- In short: Students left stranded by the collapse of Inspire Education last year are facing having to redo course units they had completed
- What's next?Industry experts say the issuehighlights the need for better protections for students of vocational training organisations
When Lorena Ramos Maldonado submitted the final assessment for her certificate III in early childhood education and care last October, she felt excited.
The 34-year-old had worked as a schoolteacher back home in Colombia and with a keen passion for early childhood education, she was looking forward to picking up where she left off.
But that elation didn't last.
One day after her final submission, registered training organisation (RTO) Inspire Education went into liquidationleaving 13,000 students, including Ms Ramos Maldonado, stranded.
"It was totally unexpected. I had to re-read the email several times to believe it," she said.
"I thought, surely they are not going to leave me like this. I mean I have finished, I am done."
After 18 months of study and a five-week unpaid placement, Ms Ramos Maldonadopanicked, rushing to login into her student profile to take screenshots of her transcript.
"I took the screenshots and several hours later, the webpage was already closed down," she said.
"I didn't know what to do, where to go, who to call to, as they closed the phone line and they closed the student platform."
Nine monthson from the collapse of the provider Inspire Education, students like Ms Ramos Maldonado have been grappling with uncertainty about the future.
Some have beenfacing the prospect of having to redo study units and placements they had already completed, prompting industry experts to call for better protection for students.
'I didn't know what it meant'
Like Ms Ramos Maldonado, Vanessa Maccora had just submitted her final assessment, after an eight-week unpaid placement, when Inspire Education entered liquidation.
Ms Maccorawas on the verge of attaining her certificate III in Education Support, after enrolling in the course in early 2020.
"Paying up front for this course at the beginning of COVID when I was also fresh out of high school was a financial strain in itself for me," she said.
When an email from the liquidators arrived in her inbox, she was disappointed and confused.
"I didn't know what it meant in terms of me being able to gain a qualification that I worked hard on," Ms Maccorasaid.
"All my assignments had been graded, besides the very last piece of assessment that was linked to my vocational placement."
While the liquidator sent out letters with general guidance about refunds and accessing their student records, both students struggled to get specific advice about their own situations.
"I didn't want my money back, I just wanted to get qualified," Ms Ramos Maldonado said .
Student with 'nothing to show' for priorstudies opts for uni course
When Inspire Education's business and assets were later sold to another training provider, Shafston International College, both Ms Ramos Maldonadoand Ms Maccorafelt renewed hope.
But that quickly disappeared.
They said none of the units they had completed for their respective courses were showing up on the national transcript database. It was as if they never happened.
When students were invited to contact the college about completing their studies via the new provider, both got in touch.
Ms Maccora said she never heard back, while Ms Ramos Maldonado said she was told that as her certificate had been superseded, the new provider could only recognise two out of 18 units.
"I was told the only way we can help you is if you enrol again in a new course for a special price," MsRamos Maldonadosaid.
Needing to either have the qualification or be enrolled in the training to keep her job, shesaid she had no choice but to pay up again and effectively start over.
"There was no-one supporting you. I never thought something like this could happen here in Australia," she said.
"I took the decision because I was desperate … I was waiting and waiting. This is my only chance, though I am fearful after giving my trust to Inspire."
After repeated unanswered calls for help, Ms Maccoraended up giving up on her vocational qualification, instead enrolling in a bachelor's degree in early childhood at a Melbourne university.
"I have never felt less supported in a learning environment than what I have experienced after the liquidation process," shesaid.
"This is why I have chosen to pursue another form of study … I regret enrolling with Inspire, as after all this study and at the end of this liquidation I have nothing to show for it."
A spokesperson for the regulator, Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA),said it had worked with the liquidator to retrieve and update student records, butunits could not be credited where Inspire had not graded or processed assessments.
In a statement, Shafston International College said it was assisting students any way it could.
"Shafston initially contacted students of Inspire with a view on easing their concerns, updating them on the status of their studies, and offering ongoing study options where Shafston could facilitate by way of its own scope of registration," the statement read.
"Our trainers currently support a large number of former Inspire students."
More than 4,900 debt claims —mostly from students —have been lodged, according to the the liquidator, Worrells, butthe liquidation process was still ongoing.
Industry expert calls for tougher regulations on sector
Former regulator and industry consultant Claire Field said the case highlighted the need for tougher oversight of RTOs, noting Inspire Education had only recently been audited.
"This is a training provider that only a few months earlier was given the tick of approval from the regulator," Ms Field said.
A month after the liquidation the regulator ASQA cancelled Inspire Education's registration, citing "non-compliance with their obligations as an RTO".
An ASQA spokesperson said the agency received "numerous reports"about breaches.
Ms Field said the current oversight system was not working.
"The regulator was confident this was a good training provider, yet just a few months later, not only does it close, but for a number of students, it is as if their training didn't happen, because of how their records and progress of learning have been handled," she said.
"We need a regulator that the sector can have confidence in."
Ms Field said students should have been better supported, including action to ensure any work they submitted was provided to a new trainer to review and assess as an immediate priority.
"It is staggering that no government agency has stepped in to assist these students with the circ*mstances that they have found themselves in through absolutely no fault of their own," Ms Field said.
Peter Hurley, an education expert and director of the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University, said the sudden closure of RTOs was not uncommon.
He said public vocational education training was "dramatically underfunded" in Australia and the sector needed a complete overhaul.
"Private providers are often more able to provide the courses at a cheaper rate and they operate on a on a high volume, high turnover model, so it is a system that is prone to having collapses," Dr Hurley said.
The challenge for the regulator, he said, was having effective oversight over thousands of providers.
"I think we need to look at this system and what's going on. The regulator is doing the best it can, but is it really in our interest to really have 4,000 registered training organisations?"
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