Merry Christmas and a happy and safe festive season to everyone. What a busy year it has been. Where did the year go?
Is this a question you have also asked yourself? 

As I review the events of 'the year that was', I have to admit that I am astounded by the scope of works we, at Progressive Training, have been fortunate enough to be involved in. From the successful implementation of traineeships through to the 2nd Party System Health Check we had in November.

Everything that has occurred throughout the year has certainly aided in our process of continual improvement and growth in a environment that has been quite testing for all RTO's in general across the country.

Before we know it Christmas will be upon us – a scary thought, I know! This edition is one of the last for 2013 with just one more issue of Newsline to be distributed before the end of the year. Keep an eye out for our Christmas issue!

I have just returned from a wonderful five week holiday in Europe where I spent my time enjoying the Netherlands, the magnificent scenery of the Rhine and Moselle rivers and the history and architecture of Germany and France. The Bavarian area of Germany is something else! Hope you enjoy the few photos (of the more than 1200 that I took!) that have been included in this issue.

The team here did a magnificent job of keeping everything in perfect running order while I was away and I thank each and every team member for their contribution. Plans are underway for our Management Team meeting to be held mid-November – this meeting will concentrate on our plans and targets for 2014 and beyond. Our internal audit will also occur early in November.

In August Geoff headed off to Christmas Island to conduct an audit for the Department of Training and Workforce Development.

Christmas Island is a natural wonder - a remote tropical island famous for its unique red crabs, robber crabs and spectacular bird life. It is an Australian Territory which lies way out in the Indian Ocean 2,600 kilometers northwest of Perth and 500 kilometers south of Indonesia's capital Jakarta.