Avenues Other

1
Avenues Other

• A limited enquiry into workplace delivery and
  assessment

Dr Glenn P. Costin Andrew Nichols TAFENSW
Riverina Institute October 2007
2
Introduction

• A limited enquiry into workplace delivery
  assessment.
• Conducted by
• Glenn P. Costin Teacher General Construction
  Albury Campus
• Andrew Nichols Head Teacher Building
  Construction Dept Albury Campus

3
Overview

• Reframing the Future funding
• RTOs selected by reviewing anecdotal evidence of
  quality delivery provided by peers and VET
  researchers

4
Overview

• Both Private and Public RTOs considered
• RTOs did not have to be delivering Construction
  based qualifications
• 5 RTOs interviewed
• 2 Public, 3 Private

5
Purpose

• To gain an overview of alternative approaches to
  workplace delivery and assessment.
• To determine elements or whole practices that
  could be adopt or adapted to improve workplace
  delivery of construction based qualifications
  provided by RI.

6
Methodology

• Open enquiry approach
• Workplace delivery in fields other than general
  construction explored
• Data Uptake
• Open (organic) interview developing towards
  guided discussion of focus areas .

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Findings in Brief

• Of the Five RTOs
• Only one delivered in a traditional
  interpretation of the word
• One sought to developed the workplace, inclusive
  of management, as a learning community
• One only assessed the training delivered by the
  employer
• One only conducted RPL assessments of existing
  experienced workforces
• One conducted no workplace assessment or
  training.

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Specific FindingsThe Private RTOs

• Private 1
• Large National organisation (well over 20
  fulltime employees) offices in various States
  across Australia.
• hospitality, retail, business, transport
  distribution and food manufacturing sectors.
• Certificate 1 Diploma

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Specific Findings Private 1

• Focus Qualification Delivery Setting
• Certificate 3 in Transport Distribution
  Warehouse Operations.
• Large Multinational corporation with extensive
  warehousing and transportation facilities located
  nation wide.
• Delivery and Assessment in context on the shop
  floor and class room based within the clients
  facilities.

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Specific Findings

• Private 2
• Small organisation (fewer than 5 fulltime
  employees) yet active in a number of mainland
  states.
• Broad scope including transport distribution,
  OHS systems, retail, hospitality, crane
  operations, dogging and rigging, brewing and
  teacher training.
• Qualifications levels vary but are generally
  certificate 3 and 4.

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Specific Findings Private 2

• Focus Qualification Delivery Setting
• Certificate III in Transport and Distribution
  (Road Transport).
• Delivered completely in workplace
• Client a large national carrier
• Generally this means in a road transport en
  route.

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Specific Findings

• Private 3
• Medium sized workplace learning and research
  organisation (over 10 but less than 20 full time
  staff).
• Business diversified over research, workplace
  learning assessment, and workplace learning
  tool development.
• Broad scope (approx 70 courses). Focus is on
  15 of these, mostly in manufacturing,
  management, training assessment, and business.

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Specific Findings Private 3

• Focus Qualification Delivery Setting
• Certificate 3 in Process Manufacturing.
• Client medium sized caravan manufacturer
• 25 personnel inclusive of management.
• 100 workplace delivery over variable period of
  between 12 to 18 months.

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Private RTO Commonalities

• Engaged with mature, experienced workers
• Applicants working in field of qualification
• Generally enrolled as existing worker trainees or
  fee for service
• ESOL LOTE common amongst applicants.
• Generally large groups enrolled from one site
• Mentoring seldom used
• RPL process rather than formal training
• Limited paper based assessment

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Private RTO Commonalities

• Highly contextulised and fully integrated into
  work practices
• Competencies clustered both for delivery and
  assessment.
• High completion rates (95 and above)
• Extensive paper trail for assessment
• Audit practices require risk management of
  assessment approaches
• Whilst scopes were often broad, the trend
  favoured manufacturing, transport and warehouse
  qualifications.

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Private RTO Divergences

• Private 1
• we dont RPL our clients want skills more
  than qualifications
• delivered formal training of highly contextulised
  competencies.
• Training rather than RPL process
• Training provided using site based class rooms
• Only used trainers assessors experienced and
  qualified in that context.
• Preferred whole day assessment of clustered
  competencies however seldom used them

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Private RTO Divergences

• Private 2
• competency is a bench mark if you dont
  think its high enough talk to your ITAB
• Refined RPL of existing experienced workers
• Coached applicants to completion
• Sub let skills gap training if identified.
• Preferred and used whole day assessments of
  clustered competencies
• Only used assessors experienced and qualified in
  that context.
• Perceived competency and the trade as two
  different levels

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Private RTO Divergences

• Private 3
• we aim to develop learning communities
• Engaged whole of workplace not just enrolled
• Sought to enable learning, problem solving and
  improved work practices
• Evaluation focused upon key performance
  indicators rather than individual competency.
• Delivery is organic, developing as the
  workplace develops.
• Creates an all ways communications loop between
  management, RTO and workers.
• Delivery/assessment personnel not required to
  hold experience/qualification in a context.

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Specific FindingsThe Public RTOs

• Public A (Country)
• Large Victorian TAFE
• Extensive history in the delivery of VET sector
  training.
• Delivers all levels of construction training
  including certificate 3 and Diploma levels.
• Large campus dedicated to delivering traditional
  trade training.

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Specific Findings Public A

• Focus Qualification Delivery Setting
• Certificate 3 in general construction
• Delivery off site with some units of competency
  deemed to be delivered in the workplace (a
  cluster of soft skill competencies).
• Apprentices drawn from multiple small and medium
  sized employers.

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Specific FindingsThe Public RTOs

• Public B (Inner City)
• Large inner city TAFE with an extensive history
  in the delivery of VET sector training.
• Most of this delivery has been campus based.
  Workplace delivery has been explored only in
  recent years.
• Within the construction fields this is limited to
  apprenticeship training.

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Specific Findings Public B

• Focus Qualification Delivery Setting
• Certificate 3 in general construction.
• Delivery setting is active domestic or commercial
  construction site
• On-site delivery available only for stages 2 and
  3 of the course. Apprentices must have completed
  at least all of stage 1
• Students may opt for partial workplace delivery
  (single units or rational clusters) relevant to
  their work practices.

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Public RTO Commonalities

• Students are generally single apprentices working
  for small builders
• Young student cohort with limited workplace
  experience
• Delivery/assessment is generic rather than
  contextulised
• Provide no formal workplace training
• Support material generic
• RPL/RCC readily accessible and organisationally
  well supported.
• RPL regularly applied for but frequently denied
  due to low experience base.

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Public RTO Commonalities

• Trainers and assessors always highly experienced
  generically and holding qualifications higher
  than that delivered.
• Provided high quality but generic material for
  both delivery and assessment
• Place little emphasis upon third party reporting
• Marginally lower completion rates (approx 85)
• Mentoring perceived as relationship between
  employer and apprentice.
• Currently single staff member responsible for
  site related activities.

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Public RTO Divergences

• Public A
• its impossible to deliver the whole trade
  course on site
• Provides no formal assessment (or delivery) on
  site
• Uses funding drawn from soft skill competencies
  to access apprentices on site once annually.
• Perceives site based assessment as time consuming
  (extensive distances), expensive, and unlikely to
  succeed due to OHS issues.

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Public RTO Divergences

• Public B
• Tick and flick, attitude may become a problem
• Qualification sold to employers as assessment
  only
• Onus for Training lies with employer
• Requires employer and apprentice to liase with
  assessor re progress and work schedule
• All practical assessment on site
• Access to student limited to approx 4 x 3hr
  sessions on-site per stage (year)

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Funding Models

• Generally
• Private RTOs gain funding either as
  Fee-for-Service or Existing Worker Traineeships
• Public RTOs generally gain funding as New
  Apprentices

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Towards Other Avenues

• A Discussion