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Last updated
29 October 2026

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Standard 3.1

The workforce is effectively managed to ensure appropriate staffing to deliver services.

Performance Indicators

An NVR registered training organisation demonstrates:

  1. how it ensures the number of trainers, assessors and other staff are appropriate for the delivery of the services it offers; and
  2. it facilitates access to continuing professional development opportunities to enable staff of the organisation to effectively perform their role.

  • You can describe the system you use to continuously ensure that you have an appropriate number of trainers, assessors and other staff required to deliver your RTO’s services. Factors for consideration may include:
    • number of students
    • mode/s of delivery
    • number and type of training products offered
    • volume of third parties you manage
    • student cohort diversity and composition
    • scheduled delivery hours
    • assessment practices and dates.
  • You can demonstrate how you define the different roles within your RTO and the skills and knowledge needed for each, including how you engage with industry to ensure that the skills and knowledge are current and appropriate.
  • You have documented systems, policies and processes for attracting, recruiting, verifying and retaining appropriately skilled and qualified staff.
  • You can demonstrate how workforce planning tools (including AI-enabled scheduling or forecasting) are used effectively (for example to model student numbers, delivery modes and assessor caseloads) and how human oversight confirms feasibility.
  • You can demonstrate how contingency plans address sudden staff changes or AI tool outages to ensure continuous quality delivery and assessment.
  • You can demonstrate how your strategies are effective in ensuring that third parties engaged by your RTO are maintaining adequate levels of appropriately skilled and qualified staff.
  • You can demonstrate the plans you have in place to respond to sudden or unexpected personnel changes within your RTO.
  • You can demonstrate how you invest in staff professional development – for example by:
    • using a professional development framework
    • ensuring trainers and assessors are allocated time to complete professional development
    • providing resources to assist in staff professional development, for example by purchasing licences to industry journals
    • conducting regular reviews of the industry skills and knowledge required for trainers and assessors with industry representatives
    • supporting trainers and assessors to participate in communities of practice, industry exchanges or placements
    • supporting staff to undertake professional development in specific areas relating to their role, such as VET reporting systems, responsible and safe AI use, cultural awareness and promoting wellbeing, or to obtain higher level VET qualifications.
  • You have systems in place to regularly monitor and review staff performance to determine if professional development offered is sufficient to enable them to effectively perform their roles.

  • Failing to determine the appropriate skills, qualifications and workload for all roles, including staff, contractors and third parties.
  • Not having a workforce plan in place to ensure there are sufficient trainers, assessors and staff available to deliver services to current and future student cohorts.
  • Failing to undertake due diligence or verify credentials of applicants during the recruitment of new staff.
  • Having a staff-to-student ratio that does not adequately support students through their training and assessment pathway.
  • Not having a systematic approach to assessing and evaluating the performance of your staff and addressing their professional development needs.
  • Not providing staff with the opportunity or time to undertake professional development relevant to their role in your RTO.
  • Not having procedures in place to prevent and address instances of abuse, harassment, discrimination or violence amongst your student cohort.
  • Allowing workforce models to become overly reliant on AI-enabled systems.

 

Self-assurance questions

  1. What are the key risks to your workforce over the next five years and what strategies do you have in place to mitigate these risks?
  2. How do you know that you have the right number and mix of staff to deliver quality training and assessment?
  3. How are you ensuring that your third parties are maintaining adequate staffing levels with the necessary qualifications, skills and knowledge?
  4. How do you monitor and review the performance of your staff to identify opportunities for improvement / professional development?
  5. How do you facilitate access to continuing professional development for your staff?
  6. What contingency arrangements are in place to ensure students are not adversely affected by unexpected staff changes?
  7. How do you ensure that the introduction of AI does not diminish workforce capability?

Case study

Building a strong VET workforce plan

EEE Training Pty Ltd (EEE) delivers qualifications in Business and Community Services to approximately 600 students via blended and workplace-based delivery modes. To ensure sustainable operations and quality training outcomes, the provider implements a workforce planning approach as part of its annual business plan. 

EEE conducts a workforce needs analysis linked to its enrolment growth forecasts and training and assessment strategy. This helps EEE to identify the required number and mix of staff across functions, including trainers, assessors, student support officers, administration, and IT support.

To ensure it has the right people with the right skills, EEE defines role-specific competency requirements and applies robust recruitment practices, including verification of skills and knowledge, and industry currency. Trainer-to-student ratios are set based on delivery mode, complexity of the course and the specific student cohort, ensuring students can access timely support. A casual trainer pool is also maintained to mitigate risks associated with staff absences and turnover. 

EEE aims to be an employer of choice, offering flexible work arrangements, industry partnerships, a structured professional development program, and twice-yearly performance reviews. 

  1. Is there a workforce to student ratio that providers should adhere to for trainers and assessors, administration, student support, etc?

    There is no prescribed workforce-to-student ratio. This can be determined by each provider in the context of their operations. Providers need to ensure they have an appropriate number of trainers, assessors and other staff to deliver the organisation’s services and comply with all regulatory obligations (including the obligation in Standard 2.3 to provide students with reasonable access to trainers, assessors and other staff responsible for supporting them). Workforce planning can assist providers to determine current and future needs, including the number of staff and mix of roles needed based on the RTO’s service model, mode/s of delivery, location/s, the number and diversity of training products on its scope of registration, the size and characteristics of its student cohort/s and any third party arrangements that need to be managed.