Course placement

A literacy & numeracy screening process is undertaken prior to enrolment to ensure students are placed in a course that best suits their current learning needs. VTQ utilises the bksb (basic key skill builder) diagnostic assessments to understand a student’s current skills aligned to the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) levels. These levels guide the placement of a student into a course to ensure students have the pre-requisite skills to succeed and an appropriate amount of challenge. For more information on the ACSF level of each course refer to the Courses page.

Educational and support services

Students of VTQ can access educational and support services in their home communities. VTQ will support each partner site in successful implementation of student enrolment, course allocation, mentor training and understanding of procedures and processes.

Delivery modes

Training is delivered online with both print based and web based learning and assessment materials. Courses are self-paced with an average course duration of 6 to 12 months depending on an individual learner’s skills and hours of study per week. Learners may take much longer to complete and we will work with our partners in supporting each of their learners towards success.

The underlying principle of competency-based training is that competency is recognised based on what a person can do and what they know, not how long they have spent learning. This makes competency-based training very flexible with regard to how long it takes to gain a qualification, and where the training can occur. Competency-based training is suitable for both workplace and classroom delivery. The support given to the student, and the opportunities that are provided to learn and practise new skills, will directly influence the time needed to complete the qualification.

What does the student need to do?

In order to gain the most benefit from the learning experience, the student should:

• attend training sessions at the scheduled times as advised by the support service mentor/program arrangement
• advise the support service of any concerns or issues that will prevent attendance at any session
• fully participate in all training activities in a responsible manner
• complete all assessment tasks
• follow instructions willingly, promptly and in a safe manner
• respect others and their property
• demonstrate appropriate behaviour and be prepared to learn.

What does VTQ need to do?

In the provision of our training, VTQ will:

• ensure that trainers and assessors are appropriately qualified and experienced
• retain and maintain records of training and assessments completed in individual
  student files, including copies of Certificates and Statements of Attainment issued
• keep a record of students completed qualifications for a period of Thirty (30) years
• provide advice and guidance to the student regarding the training and assessment
  programs and services
• liaise with Government training authorities where required or requested
• provide reports to the relevant Government Department periodically on the progress of
  training and assessment, as per contractual obligations
• evaluate training and assessment services regularly and identify and implement
  continuous improvement opportunities
• maintain compliance to the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 in
  accordance with the terms of our registration as an RTO
• provide support to the trainer/assessor
• develop a training plan
• ensure that training and assessment takes place in accordance with the agreed training
  plan
• verify that competencies have been successfully demonstrated
• ensure that outcomes are recorded on the training plan and are a true record of the
  competencies achieved.

Fees

VTQ delivers all qualifications at “no cost to the student” and does not draw funding under any of the current Queensland Government funding initiatives. The courses offered by VTQ do not impact a learner’s eligibility to access Queensland Government funded programs. The RTO has been established under a not-for-profit business model to ensure service delivery can be:

• provided at a minimal cost
• delivered in a sustainable manner to ensure long term service provision
• used to support the educational development of a wide range of young people who
  have experienced disadvantage and difficulties with accessing education.

VTQ encourages partnerships in a support service arrangement, where the organisation pays for the cost of the training and assessment material and agrees to provide mentor support services for young people in their communities. VTQ provides all training and assessment to the young people working with support organisations, in accordance with the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015.

Certification

As an RTO, VTQ will:

• issue the student with a full, nationally recognised, Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate when all requirements of the qualification are met within 30 days.
• issue a Statement of Attainment within 30 days where a student has partially completed
  a qualification and all requirements of the unit are met.
• re-issue a certificate that has been lost – please note that an administration fee of $10 applies for this service.

Unique Student Identifier (USI)

From 1 January 2015, all Australians who undertake vocational education and training must hold a unique student identifier (USI). This means that if you are planning to study with VTQ (either as a new or continuing student) you must have a USI, or you won’t be able to receive your Certificate or Statement of Attainment once you complete your training. The introduction of the USI is part of the way that the Australian Government is improving the training sector. It ensures people can obtain a complete record of their enrolments and achievements from a single online source.

If you don’t provide VTQ with your USI at enrolment, we cannot, by law, issue you a certificate or Statement of Attainment for your training. Please visit www.usi.gov.au for a step by step guide.

Surveys and feedback

VTQ welcomes open communication and encourages feedback from all stakeholders to ensure that we are providing the highest quality outcomes to students, employers and industry and to guide ongoing improvement of our services. We collect continuous improvement feedback from a range of stakeholders:

• students
• support service organisations (including CBOs, schools and youth justice service
  centres)
• trainers/assessors.

Feedback forms are issued to students at various stages of a course to capture feedback and suggestions for improvements.

ASQA / NCVER surveys: Students who successfully complete vocational education during the previous year may also be asked to participate in the Student Outcomes Survey (SOS), which is an annual survey funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and conducted by the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER).

Other important student information

Vocational Training Queensland makes every effort to ensure students are informed and protected. The following key documents and policies are provided to support and inform students and the organisations that support them.