It goes without saying that investing in your own education is an important thing and while enlisting on an RTO isn’t that expensive it’s still not a minor investment. This is especially so because it requires you to invest resources, time and effort in order to pass. For this reason alone, it would be devastating if you were to make a bad call and pick a non-legitimate RTO, whose certificate no company or organization is going to take seriously later on. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several things you need to know in order to choose the appropriate RTO.
1. Are they government registered?
The first thing you need to do when checking out the RTO that you aim to enlist in is the question of whether they are government registered, certified and verified. Even though you may assume that they’re legit, before you check their RTO number on the website (a five-character number) and look it up on the website of the Australian Government Department of Education and Training website, you won’t know for sure. If their website isn’t listed there, chances are that they aren’t a legitimate RTO and you shouldn’t consider enlisting with them.
2. How much do they charge and do they ask for money up-front?
This is a serious issue that you also have to address right away. First of all, you may not be able to afford their services and, even if you do, what if there are some complications. For instance, paying the entire amount up-front and not passing the course may seem especially unfair. Moreover, some businesses insist that you pay up-front and then present you with some extra expenses in the end. Due to the fact that the cost of this training has to fit within your tight budget, this can be a problematic practice, to say the least. This is why it’s far safer to look for RTOs that allow you to either pay later or pay when you pass. The latter is a particularly student- and budget-friendly option.
A word of caution, it’s also quite possible that you might be drawn in by a price that’s too good to be true and, in that particular scenario, you might be looking is suspicious, to say the least. Most commonly, these aren’t real RTOs but money grabs. Another way to recognize them is by the fact that they sometimes offer a 100 percent pass rate. This should be an immediate red flag and something to stay clear of.
3. What kind of education are you going to receive?
This may sound like a bit of an abstract question, however, this mostly consists of you asking for the specifics about the RTO in question. For instance, you need to inquire about their reputation in the VET field, as well as check if they use the RTO training resources and materials that you have access to. All of this doesn’t take much time and mostly consists of reading reviews and comments, as well as talking to one or two people who already took this course.
4. How quickly can you get the desired qualification?
The next thing you need to ask yourself is the issue of how quickly can the RTO provide you with the qualification you need, which is a huge issue when you’re in a rush. Sure, on paper, rushing to get qualified is never a good sign but what if you expect an opening for a position in a company that you’ve always wanted to work in or want to use a window of opportunity to migrate. In both of these scenarios, you would have a deadline by which you have to get a qualification. In that scenario, you need to look for RTOs that allows you to download your certificate in the form of PDF as soon as you pass.
In conclusion
The interesting thing about the above-listed set of requirements that an RTO needs to pass lies in the fact that this is a check that you can perform in a single day (an hour really) if you give it your best. This means that there’s no excuse for failing to do your part of research on such an important topic.