National Skills Standards Council (NSSC) VISTA Breakfast Presentation This presentation was prepared by the National Advisory for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment and is confidential information not for further distribution or for circulation outside of this context. 1

NATESE Strategic Framework 2

NSSC Charter Key Functions  develop and maintain national standards for regulation of vocational education and training for approval by SCOTESE and provide advice to SCOTESE on development and implementation of the standards;  provide information, through SCOTESE, to the regulators of vocational education and training on the implementation and interpretation of the national standards and on issues of quality standards generally in the vocational education and training sector;  provide information to the vocational education and training sector on the national standards and any changes to the standards;  provide advice to SCOTESE on the operation of the regulators of vocational education and training;  endorse Training Packages; and  approve Tuition Assurance Schemes (TAS) under the standards for the regulation of VET. 3

NSSC Members  Hon John Dawkins AO - Chair  Professor Valerie Braithwaite  Ms Berwyn Clayton  Mr David Collins  Ms Pat Forward  Ms Margaret Haseltine 4  Ms Jessie Borthwick  Dr Tom Karmel  Ms Megan Lilly  Ms Adrienne Nieuwenhius  Professor Alan Robson  Mr John Vines OAM

Overview of the implementation of the new Standards for Training Packages the NSSC developed the Standards to:  enable reforms initiated by the 2009 COAG VET Products for the 21st Century Report  move the development and endorsement of national Training Packages to a compliance framework Ministers endorsed the Standards on 16 November 2012.

SCOTESE November 2012: New Standards for Training Packages Endorsed

Standards Framework  One standard that defines Training Packages as a product  Two standards for compliance with NSSC policies to support implementation of the standards framework  Nine standards that define the components of a Training Package

Training Package components NSSC endorsed components (requirements for RTOs):  units of competency;  assessment requirements (associated with each unit of competency);  qualifications; and  credit arrangements. One or more quality assured companion volumes (advice to RTOs)

Development and Endorsement  ISCs must demonstrate that Training Packages comply with the Standards before submission to the NSSC for endorsement consideration  Office of the NSSC reviews submissions and provides advice to NSSC in endorsement consideration  NSSC considers Training Packages at meetings

Outline of the strengthened Quality Assurance arrangements Industry Skills Councils:  responsible for the quality and quality assurance process of Training Packages through development Office of the NSSC:  manages the new Quality Assurance (QA) Panel on behalf of the NSSC  Ensure that the QA Panel provides consistent advice and auditing against the standards

New Quality Assurance Panel  Anticipate operational mid 2013  Significant ongoing professional development  Key source of advice to the NSSC  ISC membership encouraged to support development of skills and expertise  ISCs may engage any QA Panel members as a source of expertise in development  Until establishment, ISCs to use existing QA Panel in consultation with the Office of the NSSC

Mandatory Reports for QA Editorial and Equity Reports  undertaken by QA Panel member or ISC member with appropriate expertise Quality Report  Office of the NSSC allocation of one or more QA Panel members from which ISCs can select  ISC provides evidence to meet compliance against the standards  Quality Report is an audit to assess compliance against the standards based on the evidence provided

Standard 8 Qualifications comply with the Australian Qualifications Framework specification for that qualification type  ISC provides evidence of compliance with the AQF specifications for that qualification type  Qualifications compliance is a key focus for the NSSC

Standard 10 Credit arrangements existing between Training Package qualifications and Higher Education qualifications are listed in a format that complies with the credit arrangements template

Standard 11 A quality assured companion volume implementation guide produced by the Training Package developer is available at the time of endorsement and complies with the companion volume implementation guide template  Among other things, contains pathways advice in line with the AQF

Immediate priorities  NSSC will support professional development for ISCs, VET regulators and state and territories in 2013  NSSC communication and engagement with broader VET stakeholders to develop a shared understanding through 2013 and beyond

LaunchIssue AnalysisDirection SettingValidation Drafting NSSC decisions SCOTESE support Roundtables Issues paper Position paper Standards policy framework Final standards Analysis of feedback from roundtables and submissions Briefings: o Commonwealth o States and Territories o VET regulators o ISCs Identification of issues Consultation on issues paper Analysis of feedback Research program COAG consultation RIS requirements National consultation on Position Paper Developed based on Position Paper feedback SCOTESE endorsement COAG decision RIS requirements Detailed drafting based on endorsed standards policy framework Translation into standards/ legislative instruments Implementation considerations Consultation paper Jun-Jul 2012 Jul-Oct 2012Mar-Jun 2013Nov 12 - Mar 13Jun-Nov 2013 Review of Registration Standards Timeline 17

SCOTESE asked the NSSC to undertake a broad ranging review of the standards for the regulation of VET Describes what NSSC considers to be changes required to standards Developed based on NSSC research undertaken to date o Consultation Paper (June 2012); Roundtables (July 2012); Issues Paper (Oct 2012); workshops with key stakeholders (Dec 2012); literature scan and other research National consultation planned for March and April 2013 o Position Paper published early March 2013 o 6 week period for written submissions to be submitted o Consultations with key stakeholders in each jurisdiction Compliant with COAG Consultation Regulatory Impact Analysis requirements Feedback to inform NSSC presentation to SCOTESE on 7 June 2013 Review of Standards for the Regulation of VET

Position Paper – what is the ‘problem’ 1.Concern with the quality of training delivered by some RTOs and consequently the integrity and value of qualifications being issued, undermining confidence in and reputation of the VET sector more generally. 2.Lack of comparable and reliable publicly available information regarding an RTO and its performance. 3.Need a framework for a market that has evolved into one with various forms of learning entitlements or subsidies and extensive and growing competition across the diverse RTO cohort.

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