“Questions must be asked about the long tail of VET providers,” says TAFE Directors Australia chief Jenny Dodd

Ms Dodd contrasts the 29 TAFEs and dual-sector universities with 3800 private providers.

The public sector organisations are large (average 900 staff) and their workforces “operate to public service codes of conduct.” However the average private registered training organisation has 12 training staff, “which produces a very different training model.” Ms Dodd states, “we support the role of quality independent for-profit RTOs. However …” (and she follows with an himalaya high rhetorical question”, “whether we should be spending more and more on regulation of the long tail or should we raise the barrier to entry?”

“ How do we get to a market structure that reduces the cost of regulation, improves outcomes, and ensures Australia’s VET reputation? Reducing the number of providers may be what’s needed now,” she adds.