CMM’s who-knew correspondent reports there is a Certificate IV in embalming

The news is in a report from the estimable National Centre for Vocational Education and Training on small training providers, what they do and why we need them.

The 1130 small and stable (fewer than 100 students, consistent over three years), account for 24 per cent of providers but less than 1 per cent of students, but they meet a market need.

Patrick Korbel and Kristen Osborne find the only training suppliers which match stable small providers as a class for range of national training package qualifications and accredited courses are TAFE institutes and dual-sector universities.

“This suggests it may be difficult, or uneconomical, to replicate the same breadth of delivery by means of a single large provider … that stable small providers contribute to a diverse VET system by providing choice for students who may not otherwise be able to access their preferred training from a larger provider,” they write.

Wonder what the micro-credentials future for super-specialist skills-training might look like? Have a look at small training providers, like the one teaching a Cert Four in life coaching and the college that provides a diploma in professional pilates instruction.

“Stable small providers may be providing training in areas that are not commercially viable or practical for stable large providers. The operators of these stable small providers may be offering and leveraging their own industry experience and expertise in these ‘thin markets,’” Korbel and Osborne suggest.