Read closure announcement media statement: RAPAD Skilling to close after more than 15 years supporting regional training
About RAPAD Skilling
RAPAD Skilling delivered accredited training across Central Western Queensland and beyond for more than 15 years, helping regional workers, businesses and councils access qualifications and skills that were once extremely difficult to obtain locally.
The work behind RAPAD Skilling will leave a lasting legacy as RAPAD continues to respond to the evolving needs of the region.
RAPAD Skilling is just one way our organisation has worked with councils, industry and community for more than three decades to enable access to the skills, education and workforce pathways our communities need.
This work has included the initiation of RESQ, which continues to grow as an independent business to deliver employment and training programs across Central Western Queensland with a strong focus on Indigenous participation.
Red Ridge (Interior Queensland) opens creative pathways through workshops, training, events and social enterprise like The Lost Art in Blackall.
Most recently RAPAD and its seven member councils reached another major milestone for the region with the establishment of the CWQ RAPAD Country Universities Centre, with study hubs across the region supporting the growing demand for tertiary education and online study.
Where RAPAD Skilling began
The origins of RAPAD Skilling can be traced to RAPAD’s Australian College of Outback Tourism project in the early 2000s.
The project’s development was supported by funding from the Australian and Queensland Governments as Central Western Queensland looked to diversify employment opportunities beyond traditional industries, particularly during periods of prolonged drought. Research identified tourism and hospitality as areas with significant potential for economic and employment growth, but accessing the accredited training needed by local businesses and prospective workers remained a major barrier.
At the time, distance made bringing training providers into rural and remote communities difficult and expensive. Online learning was still emerging, while limited regional connectivity made consistent, high-quality online delivery impractical.
RAPAD initially worked with organisations including TAFE Southern Queensland and other RTOs to bring trainers into the region or enable suitably qualified local trainers to deliver accredited courses.
That work ultimately developed into RAPAD Skilling, with its training scope expanding in response to local demand from tourism and hospitality into areas including civil construction, business, first aid, community services and individual support.
Training was delivered from RAPAD’s Longreach base, in communities across the region and increasingly online, with RAPAD Skilling also extending its delivery into South West and North West Queensland.
Over the years, RAPAD Skilling participated in a range of government employment and training initiatives, helping regional people access subsidised training while connecting employers and communities with broader workforce-development opportunities.