Chapter 1—Marketing and recruitment

Introduction

This chapter focuses on a student’s experience of marketing and recruitment, the first phase of their journey.

Students and employers need clear, accurate and readily accessible information to make informed choices about the training that will best meet their needs.

ASQA’s strategic review of the marketing and advertising practices of registered training organisations (RTOs) in 2013 found that almost 50 per cent of those reviewed were potentially misleading consumers.

ASQA’s 2017 strategic review of ‘unduly’ short training (courses that are delivered in significantly shorter timeframes than reasonably required to ensure students gain the competencies specified in the training) investigated how RTOs advertise course duration on their websites. The review found that in many cases information was either absent, widely variable in relation to the same qualifications, or inconsistent in terms of the way it was presented. The inconsistency in this information makes it difficult for consumers to identify the provider and course that will meet their specific needs.

Students have told ASQA that it is important to them that the information they receive about their course before they enrol is factual and accurate. However, in a marketplace where information is confusing, and not readily accessible and transparent, many students will not be aware if information is not accurate.