadership" by the World HRD Congress in 2012. Marc continues to push the boundaries of "edu-tainment" and believes that participant interaction and fun are integral to the learning experience.

Session Overview:

CPSISC sectors employ close to 1.8 million of the workforce comprising of construction and property services sectors. These occupations are central to the health of the economy. Construction in particular is often referred to as the barometer of the economy and if this industry is faring poorly, there is a strong likelihood that the rest of the nation's economic well-being is questionable. With a 12 percent increase in construction workers forecast by 2016-17, the nation will require over 127,000 additional workers across construction occupations. Taking the attrition of the ageing workforce into account, there will need to be entrants to the workforce in the coming years.

Apprentices entering into contracts in June of this year will be vital to achieving or constraining this result. CPSISC is currently interrogating the workforce development requirements of the cyclical uptick expected mid-decade in construction, which will flow into property services. It is also digging a "deep well" research project which will in May report its findings into structural risks in 2025 for the construction trades. Challenges aggregated to the future of these 'economic litmus sectors' include the adoption of flexible e-learning strategies, apprenticeship reforms, articulation strategies and retention strategies.

Presenter Biography:

Nick Proud is the national Director of Policy and Research with the Construction & Property Services Industry Skills Council (CPSISC). He has carriage of formulating skills pathway research and development for the Construction, Plumbing, Surveying, Real Estate, Security and other property services sectors. Core stakeholders include MBA, HIA, CFMEU, REIA and AIG, among others.

Previously as Executive Director for Industry Workforce Development with the Housing Industry Association, Nick held national responsibility for workforce development, including its impact on skills shortages, skills pathways, immigration programs, industrial relations, professional development and training incentives.

Session Overview:

The VET sector is currently experiencing an avalanche of change that does not show any sign of slowing down. Virtually every aspect of our professional world is touched by this phenomenon: standards, regulation, funding, market requirements. The VET sector of 2014 will not mirror the VET sector of 2012. The keywords for RTOs looking to stay sustainable in 2014 are responsiveness and resilience. RTOs need to find a balance between the strategic and the operational. This is not mandatory, of course. To paraphrase Edwards Deming 'Learning is not compulsory, neither is survival.' Marilyn will examine the major trends in the sector and their current or potential impact, while posing some thought-provoking options for both organisations and individuals.

Presenter Biography:

Marilyn Harvey is the Principal Consultant for Velocityworx, which specialises in organisational improvement within the education and training industry. She has extensive experience in the VET sector and focuses on sustainable quality and compliance practices.

Session Overview:

Do you want to market your training as an alternative pathway to university? This presentation will give examples of articulation arrangements that support alternative pathways into university as a viable business stream for RTOs that are ready to evolve, adapt and embrace the challenge. VET is seen as a viable pathway into higher education, however in reality it is usually just too hard to make it a reality. To embrace this opportunity RTOs need to face challenges that currently hinder the future prosperity of VET generally. For articulation to be a reality that an RTO can 'market' to students as a possible training outcome, the RTO needs to be prepared to demonstrate its education delivery against the new AQF and graduate attributes; learn how to do business with the university sector and adapt to a world where quality is not about compliance but about professional teaching and business management practice that provides tangible outcomes that stand up to critical scrutiny.

Presenter Biography:

Fiona currently works for the Southern Cross University as the University Change Manager supporting establishment of the University's VET College. She was previously the manager of a successful RTO in NSW, teaches the Diploma of Training and Assessment, and has 20 years of experience in VET management. Fiona is passionate about improving professionalism in VET, in both teaching and management practice and has three post graduate qualifications in education and training.

Session Overview:

Transform your assessment tools and strategies by adopting a process of story-telling to engage your students and to ensure higher levels of completion. This innovative way of drawing students in to the learning process is what ensured that MCI gained a place on the BRW list of Australia's most innovative companies.

Join this session to learn more about how you too could make the shift from traditional assessment tools to a more interactive way of gathering evidence - and at the same time still ensure compliance. Move towards higher completion levels for both face to face and online delivery methodologies.

Presenter Biography:

Denise Meyerson consults to global brands on their learning and development strategy. As a director of MCI, she led the team to be nominated as a finalist for the AITD award for excellence in a learning resource. MCI also features on the 2012 BRW List of Australia's most innovative companies for their development of a practical assessment tool to improve completion rates in vocational training. Denise is the author of 'Better, Best, Brilliant', a top-selling guide for facilitators to ensure that their sessions shine!

Session Overview:

The conducting of annual internal reviews of assessment provides a great way to undertake a ‘health check’ on the Training and Assessment being provided by the RTO. Most non-compliance tends to lie with Standard 1.5/SNR 15.5 (assessment/RPL). This session will explore the fundamental requirements of Competency Based Assessment, so that RTO Managers are equipped with the knowledge to analyse assessment comprehensively against the requirements and to have the ability to prepare VET trainers/assessors for the assessment review.

Presenter Biography:

With a background in change management, organisational development and vocational education and training, Tamara has more than a decade of experience in business development across private, public and not-for-profit registered training organisations. She has spoken at international and Australian business conferences as well as presented her survival tips to both teachers and students.

For over ten years, Tamara Simon has been working in various roles within RTOs, as well as consulting to RTOs to provide simple and practical solutions to increase their profit and productivity. These experiences have enabled her to understand RTO auditing from ‘both sides of the fence’.

Her articles have been published in association/network magazines including Women’s Network Australia, Building Designer’s Association of Queensland and Master Builders Queensland.

Tamara’s management and leadership expertise was recognised when she was a Queensland finalist in the Telstra Young Business Women’s Awards and a Brisbane finalist in AIM’s Young Manager Awards.

Session Overview:

Throughout the conference, delegates will be encouraged to post discussion topics on the Community Noticeboard. This will feed into an opportunity for group discussion, facilitated by Wendy Perry, and complemented by the use of LinkedIn. Delegates unable to attend the session will be able to follow the discussion and post comments/questions via the National RTO Network and Australian VET Leaders groups on LinkedIn.

Facilitator Biography:

Wendy is an innovator in Workforce Development and Workforce Planning, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Small Business Management. Her underpinning approach to business is to maximise her clients’ capabilities, capacity and productivity.

Based in South Australia, the company’s clients are all around Australia and Wendy has extensive networks in industry, with employers, business associations, government and Registered Training Organisations.

Session Overview:

This presentation will provide a snapshot of how to manage compliance within your RTO, by giving the participant a basic understanding of their rights and responsibilities under the NVR Standards, as well as identify the appropriate evidence that should be collected by the RTO so that they comply with the requirements of the NVR Standards. As a part of this presentation, Angela will provide "inside information" gathered from her Audit experiences across a range of RTOs, including how to respond to non-compliances identified by ASQA.

This presentation will be beneficial for everyone working within an RTO, as it will include information on how the standards affect each position within the RTO.

Presenter Biography:

In 2006, Angela commenced work with an RTO as the Training Coordinator. Three months later, she bought the business. As the new CEO, Angela expanded the RTO from 5 staff, 8 qualifications and 2 training rooms to over 45 staff, 35 qualifications and 15 training rooms across two sites. Three years after purchasing the RTO, Angela sold the business for five times the amount of the original purchase price. Since then, Angela has successfully set up an RTO consulting company, Vivacity RTO Coaching & Consulting, working with RTOs from across Australia.

Session Overview:

Everyone carries with them a set of values that dictate how they see the world and interact with it. Our values drive our behaviour - how we act and how we react to situations.

Having a good understanding of behaviour is a good first step in interpersonal communication. Values aren't easily observable in other people, unlike behaviour, so how can you engage people through their values to drive greater results for your business?

Embracing peoples values in your workplace will evolve you as a leader and create stellar teamwork and workplace culture.

Join this session as we explore the role that values play in the day to day role of being a manager or leader. Have a laugh and share some stories as we talk about how values shape us (and the people around us), how they can make us feel amazing, and how they can drive us crazy!

Presenter Biography:

An experienced RTO professional, Nick has worked in roles from trainer to RTO Manager, in both the not-for-profit sector and commercially oriented RTOs. It is fair to say that Nick attained his leadership experience by 'rising through the ranks' and he now manages a multidiscipline team of approximately 50 people to deliver quality strategic business outcomes for his RTO. He also consults to the RTO industry. Passionate about quality, practical and people focused leadership, Nick's also an Accredited DISC Advanced Consultant and Facilitator.

Session Overview:

Gone are the days where Government funding flowed to RTOs to distribute among service providers. So, what does this mean for the modern RTO, and how can you capitalise in an environment that requires broader organisational development focus and workforce planning?

Current Government funding programs require organisations to clearly identify their training and development needs prior to accessing funding for training. Many community services and health organisations don't have the capacity and resources to undertake such a process, despite the strong need for training and development of their people. RTOs are well placed to broaden their current scope to facilitate planning processes with their clients, which will attract funding and meet identified needs through quality tailoring programs.

This session will show how RTOs can work differently with clients to access the various Government programs available now. Workshopping, practical examples and tools will be provided.

Presenter Biography:

Cassandra has an extensive background in education, training and professional development across diverse sectors including community services, health, youth and international aid in Australia and the Pacific. As a Workforce Development Partner for CS&HISC, Cassandra works in collaboration with stakeholders to provide advice and support in workforce development, including training quality.

Session Overview:

Session Overview:

This session is a hands-on workshop, that is designed to provide empowering tools for the VET practitioner in validation. Participants will come away with practical applications to use straight away. The workshop will complete a validation using real case studies, where particpants work on individual aspects of the validation in small groups. After the groups findings are summarised, discussion will be encouraged in order to contribute to the outcomes, and enable completion and analysis of the validation. The session will finish with discussion centering on best practice to ensure compliance to the Training Package and RTO Standards. The information received in the workshop can be applied across a broad spectrum of industries.

Presenter Biography:

Merinda has 20+ years in vocational training as well as marketing. She has run her own business for the past 3 years where she has assisted numerous RTOs to achieve compliance from initial start up to managing ongoing compliance solutions. Merinda is a respected leader and is passionate about change and growth in the training industry, having worked with a broad spectrum of industry. Her philosophy is all about having the quality focus and working with industry on training, compliance and human resource development matters.