Given the increasing trend towards a competitive training market, the VET sector needs more examples of how providers can make profits while delivering quality services. A commanding example is provided by a very unlikely candidate, the Victorian not-for-profit company training provider MEGT Ltd.
CEO David Windridge explains MEGT’s apparent split personality: “We are not-for-profit, but we are operating commercially. A term I use to describe what we are is ‘commercial not-for-profit’.”
MEGT (Australia) Ltd is a ‘not for profit’ company limited by guarantee. Established in 1982 and governed by a Board of Directors, MEGT currently has an annual turnover of over $40 million. This turnover may be boosted by MEGT’s membership of a consortium that was recently awarded an Australian technical college in east Melbourne.
Since its launch in 1982 as a Group Training Company, MEGT has grown to become an organisation offering a wide range of services. For instance, as a group trainer MEGT now employs 1,000 apprentices, while its Sydney operation provides training to 400 self-funded students. These services are delivered by 250 staff operating from 23 offices throughout Victoria, with another two offices in Sydney and Newcastle. Several weeks ago MEGT acquired Island Group Training in Tasmania, adding offices in Hobart, Launceston and Devonport.
When Windridge was appointed CEO, he believed MEGT had no option but to operate commercially. “When I joined thirteen years ago we were very focused on being not-for-profit. But there was no-one out there to help us and the only way to succeed was to do it ourselves. So we rolled up our sleeves.”
Growth strategies that RTOs like MEGT use include:
- Monitor trends and respond to new opportunities
- Build strong relationships with industry, clients, suppliers and peers
- Expect staff to add value and to improve business outcomes
- Enhance your brand, presence and visibility in the market
- Expand and refresh your existing products and services
- Remain open to unexpected or initially complex opportunities
- Balance expansion of current services with launching start-up ventures
- Merge with or acquire compatible businesses
- Form alliances and partnerships with complementary organisations.
One key to MEGT’s commercial success is the expectation of its staff. “We have a top quality staff, but organisations like ours need to have the capacity to move staff on, where they are not adding value to the organisation,” says Windridge. “Staff should enjoy working with you, and be happy at work. But they have to give something back: work shouldn’t just give them a pleasant experience.”
I develop this story further in my column ‘Inside VET’ in Campus Review, 24 August 2005.