Starting A Construction-Based Registered Training Organisation In New South Wales
The construction industry is as popular as ever. There will always be a need for properties to be built and improved and homes to repair and renovate, and it can be an extremely profitable career for those that are interested in this profession. However, as with most professions, especially trades like this, you’ll need the relevant qualifications and skills to practice your trade on an official and professional level.
This is where the training of an RTO or Registered Training Organisation comes in. Running an RTO itself can be very lucrative as there will constantly be a need for training services in all industries, especially construction. Here’s how you can use your own knowledge of this industry, to start your very own training organisation in New South Wales.
Apply To ASQA
To become an official training organisation, you’ll first need to register yourself with the Australian Skills Quality Authority, or ASQA, run by the Australian Government. To do this, you’ll need to do some extensive preparation to prove you are competent enough to be considered as an RTO, such as being familiar with the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system and showing that you’re able to sustain your business financially.
Find out more about applying on the ASQA website and be prepared to put in the time and effort to submit a quality application, as being rejected will result in you being unable to offer these training services.
Create Your Business Plan
To demonstrate your viability to both the ASQA as well as yourself and your team, you should strongly consider creating a detailed and well-thought-out business plan. Not only will this serve to prove your determination to create a successful RTO and your serious attitude towards your industry, but it will also provide you with some guidance to follow once your application is accepted. A business plan is important for every business, RTO or not, and having a structured plan to stick to will set you in good stead for the future. Don’t forget to create a carefully considered budget too and avoid deviating too much from it so that you don’t run into financial hardship down the line.
Stay Up To Date On Changes
Rules and regulations of all official authorities change regularly to meet changing societal needs and official legislation. It’s important as an RTO to keep up to date on government regulations, and it’s worth keeping a close eye on any updates from ASQA including things like the ASQA reviews and any relevant news that could impact your business.
Failing to stay updated on changes to both the RTO industry and your specific industry that you’re providing training services for, could see you being left behind by other more proactive RTOs, and in the worst case, failing compliance checks once legislation changes.
Consider Hiring A Compliance Specialist
Of course, it’s not always easy to keep up to date on these things, especially when it comes to legalities. The construction industry itself is full of red tape and an ever-changing landscape of rules and regulations. While these are necessary in maintaining good health and safety as well as the protection of workers and the general public, keeping track of all of these changes can be overwhelming. This is why we highly recommend a compliance specialist to focus solely on this topic. They will be able to ensure you’re following the law and regulations set out by official bodies so that you don’t risk making any mistakes when it comes to official audits.
Run Your Own Self-Assessments
As part of this focus on compliance, you’ll be able to run your own self-assessments too, so that you can be certain everything in your business is up to code. As a business, you’ll also want to make sure that you are complying with general business regulations too, as it can be easy to lose track of these more generic rules and laws when you are focusing more on the specifics.
However, forgetting to comply with any regulations is still inexcusable and can lead to some severe circumstances. Avoid any of these issues by running regular compliance checks and self-assessments for all areas of your business. It’s far better for you and your team to find out you’re doing things wrong and correct them, than an official body realising your mistakes.
Hire A Qualified Team
Your trainers will be responsible for the skills of professionals in this industry, and these professionals will be expecting the best quality training possible. Make sure you don’t fail these trainees by providing them with poor quality trainers, and don’t forget to ensure that these teachers are qualified too.
They’ll first have to have at least certificate IV in training and assessment to be qualified to carry out any form of training, and then, if offering general construction induction training, or GCIT, for example, you’ll also want to make sure your trainers are qualified to offer this training as well. If they lack the official qualifications for these training services, you could subsidise their own training to ensure they have the ability to provide these services.
