There’s a problem with pricing in training – HE will recognise the response

Tony Palladino from the NSW Utilities and Electro-technology Industry Training Advisory Board reports the price of VET courses are all-over the place. (It’s in his comprehensive, weekly email).

He cites as example, a Certificate Three for electro-technology technicians which is priced at $13 500 in NSW and $19 800 in Victoria.

The difference, he suggests is probably a “legacy of past infrastructure in TAFE and the goodwill of private RTOs,” in NSW. But with prices regulated by a state independent agency it is hard for registered training organisations to, “maintain a quality outcome.”

However, help is at hand. The National Skills Commission is surveying RTOs on the costs of course delivery that meets student, government and employer needs. Deloitte Access Economics is working on the project.

If working out course costs in HE is an indication, sorting this out might not be all that easy. Deloitte was retained by the feds to analyse teaching and scholarship costs at 32 universities and its findings were not universally applauded, “whether the Deloitte report is an accurate reflection of reality is contestable,” Vin Massaro suggested in CMM (July 15 2020).