ACE Program - FAQs

Eligible providers are invited to submit applications for an ACE project at https://providers.skills.sa.go...

Applicants are welcome to discuss their proposal with Skills SA prior to applying by contacting the Skills SA Infoline on 1800 673 097.

The Adult Community Education (ACE) guidelines and information on how to apply for a project can be found at: https://providers.skills.sa.go...

Yes, an ACE Project can deliver a cluster of units of competency. Where a learner is undertaking a cluster of units or non-accredited training, the cost should not be more than an accredited course nor take as long to complete.

Yes, an ACE Project can deliver an accredited training micro-credential through an ACE Level 2 project. This micro-credential does not need to have been endorsed by the South Australian Skills Commission.

Yes. Applications are assessed on merit in a competitive process based on project design, value for money, and past performance. Do not assume any prior knowledge of your organisation, courses, students or foundation skill needs in your community.

ACE providers can apply for a Level 1 and/or a Level 2 project.

A Level 1 project is focused on the traditional non-accredited foundation skills training.

A Level 2 project provides a combination of both non-accredited and accredited foundation skills training that is contextualised to vocational education.

Both Level 1 and level 2 projects are built on the Foundation Skills Training Package units of competencies. This ensures that we maintain the existing quality framework and structures for both levels, particularly for non-accredited and accredited foundation skills training.

Skills SA will also consider consortium project applications from ACE providers that consolidates local partnership opportunities that respond to ACE projects.

Skills SA invites applications from the following organisations:

• a community-based organisation with training as the primary focus of their business, OR
• an organisation with a training delivery relationship with a community-based organisation, OR
• a non-government Registered Training Organisation (RTO) with a current Skills SA FAA, where they have partnered with a community-based organisation and will deliver the training at the community-based organisation’s premises.

The key elements of a level 1 project are:

• delivered in a community-based setting
• built from the existing list of Foundation Skills (FSK) training package units as a framework for activities that improve language literacy, numeracy and digital literacy capabilities
• non-accredited skills development using the FSK training package
• aims to transition participants to a Level 2 ACE Project, accredited training or employment.

The key elements of a level 2 project are:

• foundation skills activity based around a vocational pathway
• accredited training delivered by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) with applicable courses on its scope, and not delivered through auspice arrangements
• able to demonstrate connections with industry or an employer
• a combination of accredited and non-accredited course activity
• accredited activity that includes units from vocational courses relevant for the context and delivered by an RTO with courses on its scope (not using auspicing arrangements)
• activities that connect to other State Government or Australian Government initiatives
• delivered in either a community or institutional setting or workplace (or combination).

Eligible organisations can apply for both level 1 and level 2 projects. These require separate applications and will be assessed separately based on the criteria associated with each project. ACE Providers can only apply for one Level 1 project and one Level 2 project per year.

You can partner with TAFE SA for the delivery of accredited training. The ACE project application must include a letter from the authorised TAFE SA delegate that acknowledges the partnership, the scope of the project and that these activities will be funded through TAFE SA’s existing funding arrangements with Skills SA. This letter is not required for partnerships with other training organisations.

Auspicing arrangements will not be supported for ACE projects. If your project intends to deliver accredited training the community-based organisation must partner with an RTO and submit an application for a level 2 project. The RTO will maintain responsibility for the delivery of accredited training to students.

It is important that the foundation skills delivery purchased by Skills SA in community-based and non-institutional setting strengthens collaboration between community education providers, the vocational education and training (VET) system and employers. Partnerships have been critical to the delivery of ACE in the past, and there will be an increased expectation to work with local partners to support participants and strengthen ACE projects. We know that partnerships and networks take time to develop, and your organisation may initially need to build on a small network.

No, the application will allow you to identify all regions you are seeking to deliver your project.

Projects must be delivered, resulted and reported on by 30 June in the financial year of funding. Commencement of training must occur after execution of the FAA for the approved project, and before the no new student enrolment date. The no new student enrolment date is 3 weeks prior to the last training completion date, or 26 May. The no new student enrolment date should be carefully considered when applying. Training must be fully delivered within the contractual timeframe.

Funding can be sought for varying project durations ranging from a 6-month project up to a triennial project that is delivered over three years.

The key areas of assessment are:

• project design
• value for money
• applicant past performance.

ACE projects must assist people who are:

• aged 17 years or over and not enrolled in school, or
• early school leavers with or without non-school qualifications, or
• an Australian resident, or if not an Australian resident, have an eligible visa (please visit https://www.skills.sa.gov.au/c... ), or
• participants transitioning from other South Australian Government funded initiatives, or
• existing employees needing to upskill their foundation skills, or
• identifying as Aboriginal, young people under 25 years, mature age (45 years and over), from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, people with disability, women returning to work or women seeking to enter non-traditional occupations.

The UAN applies to all ACE project participants. Training providers and community-based organisations must be compliant with this contractual obligation.

All participants must undertake the UAN by using the Basic Skills Indicator (BSI) that has been specifically designed for the ACE sector. The BSI is an online tool with questions to understand a student’s literacy and numeracy levels. This is unique to the ACE sector and must be undertaken at commencement and completion of training, so a student’s progress is understood and demonstrable. The UAN enables ACE providers to identify a participant’s suitability to enrol in the course and identify additional supports that may assist them to complete the training. On completion is helps to demonstrate measurable improvements in foundation skills to report on their pathway outcome.

Further information on this is available in the ACE Projects - Upfront Assessment of Needs Frequently Asked Questions document.

Where a participant exits an ACE project prior to the completion of the training, for a reason other than that of a reportable pathway outcome (that is, enrolment in a VET course, a VET course completion, employment or self-employment), and the participant is unable to undertake the exit ACE UAN, it is possible to still report a pathway outcome for the participant.

In instances where a participant has undertaken a large component of the training but not completed the exit ACE UAN, the outcome of ‘demonstrated improvement in foundation skills’ can be reported for the participant if the tutor has documented evidence and notes of an observed improvement in the participant’s foundation skills during the project. Tutor observations can be entered into the notes section of the BSI tool. All documented tutor evidence to support this reported outcome must be provided to Skills SA when requested.

If the participant is undertaking the accredited unit as part of a level 2 ACE project, the ACE UAN using the BSI tool is sufficient for enrolments into the accredited training unit of competency, and participants do not need to do it again to enrol in the accredited training component.

If the participant is enrolling into other accredited training outside of an ACE project, they will need to undertake the UAN with their new registered training provider.

No. Information only needs to be entered in the Skills and Employment Portal for level 2 ACE projects, and this will be done by the selected RTO delivering the accredited training. The RTO will create a profile for each participant on the Skills and Employment Portal as part of their regular reporting process for the delivery of accredited training.

Yes, participants can enrol in more than one ACE project and be reported in every ACE course they undertake in that financial year. Previously participants could only be reported in a second project if they were going from a level 1 project to a level 2 project. This has now changed, recognising that more than one level 1 project may be required for some participants to improve their foundation skills.

Where a student is wanting to repeat a level 1 non-accredited training project, and has successfully completed the training, they will not be permitted to enrol in that unit of competency again. The student can enrol in a level 1 project that has a different unit of competency to the one they have successfully completed. A student must achieve one of the reportable pathway outcomes, including demonstrating any measurable improvement in foundation skills through the BSI.

Where a student is wanting to repeat a level 2 accredited training project, and has successfully completed the accredited training, they will not be permitted to enrol in that unit of competency again. The student can enrol in a level 2 project that has a different unit of competency to the one they have successfully completed.

Should a student want to re-enrol in a level 2 accredited training project where their previous result for the accredited unit of competency was Competency not Achieved/Fail, they can undertake a further three attempts to successfully complete the accredited unit of competency. Please refer to Clause 10. Funding for Accredited Training in the Funded Activities Agreement for further details.

The ACE project application must reflect the cost of delivering the project in each financial year and is to be based on the training activity to be delivered, and the costs to manage the project, including the administration and supports for participants. Project activities (non-accredited) and training activities (accredited) will continue to be funded separately.

If you are applying for a triennial funding arrangement, you will be asked to update the costs and training schedule prior to commencement of each subsequent year.

For example, if you are applying for a triennial ACE project where the training will be repeated in years 2 and 3, the initial application is to reflect the cost of project activities and delivery of non-accredited training in the first year. This will become a basis for your submission of an updated budget and training schedule prior to commencing year 2 and then again prior to commencing year 3. This provides you with an opportunity to incorporate learnings and insights gained from each year to contribute to better outcomes for participants, whilst also acknowledging the challenges of estimating costs and training schedules in future years.

(i) Training Funds

(ii) Project Activity Funds

The budget that you submit in the application will include the cost of delivering project components that are separate from the training delivery. There is no cap for project activity funding, allowing applicants to deliver more responsive and flexible projects that meet participant needs. Project activity funds will be assessed on value for money and appropriateness to project design.

Non-accredited project activity funds will be paid directly to the ACE provider based on funding outlined in their FAA. On project approval, SA combines the funding requested for project management and delivery of non-accredited training and distributes it across the two payment methods: milestones and enrolment/completion payments.

In the FAA this is shown as Project Management funding for the milestones, and Other Activities funding for the enrolment and completion payments. The first payment will be made on contract execution followed by payments based on the agreed milestones as set out in the relevant FAA.

This ensures that the ACE provider can access funding through milestones regardless of the number of students that attend the courses, whilst also enabling Skills SA to manage risks by distributing funding through enrolment and completion payments. The total funding requested in the project application and approved by the Delegate is the same as the total funding to be paid through these two methods and outlined in the FAA.

Accredited training funds are paid directly to your RTO partner through their FAA and claimed through the Skills and Employment Portal.

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• implementing the ACE UAN for community education
• developing student-centred transition plans
• coordinating activities to attract, select, retain, and support project participants
• coordinating and delivering project elements, excluding the delivery of training identified in the project
• liaising with participants, employers, industry, and other project partners
• coordinating and supporting industry visits and information sessions, and preparing participants for work opportunities and selecting vocational pathways
• working with employers to engage and upskill existing workers
• additional goods such as personal protective equipment for participants
• workplace mentoring to support retention of participants
• provision of student support services
• travel related expenses for learners to access face to face services out of the workplace or across training sites.

• project activity undertaken prior to the contract being executed
• student course fee contributions
• activities that duplicate or are already funded through existing State Government or Australian Government services, supports or initiatives
• community education led projects that do not partner with RTOs to deliver accredited training
• preparation of project applications
• purchasing assets or capital expenditure, for example information technology equipment, systems or applications, buildings or vehicles
• wage subsidies for participants
• school enrolled students.

Foundation skills delivery, purchased by Skills SA in community-based and non-institutional settings, should enhance collaboration between community education providers, the VET system and employers.

Project participants will be expected to achieve any of the following outcomes:

• demonstrated improvement in participant foundation skills
• transition from a level 1 to a level 2 project
• enrolment in a VET course
• VET course completion
• employment or self-employment
• transition to higher education
• transition to other project initiatives.

If a participant does not achieve any of these outcomes, the ACE provider is to select “No Pathway outcome achieved”.