I’ve been in the RTO industry for the last 17 years, starting as a trainer, then moving into a compliance officer role, then into a compliance manager role. I’ve been an RTO manager and a general manager, so I’ve held various roles in the RTO world.

Probably in the last six years, I decided that I didn’t want to give my attention to just one RTO anymore. I wanted to spread that and share it with lots of RTOs, so I decided to work for myself and become an RTO compliance consultant.

My philosophy is really about empowerment. Empowerment for the student to have the opportunity to gain a qualification or unit of competency, and then where they take that. It could be a new job role, or it could simply be recognising the current skills they already have and having that certificate, diploma, or statement of attainment, whatever it may be.

It empowers them to feel and be able to express who they are, what they do, and the qualifications they have to support that. So for me, it’s about empowerment, and obviously ensuring that the assessments, resources, and everything that comes with it are of the highest quality, so those education outcomes are really strong.

Training across my career has changed so much, and thank goodness, largely because of technology. Back in 2006, when I started, there was one student management system that I’m aware of that was cloud-based. Everything else was not, and there was no way you would work from home.

There was nothing like online resources or anything like that. So technology, for me personally, and I love technology, is one of the biggest changes in our industry. I believe it has helped us so much to deliver better outcomes for our students, support our trainers, and manage our RTO businesses.

Having cloud-based systems as a trainer and assessor is amazing. We’re so lucky. I was reflecting on back in the day when we would have to book time with an admin person to pick up our resources or assessments. On the flip side, as an RTO, you would hope that the assessor would bring the assessments back in and not leave them in the boot of their car, or that they had picked up the correct version of the assessment tool.

You had to make time to collect your resources, the RTO had to make time to print them, and then you had to make time to mark them, provide comments, return those comments to the student, and get the assessments and resources back to the RTO, hoping that no paperwork went missing.

Now, it has made trainers’ and assessors’ lives so much easier. Everything is there. You just open the system and all your students’ assessments and resources are available. You can even view things from the student’s perspective, rather than trying to guess what they can see. So much time is saved. Comments go instantly back to the student, and they know where they stand, what they got wrong, and where they need to improve. There is just so much efficiency.

There is so much more opportunity for learners now. They can be in different states or even different countries. They are not limited to a 9 to 5 schedule. They don’t have to click through multiple systems to find resources or assessments or notes from the assessor. It’s all there and easy to access.

Being able to upload videos, use voice notes, and engage in different ways makes it much easier for learners to learn and be assessed. You can also involve workplace supervisors through their own access, so they can see what is happening. It’s clear and transparent. There is no need to call or email asking for updates, as learners can see exactly where they are up to.

From a compliance perspective, having cloud-based systems available for my clients is incredibly valuable, especially for audits and ensuring requirements are met. With workflows and forms built in, it makes everything much easier. There is no need to worry about lost paperwork or missing emails. Everything is seamless.

When my clients tell me they are using these systems, or ask for my recommendation, I’m always happy to suggest them because it makes the audit process much easier. When sitting in front of an auditor, I can show comments, timelines, tracking, and learner progress. We can see when a student has logged in, when an assessor has logged in, and all the activity is recorded.

This is incredibly useful when responding to audit questions. Trainers are always using the correct version, learners receive the correct version, and all tracking is visible. With paper-based systems, this information can easily be lost or unclear.

We even had a situation where a parent called to say their child had been working hard but had received no communication from the trainer. When we checked the system, we could clearly see that the student had never logged in. So it not only supports audits but also helps resolve issues quickly and accurately.

Looking ahead, I do think we will eventually reduce the number of units of competency, with more flexible options available to build qualifications, rather than having slight variations of the same unit across different qualifications. I’m not sure if this will happen in the next one to two years, but it’s something that has been discussed for a while.

I look forward to that change because it would improve student choice and make it easier for RTOs to manage compliance requirements. We also have new standards coming out, which is exciting. I enjoy change and am very open to it, and there are always developments happening in this industry, which is one of the things that makes it so interesting.

In terms of measuring success, time efficiency is key. Reducing wasted time means more time can be spent supporting students and allowing trainers and assessors to focus on quality work.

Paper usage is another major factor. Printing is expensive, and printers frequently break down. The amount of paper used in RTOs is significant. I’ve seen organisations move entirely from paper-based systems to digital platforms, and the cost savings from no longer printing are substantial.

It also allows staff to be redeployed into more valuable roles, supporting students and trainers rather than performing repetitive administrative tasks. These tasks are important, but they can now be handled by technology.

So ultimately, it comes down to time and money, which are critical in any business. These systems support both very effectively when implemented properly.

They also strengthen compliance by ensuring all requirements are met, with everything stored securely and accessibly, rather than being lost or misplaced.