Updating your Training and Assessment Strategies

Author: Carolyn Claridge

I wrote this article for the VETIG Newsletter Spring edition, 2015. Please visit www.vetig.com.au for more information on the Vocational Education and Training Industry Group and how to become a member of this not-for-profit organisation representing vocational training in Australia.

Standard One of the NVR Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 states that an RTO’s training and assessment strategies must be responsive to industry and learner needs, as well as meet the training package or accredited course requirements.

A Training and Assessment Strategy, (also referred to as a Learning and Assessment Plan), is a framework that guides the learning requirements and the teaching, training and assessment arrangements of a vocational education and training qualification. It is the document that outlines the macro-level requirements of the learning and assessment process.

Each training and assessment strategy is a ‘roadmap’ for the delivery and assessment of a qualification, accredited course, unit of competency or skill set (i.e. more than one unit of competency). The strategy, which could be one consolidated document or a range of documents, shows how the program requirements are addressed, and should include, where relevant, the following considerations:

Client/Workplace needs:

• regulations or laws governing the industry and/or standard operating procedures, equipment and machinery used at the enterprise level; information about job roles and the range of conditions under which employees work; equipment and machinery that are used at the workplace, and their availability for training and assessment activities,
• information about the work environment (for example, shifts or seasonal changes to schedules) that will affect delivery and assessment,
• information about how qualifications should be structured and delivered/assessed in
• industry training needs identified in reports from industry bodies,
• characteristics of the client group that need to be accommodated in training and assessment,
• workplace policies and procedures that may need to be integrated into the training and assessment program,
• how the needs of the learning group or individual students will be met (e.g. class timetables which suit shift-workers, reasonable adjustment in assessment),
• any special projects that the students could be involved in, which would benefit both the workplace as well as the training and assessment program.

Training Program:

• the mode of delivery to be used (e.g. online, classroom, on-the-job, mixed mode),
• the learning approaches or styles that will be used to suit the identified needs of students,
• how Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) will be provided to students,
• how the language, literacy and numeracy needs of students will be determined and addressed,
• advice to assessors about how assessment will be conducted,
• volume of learning (amount of training),
• how you will validate the assessment tools and benchmark your assessments (moderation),
• How you will evaluate the program during and after its delivery.

Packaging Rules:

• qualification packaging requirements,
• co-requisites and pre-requisites,
• entry requirements,
• required trainer and assessor competencies,

Student needs:

• relevant prior training and/or employment,
• learning styles,
• physical or intellectual ability,
• language, literacy and numeracy levels,
• their location,
• cultural or ethnic background,
• socio-economic factors.

The training and assessment strategy should accurately describe the assessment methods that relate to the tools used. A strategy should also indicate the characteristics specific to workplaces, or to candidates, that need to be accommodated in assessment.

You may need to consider reasonable adjustment of your assessment tools to suit the specific needs of either the group of students as a whole, or individuals within the group. Examples of reasonable adjustment may include:

• modifying the assessment environment
• providing interpreters
• using oral questioning rather than written
• modifying or providing additional equipment
• modifying the assessment by breaking it into smaller segments

Trainers and assessors should have input to the Strategies. The RTO must ensure that trainers and assessors understand the strategies for training and assessment and apply them. Remembering that these Strategies are considered living documents, feedback should be encouraged for continual improvement.

Remember that consultation is the key – your client, industry body, trainers, assessors and student representatives will be able to provide information to assist you in best determining all of their needs, and fulfilling those needs through a tailored training program.

If a client has already performed a Training Needs Analysis or has a current Workforce Development Strategy, this will make the job of identifying their needs for professional development – and completion of your Training and Assessment Strategy – so much easier.

And last (but by no means least), remember to version-control and date your Strategy, so that stakeholders are looking at the latest version applicable, and forward it for saving on your filing system as per your organisation’s record management procedure (these Strategies are vital in times of audit as well, and your compliance manager will thank you).