Survival of the fittest: delivering aged care under 'Smart and Skilled' on the NSW south coast

The purpose of the paper is to explore the factors which may affect the successful delivery of the Certificate III in Aged Care under a new funding paradigm in the Eurobodalla shire, a regional area on the south coast of New South Wales (NSW). The new funding paradigm is the result of a state government initiative, 'Smart and Skilled', which sees a move from a supply-side funding model in the vocational education and training (VET) market to a student entitlement demand-driven funding model. The following research questions are explored: What are the characteristics of aged care students in the NSW south coast region? How and why do students choose the aged care vocation and their training provider? What should an effective marketing campaign for registered training organisations (RTOs) for the Certificate III in Aged Care include? What are the broad implications of the new student entitlement model 'Smart and Skilled' for the delivery of training in the south coast region of NSW? From the student and employer perspectives, in terms of the delivery of the Certificate III in Aged Care by RTOs: what works, what doesn’t work and how could things be done differently?

The research has been undertaken largely from the perspective of a community-based RTO (a community college), and as such its findings may be most relevant to similar community-based RTOs working in regional (coastal) areas. Nevertheless, it is hoped that many of the broader findings of the research will assist other RTOs delivering the Certificate III in Aged Care. From a policy and practice point of view, the findings of this research identify some of the critical needs in relation to delivering the Certificate III in Aged Care and consider some potential implications for the 'Smart and Skilled' funding model for NSW RTOs. Furthermore, the findings address many of the quality issues identified in the strategic review of RTOs offering aged and community care recently undertaken by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA; 2013). Recommendations based on the findings of the research have been compiled into a good practice guide for training organisations. The guide addresses the needs of students, employers and communities under the new student entitlement funding model. It covers industry consultation, program design, marketing and student engagement for the Certificate III in Aged Care. The good practice guide is located in the appendix.

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