Educational Providers in Legal Hot Water for Unscrupulous Sales Tactics

Careers Australia, one of Australia’s largest vocational educational providers, is now being investigated by the ASQA for its unscrupulous sales tactics. The investigation coincides with legal action taken against Acquire Learning by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

CEO of National Training, Ian Oliver weighs in on the recent legal disputes stating, “All of the big VET FEE HELP cowboys are slowly being targeted by the Education Regulators and ACCC for using unfair sales tactics to target vulnerable people.”

In the case of Careers Australia, one of those people is an 11 year old girl named Violet who was coerced into providing personal details to Careers Australia after clicking an online “Three Spins to Win an iPhone” game. After entering details, her mother, Rachel, began receiving cold calls from Careers Australia. Rachel explained to the salesperson that her daughter was in primary school and thus had no desire to sign up for vocational training, but the calls continued. She called her ombudsman and the ACCC shortly thereafter.

Former police officer, Patrick Maguire, had a similar experience with Career One, a branch of Acquire Learning. After struggling to find work, Maguire signed up with Career One, not realizing that they were affiliated with Acquire Learning. He explains, “I certainly didn’t consciously say you’re free to pass on my information to an educational service provider. They’ve made that decision themselves.” As a result of prompting by a salesperson, Maguire enrolled for a $20,000 Diploma of Business with Acquire-owned Asia Pacific Training Institute.

After learning that Acquire Learning was being prosecuted by the ACCC, Maguire promptly unenrolled. He commented further, “There are a lot of vulnerable people out there, older people looking for work, find that they’re on the scrap heap of human society because they can’t get work, and you’re [Acquire Learning] preying on them.”

Ian Oliver follows through this series of events to the next logical step, commenting, “Now the ‘Education Providers’ will cease trading and tens of thousands of students will be left high and dry. There will be no learning support, no trainers, and these students will still be in debt for many of thousands of dollars to the government.”

There is a solution for those who are genuinely looking for qualifications to aid in their employment search. Oliver says, “Don’t get caught in the first place. At National Training, our Online Diplomas are now on 50% off starting at $1275 full cost. We also offer payment plans.

“At National Training our students are inbound and they want a qualification. They are keen to get a diploma to kick start or improve their career. With more than a 50% completion rate over the past 10 years, National Training has an enviable completion rate that puts it in the top quartile of Online Training Companies. You can start today and finish at your own pace.”

If you or someone you know is looking to get qualified and accelerate your career, contact National Training for the smart, affordable choice in vocational and professional training.