When it comes to vocational education and training (VET), quality is key. A quality education ensures learners leave your establishment with skills that are relevant to their chosen field. It also ensures that critical skill gaps are being addressed on a national level. But how can you measure the quality of your training?
This is where ASQA Quality Indicator reporting becomes essential.
In this article, we explore:
- What the ASQA Quality Indicator annual summary is
- Why the reporting is important for organisations and national training bodies
- How quality indicator (QI) data is gathered from learners and employers
- Answers to common questions around ASQA’s engagement and satisfaction survey requirements
What is the ‘Quality Indicators Annual Summary’?
The Quality Indicators Annual Summary is a report that Registered Training Providers (RTOs) must submit to the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). It summarises feedback from learner engagement and employer satisfaction surveys. This provides RTOs and ASQA with insights into the value and impact of training.
Introduced in 2012 and reiterated in the Data Provision Requirements 2020, the annual summary is a compliance requirement. Any organisation providing nationally recognised training must complete the summary report and submit the data to ASQA by 30 June each year. This includes full certifications, accredited courses and units of competency.
Why is the Quality Indicator Data for ASQA Important?
The data submitted for the annual summary is valuable to both training organisations and national governing bodies.
For RTOs, the data highlights where their training is effective and where improvements are needed. By collecting training feedback from learners and their employers after training, VET providers can better align skill development with industry needs. This helps ensure the training provided is directly relevant to Australian workplaces. It also allows for curriculum adjustments where gaps appear.
At a national level, these QIs support long-term risk assessment. Summaries from RTOs across the country reveal trends in skills development. They also highlight gaps and show how effectively VET providers are addressing workforce needs. This information can guide funding decisions. It can also signal industries where additional national support may be required.
What is the Learner Engagement Quality Indicator?
The Learner Engagement indicator is based on feedback from a questionnaire sent to students who have completed nationally recognised training. The survey covers areas like:
- Relevance of training
- Quality of training facilities
- Effectiveness of trainers and their delivery methods
- Availability of resources and support services
- Recognition of Prior Learning
Say, for example, a large portion of students indicate that they speak another language at home. Of these learners, most also indicated that trainers didn’t explain things clearly. This could indicate a need for translated materials or additional support for non-English speakers in the classroom.
Note: The learner engagement survey is not the same as the ASQA Student Survey. RTOs are required to gather data on learner engagement and experiences. The Student Survey is a process that ASQA undertakes directly.
Who Needs to Complete the ASQA Learner Questionnaire?
It’s important that as many learners complete the learner engagement survey as possible. This ensures an accurate representation of the training that RTOs and other VET providers offer.
However, there are situations where learners might not be surveyed.
One example of where learners might be intentionally excluded would be a cohort who were unable to complete their training as planned. This may have been the case during the COVID pandemic. It may also apply if a trainer becomes unavailable or personal circumstances impact students’ training. These learners’ responses wouldn’t reflect their full training experience.
What is the Employer Satisfaction Quality Indicator?
The Employer Satisfaction indicator is based on feedback from a survey sent to the companies where employees recently completed nationally recognised training. These could include apprentices, new hires or existing employees who have undertaken development courses. It indicates how well learners transfer learning into real-world situations. The questionnaire covers areas like:
- Effectiveness of trainers and training methods
- Assessment standards
- Currency and relevance of training
- Organisational impact
- Support and flexibility of training programs
- Whether companies feel the overall training was an effective investment
The insights are especially valuable when RTOs have developed custom training for a specific industry. For work placements, these surveys can actively impact the training that learners receive. This is why many RTOs collect feedback from employers regularly, rather than only the annual compliance requirement.
Who Needs to Complete the Employer Questionnaire?
The employer questionnaire is directed at three different types of companies:
- Those who are supervising apprentices and students in work placements
- Those who employ learners who studied through RTOs
- Those who directly engage with RTOs to train their existing employees
However, there is one exception that ASQA mentions. Learners who go on to become self-employed should not be included in the employer questionnaire.
This is because there is technically no employer in this scenario. These learners would still complete the learner engagement survey, but would not be sent the employer one. Answering the questionnaire simultaneously as both a student and an employer would introduce bias and potentially skew the results.
How Do RTOs Collect Questionnaire Data?
Training providers can use carious methods to collect learner and employer questionnaire responses. The only requirements from ASQA are:
- The wording of the survey must be identical to ASQA’s templates.
- A summary of the data must be submitted to ASQA using their web form by 30 June each year. This must include response rates and trends that have been identified.
- Paper-based forms. RTOs may choose to print the surveys and distribute them during the final lesson of a course or as part of graduation packs. When distributed and completed in person, this can increase response rates. However, the data then needs to be manually captured, increasing administrative time and the potential for human error.
More and More Training Organisations are Going Paperless!
Find out why.- Dedicated survey tools. Platforms like SurveyMonkey help training organisations easily set up and distribute questionnaires. They also capture the feedback, making it easier to gather insights from learners. However, these tools don’t always integrate with learning management systems. Administrators may need to add students to the platform or email sequences manually. Survey tools may also incur additional costs or come with limitations on the number of responses that can be collected.
- Digital templates. Templates are often free to use. They’re already set up and ready to distribute, making it quick and easy to share them with learners and employers. You can even include a link to a template in an email campaign to increase engagement and response rates. However, many templates still require manual data capture, which can add to administrative burden.
- Learning management systems. Solutions like Cloud Assess make collecting training feedback part of your existing processes. RTOs can set up workflows to deliver the learner engagement survey as soon as a course is completed. You can also set up follow-up emails and reminders to boost response rates. Best of all, the data is captured directly into your training platform and integrates seamlessly with your other software.
What the Quality Indicators Mean for your RTO
Gathering feedback from learners and their employers is about more than just checking a box for compliance. It’s about training organisations that are dedicated to continuous improvement. It’s about valuing input from all sides — trainer, learners and Australian industries.
RTOs that analyse data to improve the training they offer are preparing for the future. They become more flexible, adapting to evolving technologies and skill requirements.
Finding the right technology solutions to support this ongoing improvement is key. Cloud Assess may be just the platform you need. It’s a flexible, all-in-one solution that RTOs can use to go beyond basic compliance and transform feedback into meaningful action. The platform offers integrated tools for assessment, reporting, automation, and student management. This empowers training organisations to streamline operations, stay audit-ready, and continuously improve. All while delivering exceptional learner outcomes.
Ready to see the difference Cloud Assess can make for your training organisation? Request a demo today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Quality Indicators
How can you streamline the survey process to increase response rates?
Learners and employers are more likely to complete your questionnaire if they believe you respect their feedback. Tell them about any results that are of concern to you, and what you plan to do about it. And follow up! This has the two-pronged effect of having them tell others that you take their feedback seriously, as well as making it more likely they will participate next time.
Do I have to use the VET Quality Framework survey templates?
No. There are plenty of providers that have pre-built learner engagement and employee satisfaction templates for you to use, including Cloud Assess! The template you choose is up to you. However, it is important that the wording is identical. Both Cloud Assess and VET Quality Framework have created the templates with the precise wording the ASQA requires. It’s critical that this doesn’t get changed during the feedback process, or collected data will be invalid.
Can I submit my Quality Indicator summary reports by email?
Not anymore. ASQA used to accept email submissions. However, they now require RTOs to submit their data using the web form. They are no longer accepting completed quality indicator summary reports in any other format.
Please note: The form is only available for submissions between 01 January and 30 June each year.
Do I need to submit a Quality Indicator Summary Report if it my RTO didn’t deliver training last year?
There are two instances where RTOs don’t need to submit a completed QI Summary report. If they were granted initial registration after 30 June, they do not need to submit a summary for that year. If an RTO doesn’t deliver training during the course of the year, and have submitted an AVETMISS Nil return, they are also exempt from submitting a summary report.
Do we need to submit a Quality Indicators report if we don’t offer full qualifications?
Yes. The surveys apply to any nationally recognised training. This may include units of competency and accredited short courses. The survey also isn’t specific to Australian students. You should collect feedback from both local and international learners.
