Academies Australasia as a Leading Education Provider Plan to Open Perth Campus - Case Study Example

Strategic and business planning Assessment Name: Class: Unit: Executive summary This report and business plan is based on Academies Australasia a leading education provider plan to open Perth Campus. This is a well laid out process aimed at actualising the business idea. The first part of the report is an extensive research on legal requirements which have been summarised. The second part is based on analysis of macro environment of the vocational education service industry at Perth. The last part is the business plan on the Academies Australasia idea. Contents Strategic and business planning Assessment 0 Executive summary 1 Contents 2 Part 1 4 Legal requirements 4 Part 2 5 Macro environment of the vocational education service industry at Perth 5 Political 5 Economic 5 Social 5 Technological factors 5 Part 3 6 Business Plan 6 Proposed Business Idea 6 Product or Services 6 Macro Environment (Industry Analysis) 6 Marketing Plan 7 Porter’s Five Forces model 7 Threat of new entry 7 Competitive rivalry 7 Bargaining powers of the suppliers 7 Threats of substitutes 7 Bargaining powers of the buyers 7 An analysis of the Marketing factors 8 Marketing strategy (Marketing Mix (4ps), Target Market, Market Segmentation 8 Product 8 Price 8 Placement 8 Promotion 9 Internal environment analysis based on SWOT model 9 Strengths 9 Weakness 9 Opportunities 9 Threats 9 Organisational structure & operational plan: 9 The organisational structure 9 Management levels, critical departments. 10 Information management 10 Facilities & infrastructure 10 HR strategies & plan 10 The key HRM policies 10 Financial plan 11 Sources of financing the business 11 Revenue and expenses for start up 11 Pro Forma profit and Loss 13 Recommendations 13 13 References 14 Part 1 Legal requirements To offer vocational training in Australia, the campus has to meet the set legal standards. First, there are standards for the registered training organisations (RTO). The most recent standards were set in 2015 by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). This will ensure that the institute is able to offer high quality training which is consistent with other providers in the region. The campus has to abide with the state and territory laws and legislations. The main law will be based on the western Australia Vocational Educational Act of 1996. Under the act, it will be possible to set the standards and base them on the local regulations. The guidelines from Western Australia dictate on the accreditation applications, standards and registration (Western Australian Govt., 2017). Moreover, the college has to apply to be registered as a training provider in line with the section 58B of the act. Moreover, the state has set aside the annual fees that have to be paid by the training service providers which are set under regulation 23. It is important to note that under the section 58B, the council can suspend or cancel a WA registered provider based on set conditions. Moreover, the training provider at Perth is expected to comply with the set audits and act in line with the obligations set by the council. Based on the law, all the courses provided must be accredited by the council in Western Australia. The date of the commencement for the training provider has to be registered by the council based on the part 7A of the Act (Western Australian Current Acts, 2017). This also applies to the accredited courses. The training Accreditation council is based on the law and has to be involved when setting a campus in Perth. Part 2 Macro environment of the vocational education service industry at Perth To succeed in Australian vocational training market, there is need to check for environment factors (Gill, Fluitman & Dar, 2000). This will help to address and reduce the negative factors. The best tool to use in this case is PEST analysis. Political The Western Australia government have been highly committed to enhancement of vocational training. This includes setting the standards for the vocational training based on the Act. The state funding has also been having a major impact on the way vocational training is financed. Moreover, there has been a lot of pressure for vocational trainings in Western Australia to be self-financing. Government legislations in the federal and state levels have been governing the way in which vocational trainings are accredited and registered. Economic Western Australia has been having stable economic conditions. The running of vocational training centre in Perth will be affected by the economic situation of the state and the country. This is due to fact that economic conditions affect the economic viability of an institute. The economic situation will determine on the materials availability, technology availability and demographic changes. At the moment, Perth has been experiencing stable economic conditions which favour the establishment of the campus. Social Social trends have an impact on the organisation success. With a large educated population, Perth is a vital location for the vocational training campus. The society is also highly multicultural and is easy for the students to integrate with the local community. Moreover, there is highly availability of information in the society. There have been social trends towards access to education which will help the campus to gain more students. Technological factors Perth is highly exposed to modern technology. This makes it possible for the campus to access fast internet for research purposes. The technological development in the city includes modern transport and innovations which helps to make the students life easier. There are state and national libraries which have digital access. Australia is a major player in the international science and technology field. The state has been funding research and development with a lot of focus on technology development. Part 3 Business Plan Proposed Business Idea The proposed business idea is Academies Australasia Perth campus. This campus is based on the company plans on expansion. Product or Services The products and services to be offered at the Perth campus are vocational education qualification based on trade or occupation. The campus will also be offering other relevant qualifications. Macro Environment (Industry Analysis) The technical and vocational training industry has been facing several regulatory changes over the past years. This is based on the federal and state government requirements. The new changes have led to change in funding structures and entering of new private training facilities in the market. The high levels of enrolment in private institutions have led to high pressure on the government budget. Moreover, the government restrictions on the approved courses have led to reduced government funding in public and private RTOs (Western Australian Govt., 2017).Despite the challenges, the industry is expected to experience growth. This is due to the government commitment to flexible training conditions and the high number of enrolments. Marketing Plan Porter’s Five Forces model Threat of new entry The education sector in Perth has been highly attractive for the investors. Despite this, the industry requires high investment in infrastructure, administration and equipment which makes it hard for the new entrants. There has been a reduction in government funding which does not favour new entrants. With low funding and reduction in students’ loans, new entrants have treated the industry with caution. The legislation process is also too tasking for setting up new campus. Thus, threat of new entrants is low. Competitive rivalry The competitive rivalry in the industry is medium. There are a lot of government institutions operating in Perth which the new campus has to compete with. The industry has experienced an increase in vocational training institutes (Gill, Fluitman & Dar, 2000). Despite this, the level of competition is not very high. Bargaining powers of the suppliers The number and concentration of suppliers is critical in this industry. With low number of suppliers, they are bound to sell their products and services at higher prices. The educational and training sector in Perth has a lot of suppliers offering numerous goods and services. The ability of the suppliers to influence the industry is low. Threats of substitutes The substitutes of earning college degree or additional training are mainly constrained by location, level of income and culture. At the moment, the limitations to education and training are minimal in Perth. Most of the low cost alternative institutes in Perth are government owned but suffers from congestion and low quality compared to private based vocational institutes. Moreover, the threat of substitution is medium. Bargaining powers of the buyers Buyers are fragmented and diffused across the Australian market. The public and private institutions have been targeting students in an aggressive manner. With the high access to information technology, students have a lot of choices in selecting vocational training institutes. The bargaining power of the students in terms of tuition and accommodation is high due to choice. An analysis of the Marketing factors The critical marketing factors are reputation, level of market recognition, professional alliances, teaching programs, organisation culture, use of information technology, and innovation. These are areas in which the campus has been able to excel on. The vocational institute has been able to have market recognition and have made alliances with several top training institutes. They have also been able to enhance their organisation culture enhance use of IT and are innovative. These are the main marketing factors to be used. Marketing strategy (Marketing Mix (4ps), Target Market, Market Segmentation Product The service being offered is intangible, inseparable and variability. Being inseparable from the student, the strategy used will be based on people. The product is the education services while the consumers are the students. The product will be packaged in a manner to attract more students. This includes the use of programs which takes into account the student needs and market labour needs. This will increase the students’ satisfaction. Price The price strategy has the ability to influence the income. The price of the courses will be tailored to the students’ needs. This is based on the demand, type of program, costs and the competitors’ price. The low funding by the government may lead to the prices being a bit higher. The price will be set higher to act as a brand statement. Placement This includes the most efficient method to deliver education to the students. The students will be efficiently placed on the labour market. Due to high access of technology in peth, education will be offered online and using the TV and radio channels. Online classes will make education easily available and reduce administration costs. Promotion There are a lot of channels which will be used to reach the recipients. This includes the use of word of mouth, positive public opinion and technology channels. There will be use of public relations and keeping a good reputation. Internal environment analysis based on SWOT model Strengths Highly trained and skilled tutors. Strong culture. Established infrastructure and resources. Strong brand name. Weakness Lack of presence in Perth. Curriculum too stretched. High pressure on teachers. Opportunities Need for vocational training institute in Perth. There are opportunities in collaborating with willing industry for employees vocational training. Threats Likelihood of new government regulations. The fluctuations of the number of foreign students. Organisational structure & operational plan: The organisational structure Management levels, critical departments. Administration Finance department Accounting department Department of education School of languages School of business Information management The information will be managed through the ICT department. This will ensure that all vital information is stored by the vocational institute in a safe environment. Facilities & infrastructure The college have invested highly in infrastructure such as building, ICT, education materials, training materials, vehicles and experienced human resources. The institute will be located in a leased building at Perth. HR strategies & plan The key HRM policies The HRM will recruit staff based on their level of experience and the institution need. The recruitment will be done based on the set laws and regulations. This includes being equal opportunity providers, antidiscrimination and gender equality. Performance appraisal will be carried out once in every year. The compensation structure will be set based on the industry standards. Financial plan Sources of financing the business The main source of funding is the company savings and government funding. The company will also use loan borrowed from financial institution. Revenue and expenses for start up Pro Forma profit and Loss Recommendations Running the business in Perth requires following both state and federal regulations. The business will have to comply with these aspects. Moreover, starting an institution requires a lot of investment. This might strain on the company funds since they have no presence in Perth. The success of the idea is based on the availability of students in the region. This is a major risk due to the high number of vocational training institutes in the region. References Gill, I. S., Fluitman, F., & Dar, A. (2000). Vocational education and training reform. Matching skills to markets and budgets. Washington: Oxford University. Publicada para el Banco Mundial. Western Australian Current Acts. (2017). Vocational Education and Training Act 1996 - Sect 7b. [online] Available at: http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi- bin/viewdoc/au/legis/wa/consol_act/veata1996306/s7b.html [Accessed 30 Aug. 2017]. Western Australian Govt. (2017). Western Australian Legislation - Vocational Education and Training Act 1996. [online] Available at: https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_1030_homepage.html [Accessed 30 Aug. 2017]. Read More