Evolution Hospitality Institute - CRICOS Case Study

Back when the world lurched from one millennium to the next, and the IT boffins screamed warnings of technological Armageddon, the Australian VET industry was simpler. ASQA and its mandatory reporting didn’t exist. Neither did the RTO Standards on which its efforts are based. Things were so straightforward for RTOs, that VET expert Amalia Portelli remembers running everything with spreadsheets.

Today, things are a bit more complicated. Amalia has worked as a Compliance Manager at Evolution Hospitality Institute (EHI) for four years, guiding them safely through today’s thorny compliance requirements. Amalia exhibits the ease of somebody who has worked in the same industry for 18 years, but would still prefer more hands than the regular two. Some of the complexity of Amalia’s role comes from managing CRICOS students, who are commonly found in the hospitality industry, and add extra compliance requirements.

Being able to communicate with students and record everything in a single system gives Amalia a clear picture of what’s happening with EHI’s students:

“aXcelerate gives us a big picture of what’s happening, day-to-day. I can see all student communication whenever I need to.”
—Amalia Portelli

Document management can be tough when training CRICOS students, with IDs, VISAs, offer letters, or other documents needing to be scanned, stored, and updated at the necessary time. aXcelerate’s Resources Library feature makes this process easier for EHI, offering version-controlled document management, reminders for document expiration, and more. It’s also the ideal place to store company policies and procedures.

AVETMISS reporting is another essential feature of aXcelerate for EHI, with on-the-spot error fixing. The feature now includes direct validation with NCVER itself, reducing legwork, and saving time for more important tasks.

Amalia recognises the challenges that CRICOS students face when moving to Australia. They’re often young, living in a drastically different culture, and only allowed to work up to 20 hours a week. Students must keep a delicate balance between putting enough hours into a course, and earning enough money to survive. EHI provides crucial support if things get overwhelming—a sign of their passion for students to succeed.

For Amalia, part of EHI’s success is due to the hands-on approach of the company’s CEO Stuart Page, who created the RTO 15 years ago, and whose experience and understanding filters down through the organisation. Stuart’s dedication to the industry and desire to constantly innovate is part of what makes Amalia’s job versatile and exciting. The next ambitious step for EHI is to offer training in other countries such as Vietnam, China and Malaysia, using modern eLearning tools such as aXcelerate’s Learner Portal. Amalia is especially excited about the upcoming work placements feature, which will allow trainers and students to upload evidence of learning while on the job. Higher education courses are also in EHI’s sights over the next 12-18 months. 

With aspirations such as these, spreadsheets won’t cut it. Amalia recognises that the growth of the business requires an understanding of the aXcelerate features that they aren’t currently using, particularly Workflow Automation, with its potential to cut hundreds of hours of manual work. Such crucial functionality is an important part of EHI’s ascent to ambitious new heights.

For aXcelerates essential CRICOS features, visit here.