Nationally recognised training in the VET system is provided through Registered Training Organisations (RTOs),
which include TAFE Institutes and private training providers that meet national quality standards.
VET qualifications and part qualifications (Statements of Attainment) can only be issued by RTOs.
Although it is an industry that is geographically widely spread with a diverse range of enterprises, only a comparatively small number of RTOs service the Forest and Forest Products Industry. As a general rule, the trainers and assessors who work for RTOs have a strong background in the Industry with skills in particular sectors. Click here to find a RTO that services the industry.
However, the diversity of the Industry and the location of some enterprises also make it difficult to access training. As a consequence, some enterprises have formed partnerships with a Registered Training Organisation to support assessment by workplace-based assessors.
These skilled and formally trained assessors, working in partnership with an RTO, are able to gather evidence about the competence of workers. The RTO is then able to issue a qualification or part-qualification recognising the worker's skills.
What about the quality of the training?
There are guidelines that govern the way training and assessment is conducted by Registered Training Organisations. These guidelines, part of the Australian Quality Framework (AQF), set out standards that RTOs must comply with to ensure the quality and consistency of the training and assessment provided.