|
by
Employment and Training Outcomes Pty Ltd
Paul Nixon
30 August
2006
Contents:
- Context and
background
-
A proposal for a work-based learning and assessment
system
-
What are the main features of the new approach to
work-based learning?
- The qualification
-
How do you plan to keep track of assessment?
-
Customisation of resources and systems
- The
off-job training programs
- Recognition of
Prior Learning
- Where to from
here?
- Timeframe
- Costings
Paul
Nixon and Graham Evans of Employment and Training Outcomes
Pty Ltd wish to outline how Employment and Training Outcomes
Pty Ltd (ETO) could assist your company to undertake a staff
training and recognition system for relevant staff that
would lead to the formal recognition of the competence of
their staff for their roles.
Provision of a staff training
and recognition system leading to national qualifications
for your staff would:
-
Recognise the competence
of existing experienced staff through a process of RPL/RCC
-
Provide a simple logging
process to track development of new staff ensuring that
they receive training and development in their full
range of duties and achieve the competencies leading to
the issue of a national qualification.
This process of skills
recognition and work-based development has been successfully
implemented with Group Training Northern Territory (GTNT),
including its AAC personnel:
The key driving forces for the
initiative for you would be:
-
A realisation that you are
in the VET business and should be able to demonstrate a
professional approach to the development of your own
staff
-
Likely high level of staff
interest in obtaining training and formal recognition
for the work that they do
-
The need to demonstrate
compliance with quality systems underpinning the
operations of key parts of the company, including the
staff development requirements within the quality
standards and contractual arrangements governing the
operation of your company.
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The ETO consultants Paul and Graham
propose that the training and assessment needs of ACCs and
their staff be embedded in a work-based "system". Such a
system recognises that competent performance in the
workplace is about the utilisation of a suite of
competencies to perform to the company's standards
consistently over a period of time. Formal off-job programs
are seen as complementary to provide underpinning knowledge
to enhance work performance.
Work-based learning is not new.
Approximately 70% of all industry training in Australia
takes place in the workplace because most organisations
prefer to directly link their training to their goals and
workplace practices. What is new is the opportunity to
closely link this work-based learning to the achievement of
competency and formal qualifications by staff through:
- Designing
a sequence of defined work tasks, duties and roles that
staff will access to develop their skills and then
demonstrate competency over time and in a range of
contexts. In this way, learning becomes a recognised
part of normal work
- Identifying the relevant evidence
of competence (including work outputs) that will flow
from the work experience
- Recognising
that team leaders are in the best position to take
responsibility to supervise learning and assess
competence
- Recording
the completion of work tasks and roles by individual
staff in a Learning Journal and using this as evidence
of competency
The main advantage of work-based
learning is its flexibility. For example:
- Structured
on-the-job learning could include:
-supervised work experience,
-shadowing others,
-secondment,
-work sharing,
-completion of projects,
-coaching and mentoring
- Structured
off-the-job learning could involve:
-intensive short courses at the workplace or at an
external training facility
- A
combination of structured on and off-the-job learning
can also be used. The common approach is for the
off-the-job component to provide the underpinning
knowledge and skills while the on-the-job component
provides reinforcement via supervised work experience.
Competency-based
assessment is a vital component of work-based learning
because staff will be assessed using the completion of
workplace activities as the prime source of evidence.
Clearly, evidence of competence will also be gathered from a
person’s participation in off-the-job training programs but,
in the end, this must be coupled with the demonstration of
competent performance in the workplace with all the normal
problems, pressures and interruptions.
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The proposed
work-based learning system consists of:
-
identification of a suite of units of competency from
the relevant training packages that describes the skills
and knowledge required of competent staff in each
operational unit within the company
-
completion of structured work-based learning that is
planned and logged in a Learning Journal. At key
stages, the staff member and Team Leader negotiate a
Learning Plan that identifies relevant work
experience and other learning activities that will
support the achievement of competence AND fit in with
operational priorities. Other
workshops, seminars, short training courses that will be
delivered to provide key underpinning skills
- a process of
competency-based assessment against the standards after
a period of demonstrated performance in the workplace,
using valid and transparent assessment instruments.
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The Certificate IV
in Employment Services (CHC40502) from the Community
Services Training Package has been developed to cater for
the specific needs of AAC staff. It comprises a suite of
core and elective units that reflects the key competencies
required of AAC field and senior administrative staff.
Likewise the
Certificate IV in Business (employment services) from the
business package has been develop to cater for the specific
needs of Jobnetwork, GTO staff etc. It also comprises a
suite of core and elective units that reflect the key
competencies required of employment services industry staff.
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An
Assessment Kit will be prepared for each ACC qualification.
The Kit sets out what evidence will be collected to
demonstrate competence against the competency standards
listed for the qualification. This evidence could include:
practical demonstrations (for example, a Team Leader
observing the trainee’s interactions with clients),
workplace documents prepared by the trainee, log of
particular work tasks, reports from Team Leaders and peers
and the completion of self-paced learning guides and
training courses. An advantage of the work-based approach
is that most of the evidence can be collected as a
by-product of normal work.
The
consultants will develop templates within the Kit to
simplify the collection of evidence.
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The
consultants believe that one of the keys to a successful
work-based development system is the production of resources
that are customised to reflect the systems, procedures,
outputs and terminology of your company.
The
competency standards that make up qualifications have been
written in generic and user-unfriendly ways and it is not
desirable to expose staff to the raw standards. It is
highly desirable to customise and contextualise the content
of the standards to reflect ACC situations, but without
affecting the integrity of the standards.
Customisation is
achieved by the conduct of a focus group with particular
staff with relevant experience and/ or technical knowledge.
The resources will then be written in such a way that users
will easily recognise the competencies they must achieve and
the evidence they will produce by the language and examples
used within the company.
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As part of
the work-based learning system, the consultants envisage
that a series of off-job training sessions be offered to
staff to develop their underpinning knowledge and skills to
perform effectively in the workplace. While the selection
of training topics is subject to further negotiation with
Individual companies , we suggest that the following will
enhance the achievement of the Certificate IV
qualification:
-
working in
the Employment services area – covering the systems,
programs, policies and institutions relevant to the
"Employment and training" industry and OHS
-
managing
effective communication and workplace relationships
-
marketing
and promotion of services
-
building
client relationships and stakeholder networks
-
working
effectively with culturally diverse clients and
co-workers
-
workplace
safety
Note:
Off job training is not a mandatory component of the
program.
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Recognition
of prior learning (RPL) or Recognition of Current Competency
involves identifying, collecting and evaluating a portfolio
of evidence that covers past relevant learning and work
experience.
We propose
that experienced personnel be considered for RPL. An RPL
Kit will be provided that will:
-
outline the
process
-
provide a
template for self-assessment
-
provide
templates for gathering other relevant evidence.
The Kit
would be customised to your operations and suggest workplace
evidence sources that are relevant to a range of roles
within your company.
The
following diagram illustrates the process.
The
Recognition Process
| Step 1 |
Enrol in the Program
for the Certificate IV in
Employment Services; and arrange a planning
interview with your assessor to discuss your
self-assessment (and RPL needs) and to compile an
Evidence Plan (see Form 1 in Kit). |
| Step 2 |
Undertake a self-assessment
of current competence
to guide your choice of evidence sources (Part B of
Kit) |
| Step 3 |
Collect the evidence
set out in the Evidence Plan. |
| Step 4 |
Arrange a Recognition interview
and submit your
evidence for assessment |
| Step 5 |
Attend the formal assessment
interview
|
| Step 6 |
If assessed as Competent
receive an award.
If assessed as Not Yet Competent
provide the additional evidence requested by the
assessor OR complete additional training prior to
reassessment. |
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Interested
companies should contact Graham or Paul to see how cost
effective and simple this process is.
If you
decided to proceed the consultants propose a sequenced
development pathway as follows:
-
conduct of
focus groups within your company to customise the
resources currently held ny ETO.
-
conduct of
an RPL process for all experienced staff in your company
to to identify:
-
staff who are ready for award of the qualification
-
the additional development needs of less experienced
existing staff
-
implementation of the Learning Journal for less
experienced staff and for new staff, as they come on
stream
-
customisation of workbooks to suit your needs and the
conduct of a series of off-job training sessions to
complement the work-based system.
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As
negotiated: but could be
-
Month 1
drafting of Recognition Kit and Learning Journal for the
qualification based on a focus group within Employment
ACT to customise the draft resources, including
activities relevant to the off-job programs
-
Month 1-2
development of workbooks and the conduct of a series of
off-job training sessions to complement the work-based
system
-
Month 2-3
an RPL process for all experienced personnel
-
Month 2- 12
or 18 implementation of the Learning Journal for less
experienced staff and for new staff, as they come on
stream
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Very competitive pricing, as
a work based system and some materials have already been
developed so you only pay for customisation.
Contact
or
or by phoning 02 6207 4951 or 0418 243 876 |
