CatoHR and its subsidiary business, RPL Assist, have established an outstanding reputation for their service and quality over the course of 15 years working with Registered Training Organisations and industries.

CatoHR is dedicated to assisting Registered Training Organisations of any size or type in achieving compliance, profitability, and innovation. We have collaborated with small to medium RTOs across various states, as well as several TAFEs, including those catering to regional and remote areas. Additionally, we have partnered with numerous industries, including electrical, building, plumbing, transport, rail, education and training, hospitality, community services, business, and civil construction.

Cato HR offers a range of services to Registered Training Organisations, which include:

• Providing quality assurance services such as internal audits.
• Delivering informative, enjoyable, and practical professional development workshops for trainers and assessors.
• Designing compliant assessment instruments.
• Conducting independent validations.
• Developing compliant RPL Tools and assessment instruments for various qualification levels and industries.
• Assisting RTOs in clustering their learning materials and assessments.
• Mapping trainer and assessor currency.
• Performing WorkSafe Victoria HRW RTO annual compliance audits.

Wendy Cato is the Director of CatoHR and RPL Assist and is recognised nationally and internationally as a leading specialist and thought leader in Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Through her leadership, research, and practice, Wendy has consistently advanced the quality, credibility, and accessibility of RPL, positioning her as a trusted authority in the sector both within Australia and globally.

As the RPL Project specialist, Wendy played a pivotal role in the design and development of the national RPL Candidate-Centered Assessment tools for the Human Services Skills Organisations RPL Pilot Project (2021) for CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support. This initiative encompassed the creation of clustered assessments, as well as Employer, Candidate, and Assessor Guides. Moreover, the project involved developing and delivering a one-day RPL Assessor PD workshop for all participating RTOs and providing mentoring to RPL Assessors throughout the project.

In 2019, Wendy was awarded 2nd prize in the “Products” category at the 3rd VPL (Validation of Prior Learning) Biennale held in Germany for her RPL Toolkit materials.

RPL Assist has also been involved in several other large-scale industry-based RPL projects, including assisting workers affected by redundancies at Mitsubishi and Bridgestone (SA). Additionally, we collaborated on a project funded by the Construction Industry Training Board (SA) to support around 200 experienced Scaffolders and Riggers in obtaining their Certificate III in Scaffolding or Rigging.

Wendy has presented at various conferences, including the Canadian Association for Prior Learning (CAPLA) conferences (2025 & 2011), ePIC Recognition Conference Paris 2024, 5th VPL Biennale Ireland 2024, IVETA World TVET Conference Fiji 2016, as well as various VELG Conferences (2011-2016). Wendy has also developed Australia’s first Advanced RPL Assessor Micro-credential, one of only three such programs world wide.

Furthermore, Wendy manages the thriving RTO Professionals Discussion Group on LinkedIn, which currently boasts over 7,000 members. This group provides a platform for engaging in discussions on relevant topics within the VET sector. Feel free to join and contribute to interesting conversations about VET.