A major blocker in offering training for your staff is finding the right Registered Training Organisation (RTO). Most RTO’s won’t come to you unless you have 10 staff to train in a group setting. So that makes it pretty hard for SME’s with less than 20 staff.
It’s likely that your staff will need to go to the RTO premises to be part of training. Whatever the location the employer needs input into RTO selection, particularly if the employer has contributed to the cost of the training.
When selecting the right RTO for you and your staff consider the following:
- Interview the RTO owner of Head of School but also interview the teachers that will actually teach the subjects. You might find an excellent RTO business but that doesn’t mean each of the teachers are excellent. Careful selection of the RTO and teachers is critical to the success of the training program.
- Find teachers that your people will understand and respond to. For instance if you have a class that mainly respond to practical work situations then a teacher that sticks solely to textbook theory probably won’t be able to connect with the class and the willingness of students to participate in class will dwindle.
- Do it at a pace that is right for you and your staff, not at the pace that’s best for the RTO.
- Request feedback from the teacher on the progress of students and mentor those that fall behind.
- Utilise time effectively and set realistic timetables with the training company.
Recognise performance and effort along the way.