22.1.25
Strategy with Vision
What's the VISION of your RTO? Is there a documented proposal for what the organisation wants to be known for, where they want to be into the future, and how they'll get there?
Could staff tell you what the vision, mission and values of the organisation are? You know, the overarching guidance for the decisions, focus and goals of the RTO? If not, there may be some work required to set the strategic plan for the business.
Strategic planning is a process in which an organisation's leaders define their vision for the future and identify their organisation's goals and objectives. It is a management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations
The strategic plan is a tool to define where your RTO wants to go and what actions are needed to achieve those goals. It’s a summary of what your organisation values, and what its mission in the marketplace is.
For RTOs, strategic planning is expected to inform operational activities, underlying strategies as approaches to those activities, and also, risk management for sustainable operations.
One could be forgiven for wondering, what then, is a strategy? Particularly as strategies are mentioned numerous times in the Standards.
An RTO must have in place:
Training strategies and practices
Training and assessment strategies
Strategies to:
Manage risk
Identify and support student wellbeing needs
Strategies for:
Safe work-integrated learning or work placements
Enrolment
Reviewing skills and competencies of prospective students
Effective workforce management and development, and
Recruitment and retention of staff
It helps to think of each of these strategies as a plan of action – detailing what the RTO will do to achieve each requirement, which in turn, will feed the overall organisational strategy of the RTO and its vision for future positioning and achievements.
In short, to make the day-to-day activities drive the organisation in the right direction, one first needs to know what that is. Ensure the RTO's strategic plans and planning have clear vision.