The Australian | 16 December 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Education and training provider Australian Careers Network has seen its shares sink 20% on its Australian Securities Exchange debut, with investors remaining wary of companies exposed to the vocational education sector. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The shares opened at $1.30 on 15 December, 23% below the listing price of $1.70, and closed the day at $1.36. The Melbourne-based company was forced to delay and scale back a planned $100 million float, raising $54.4m in a listing handled by Petra Capital, after investor sentiment soured following troubles at fellow education provider Vocation … [Read more...]
Vocation on the rack
09/12/2014 by
The Australian | 5 December 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Following the resignation of John Dawkins as chair, Vocation chief executive Mark Hutchinson says he’ll stay on as CEO at the struggling education provider despite the company halving its financial-year earnings forecast and seeing a further plunge in its share price ( from a high of over $3 to around $0.50 following regulatory findings to just $0.19 currently), on the back of apparent failures in governance and poor operational policy and procedures. Meanwhile, estranged former director Brett Whitford, who has called for root and branch change, has substantially lifted his stake in the company from 9.11% … [Read more...]
The Scan’s top ten reads – November 2014
02/12/2014 by
2 December 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… In November, The Scan published 33 posts and 2 editions, rather than the 4-5 in a usual month. There has been a sameness to coverage over the past few months, led by the regulatory problems of the ASX-listed private training provider Vocation and now Acquire. Acquire was due to list in December but presumably this is off the table for the time being, given it is being audited by ASQA and the state of the market. The governance issues at Murdoch University continues to attract attention, with the probe into probity matters widening and the general nature of the allegations concerning senior staff … [Read more...]
Dawkins quits as chair of Vocation
27/11/2014 by
The Australian | 27 November 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… John Dawkins has resigned as chairman of troubled education group Vocation, saying shareholders want board renewal. He has been replaced immediately by Doug Halley, who is also currently chairman of ASX-listed Duet Group. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Last month, following a lengthy probe, Vocation was forced to repay $19.6 m in Victorian government VET funding over non-compliance issues and it has now emerged one of its subsidiaries (Aspin) is the subject of a previously undisclosed investigation by the federal skills regulator (ASQA). Vocation has also been under investigation by … [Read more...]
Class action pending over Vocation
14/11/2014 by
Fairfax Media | 12 November 2014 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… More than 30 institutional investors from both Australia and overseas are backing a class action being planned by law firm Maurice Blackburn over disclosure practices at embattled education firm Vocation. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Maurice Blackburn has launched online registration page to allow retail shareholders to sign up to be part of a class action, joining the large institutions angry at the heavy losses of $350 million-plus as the share price plunged. Maurice Blackburn class actions principal Jacob Varghese said there had been substantial interest from institutional … [Read more...]
The Scan Edition # 165 7 November 2014
07/11/2014 by
Acquire in ASQA spotlight 7 November 2014 | The marketing practices of Acquire Learning, chaired by former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou, are being investigated by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) following complaints about cold calling and inappropriately ¬enrolling jobseekers who had ¬applied for positions advertised on the Seek employment website. Acquire itself is not a registered training organisation, but works as a broker allocating students to individual providers. Acquire has been the subject of complaints whereby jobseekers applying for positions are pressured into undertaking private tertiary study, in some cases becoming burdened by debts of up to $8000....[ … [Read more...]
