Smart and SkilledIMPLEMENTING THE ACE CSO PROGRAM

Issues and Answers

ACE Professional ConversationsSydney, February 2015

• The ACE Provider Contract and Operating Guidelines and the interpretations related to those documents apply to the ACE CSO Program.

• Some variations apply compared to the Smart and Skilled contract to reflect the differences in the programs.

• If in doubt – CHECK

Marketing

See Section 1 of the ACE Operating Guidelines• NO NSW Government Logos can be used without permission from the

Department …We will let you know when/if a logo could/should be used.• NO longer use the NSW Govt logo & supported by the NSW Government

as was required under the 2014 and previous ACE programs.• For S&S and CSO the ACE Provider must use the statement:

This training is subsidised by the NSW Government.• You must have a direct link to the Smart and Skilled website

smartandskilled.nsw.gov.au • Have someone check your website and promotional material to check that

it is meeting requirements.• *** Other funded programs may have different requirements eg. TSS

USI

USI – “ some students have arrived with more than one USI…what do we do?”

The RTO should check on-line at the USI site that the USI is valid. A student may have tried to register more than once, but the USI site has protocols in place to ensure that an individual can only be approved for 1 USI.

Quality and Monitoring

• There will be more regular monitoring and quality assurance of all S&S and CSO activity and training providers.

• Make sure you have all the policies and procedures in place required under contract.

Consent Wording

ACE Operating Guidelines Section 6.2 & Schedule 1

Consent as specified in the ACE Operating Guidelines must be adhered to and the wording contained in the consent form (Schedule1) must be used.

Consent as outlined in 6.2 allows for local flexibility in how the wording is communicated.

For the purposes of the ACE CSO program the key factors are the student is aware of the information contained in the consent form, has understood what they are consenting to and that the provider has a record of consent obtained. For example:

• Posting the consent form on the provider web-site for students to sight and capturing evidence the form has been sighted and understood at enrolment

• Integrating verbal information and consent into your assessment for program eligibility

Who is eligible for What?

• Step 1.- Is the student eligible for entitlement?If YES

• Step 2 – Is there a barrier to accessing an entitlement?

If YES• Step 3 – What fee should be charged?

Regional & Remote Funded Delivery

See Schedule 2 of the ACE Operating Guidelines Tables 1 & 5

• There must be a barrier to accessing subsidised training.

• Schedule 2 lists examples of barriers to access (mainly linked to disadvantage). However there may be other barriers such as distance to travel to entitlement training. Make professional decisions and maintain evidence of those barriers.

• Check that training is offered in inner regional, outer regional, remote or very remote postcodes at

http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/internet/otd/Publishing.nsf/Content/locator

Fees, Exemptions and Concession

• ATSI students – Fee exempt• Students with a Disability (and their dependents) –

Fee exempt for the first training program in a calendar year.

• Concession fees to anyone who is the recipient of specified Commonwealth benefit (See ACE Operating Guidelines Schedule 3)

• Standard Fee as per the S&S Fees Guide for Full Qualifications or the ACE CSO Fee Calculator for part qualifications.

ACE CSO Fee CalculatorSmart and Skilled

ACE CSO Student Fee Calculator for Part Qualificationsas at September 2014

Module/Unit of Competency ID Module/Unit of Competency Name Concession Fee Standard Student Fee

90991NSW/D Interview Skills for Jobseeking $ 80.00 $ 158.50 90992NSW/H Intermediate Media Skills

How to use this calculator91420NSW/F Language skills for job interviews

Dressing for Success Non-Accredited or Local Module i.e. The name is assigned locally

Evidence

• Maintain a record of evidence of eligibility to participate in the ACE CSO Program and for the application of fee exemptions or concessions as per Schedule 2 of the ACE Operating Guidelines.

• This record can be details of evidence sighted. eg. Commonwealth benefit ID

number/reference and type of benefit

When to Seek Approval from STS

Activity STS Approval

Subcontracting Training delivery of full qualifications

Required. Pre-approval from STS 28 days prior to commencement

Subcontracting Delivery of part qualifications or UOCs

For the 2015/16 contract ACE Providers delivering CSO are approved to subcontract units/modules without further approvals.

Subcontracting Other responsibilities

Approval required…but if already approved by S&S, then separate approval not required.

Full Qualifications Training delivery for disadvantaged

Not required. But sufficient evidence must be kept.

Full Qualifications Regional & Remote Required.

Full Qualifications – Regional & Remote

• Pre-approval required• When seeking approval to deliver full qualifications

for regional and remote you should provide a rationale why this is needed.

• Have you verified that this qualification is not going to be delivered in that community ? (eg. Email verification from RTOs approved to deliver this qualification under S&S entitlement).

• Send an email detailing your request to the ACE & PD Unit at acedesk@det.nsw.edu.au

• ** to June initially

Full Qualifications - Disadvantaged

• No approval required.• Targeted training to meet the needs of

disadvantaged learners at any level up to and including Cert III qualifications on the Skills List where there are barriers to accessing an entitlement.

• Keep clear evidence .• What if you are on S&S contract to deliver this

qual under entitlement?

Sub-Contracting

• For the 2015/16 contract ACE Providers delivering CSO are approved to subcontract units/modules without further approvals from the ACE and Professional Development Unit. This approval only applies where subcontracting forms only part of/supports training delivered by the ACE RTO and the majority of training is delivered by the contracted ACE provider.

• Approval MUST be given for sub-contracting to another RTO for any FULL qualifications 28 days before commencement.

• In situations where you intend to run the same qualification more than once in a calendar year, approval can be sought for both initial and repeat training.

• Discuss your proposal with the ACE & PD Unit before progressing planning for this to determine if there is a strong case before making an application.

Scenarios

• Cert III in Aged Care – I don’t have this on S&S contract, but I want to offer this as a full qual under CSO. When can I do this?

• I want to deliver a full qual as a CSO but I am

also approved to deliver this qual as an entitlement under S&S in the same region. What can I do?

Scenarios

• Is just delivering Foundation Skills and CSWE OK Under ACE CSO?

• How do I prioritise who gets access to subsidies?

• Can I meet my CSO target?

What other issues are you having with implementing the ACE CSO?

Information and Help

ACE CSO• 9244 5470• acedesk@det.nsw.edu.au• http://www.ace.nsw.gov.au/netfirst

Smart and Skilled Contract• 1300 772 104 • trainingmarket@det.nsw.edu.au• https://smartandskilled.nsw.gov.au/

State Training Authority CodesActivity Schedules for each program and Schedule 4 ACE Operating Guidelines

The ACE Activity Schedule will contain the 3 letter Funding Source STA Code to be used in the NAT 000120 Enrolment File.

• CSO Disadvantaged = CSD• CSO Regional and Remote = CSR• Teaching and Leadership = TAL• Tech Savvy Seniors = TSS to be included in future• Other codes may be applied if new programs are funded in the future.

These codes are critical in acquitting funding against targets. If these codes are not used then you cannot demonstrate that contract targets have been met and funding WILL be affected.

Data Reported Quarterly

Date of Commencement

Submission via OLiV by the following dates

Interim submission 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2015

30 April 2015

Interim submission 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2015

31 July 2015

Interim submission 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2015

31 October 2015

Annual submission for 2015

1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015

31 January 2016

Interim submission 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2016

30 April 2016

Interim submission 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2016

31 July 2016

Why Data is More Important Than Ever

• CSOs may become contestable over time• The ACE CSO Program will need to demonstrate

effectiveness. Accurate data is critical to this.• Current data reporting on the 13/14 Youth and

Mature Program is VERY disappointing– Most colleges advised they had “successful” programs BUT– 80% of colleges involved had some data issues, and many

significant ones.– 33% of colleges STILL had data issues in final 2014 data

submission– Poor reported outcomes for some colleges– Poor systems ?