This blog has been updated for freshness and relevancy…
RTOs have seen a continuous change in VET in recent years. One thing remains intact and that is that they are governed by the Australian Skills and Quality Authority and must meet the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015.
Clauses 1.13 – 1.16 outline that it is the training organisation’s responsibility to ensure their Trainers and Assessors are meeting the ASQA compliance quality requirements including:
- Vocational competency
- Current industry skills
- Vocational training, learning and assessment knowledge
- Professional development in the practice of the vocational area
- Professional development in the practice of learning and assessment
We discuss what these requirements mean for your RTO, trainers and assessors here.
1. Requirements for Vocational Competency
To be able to train or assess students competently, the trainer or assessor needs to have particular skills and or knowledge and experience relevant to the industry. It is the RTO’s responsibility to check the competency of the trainer or assessor. The required vocational competencies for a trainer or assessor can be found in the training product, both at the qualification and unit of competency level.
There are strict guidelines around how a trainer or assessor must demonstrate equivalence of competency. It is necessary to show evidence of how the RTO determined that the trainer and/or assessor’s vocational skills and knowledge meet the requirements of the training product being delivered.
2. Requirements for Current Industry Skills
As the labour market is continuously changing, the RTO’s trainers and/or assessors need to be informed about current industry practice and valid assessment in their industry area. The RTO has to bear in mind that some industry areas have continual changes to technology or societal needs, which means that resources and processes may quickly be out of date.
The demonstration of current industry skills can come in many forms. The trainer or assessor has to provide evidence that they maintained, upgraded or developed new skills relevant to current industry needs. It is a great advantage if trainers and assessors frequently visit workplaces to experience the latest techniques, processes and resources.
To demonstrate current industry skills, the following activities could be considered:
- Participation in relevant professional development activities: A trainer and assessor can consult with these industry associations to find out about relevant development activities they could attend.
- Participation in networks: attending industry breakfasts, workplace health and safety meetings and discussions with employers.
- Personal development: reading industry journals.
- Undertaking accredited training: single units of competency microcredentials, skill sets and qualifications and demonstrating recent completion of a VET training product.
- Returning to work: working in the relevant industry on a part-time or casual basis.
Top tip!
Keep your finger on the pulse of the industry by signing up for email alerts and news to keep abreast of activities that are happening. The Industry skills website is a good place to start: myskills.gov.au
3. Requirements for Vocational Training, Learning and Assessment
To stay relevant to a leaner’s needs the trainer and assessor has to know about the vocational environment and skill themselves. For example, you couldn’t have someone who knew nothing about hairdressing teaching anyone how to be a hairdresser!
The RTO must ensure:
- Training and assessment is only delivered by trainers and assessors who have current knowledge and skills in vocational training and learning; and
- All trainers and assessors undertake professional development in the fields of the knowledge and practice of vocational training, learning and assessment, including competency-based training and assessment.
Required Qualifications:
The Registered Training Organisation has to make sure that the required qualifications are provided by each trainer and assessor. Since 30 June 2019, all trainers and assessors are obligated to hold:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor or
- TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment plus the following units:
- TAELLN411 (or its successor) or TAELLN401A, and
- TAEASS502 (or its successor) or TAEASS502A or TAEASS502B or
- a diploma or higher level qualification in adult education.
For RTOs that deliver anything from the Training and Education (TAE) Training Package the following applies:
From 1 January 2017, trainers and assessors delivering the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Assessor Skill Set, or Advanced Assessor Skill Set must hold one of the following qualifications:
- TAE50111/TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training
- TAE50211TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development, or
- a higher level qualification in adult education.
If a trainer does not hold one of the qualifications listed above, the trainer must:
- hold TAE40110/TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment,
- work under the supervision of a trainer/assessor that meets the requirements of Clause 1.23 (a), and
- not determine assessment outcomes.
4. Requirements for Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training and Learning
Training and assessment can only be delivered by trainers and assessors who have current knowledge and skills in vocational training and learning. This is to ensure that training and assessment is relevant to a learner’s needs.
Professional development needs to be ensured by an RTO, so the trainer or assessor can maintain, upgrade and/or develop their skills. The activities for professional development must have relevance to the training or assessment provided. They are usually planned with the purpose of developing a trainer and assessors own knowledge and skills.
5. Requirements for undertaking professional development in vocational training, learning and assessment
You RTO must ensure that all trainers and assessors undertake professional development in the knowledge and practice of vocational training, learning and assessment and specifically in competency-based training and assessment.
Top Tip! It is best practice to create a plan for professional development, so each trainer and assessor keeps track of their industry-relevant skills. By creating the plans, an RTO will demonstrate the vocational training and learning requirements at audit.
In demonstrating requirements, an RTO must be assured that the amount of evidence collated to show competency, currency and professional development of a trainer or assessor is sufficient.
For some more helpful tips, like how to reduce your RTO’s costs, click here.
UPDATED: 16 April 2021
Source: https://www.asqa.gov.au/standards/training-assessment/clauses-1.13-to-1.16
