Profiling the Australian enterprise RTO: summary report

Enterprise registered training organisations (ERTOs) are defined by the following characteristics: (1) the core business of the registered enterprise is not the provision of training; (2) the enterprise RTO provides accredited training for the employees of the enterprise; and (3) the enterprise RTO is embedded or integrated within the standard business processes of the enterprise. Towards the end of 2009, the Enterprise RTO Association (ERTOA) was approached by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to research the characteristics and operations of ERTOs and to document the findings. The research undertaken aimed to: profile the essential characteristics and operations of enterprise RTOs; identify and document the level and type of workforce skills development and accredited training activities currently conducted by Australian business enterprises; and better establish the accredited training activities of Australian business enterprises as a recognised and valued component of the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector. This resulting paper demonstrates why and how ERTOs operate and the scale of their operations. It also highlights a number of areas where additional research effort would be valuable to ERTOs and to the broader VET industry. The findings will assist with the development of a national strategy for ensuring that total VET effort recorded in Australia as part of a National VET Data strategy initiative is inclusive of the significant accredited outcomes from business enterprises registered as RTOs. Show less