Planning for Delivery (VET)
Training Packages and Units of Competency
Introduction to training packages
A training package is a set of nationally endorsed industry / enterprise specific standards and qualifications, which describe the skills and knowledge needed to perform effectively in the workplace.
A training package contains nationally endorsed qualifications, competency standards and assessment guidelines that provide for:
- Nationally-recognised qualifications
- National consistency in training outcomes
- Transportability of qualifications
- Career pathways
Training packages are developed by industry to meet industry
training needs and are overseen by ten national Industry Skills Councils. Each training package
is regularly reviewed with extensive consultation to ensure it meets
industry’s changing needs. To check the review status of training
packages visit the Training Packages @ Work website.
Units of competency
Units of competency, or competency standards, are the building blocks of a qualification. These standards describe discrete work tasks, and the knowledge, technical skills and employability skills a person needs to perform the task effectively in the workplace.
Training packages and competency standards do not, however, describe how an individual should be trained. Rather, trainers use competency standards to develop learning and assessment strategies based on the needs and circumstances of the industry/enterprise and the learner.
The topic 'Working with Units of Competency' provides information and resources to help you:
- ‘Unpack’ units of competency
- Understand and address language literacy and numeracy requirements
- Determine and address dimensions of competency
- Determine and address employability skills and key competencies
- Cluster units of competency
The section on Assessment
provides information and resources to
assist you develop appropriate strategies and tools to assess units of
competency.
Scope of Registration
For CDU to advertise, deliver and assess qualifications and/or units of competency, these must be included on CDU’s Scope of Registration. To include a new qualification on CDU’s Scope requires approval from the Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET). At CDU, the Academic Quality, Planning and VET Group managed Extension to Scope of Registration.
Resources
All staff engaged in training and assessment will require access to the relevant Training Package. These can be purchased through Australian Training Products or through the relevant Industry Skills Council.
Other important documents are Implementation Guides, which are designed to
assist in planning the delivery from Training Packages, including the
determination of nominal hours.
Browse training packages, qualifications and units of competency
at
the National
Training Information Service.
DEET Training Package Guide provides a ready reference for VET staff to understand and work with training packages.
Developing learning and assessment strategies
A learning and assessment strategy is developed by a course team to guide and structure the delivery and assessment arrangements of a VET qualification. The strategy should identify proposed target group/s, learning and assessment methods, teaching staff and resources, assessment validation processes and pathways and it must be developed in consultation with industry.
In addition to documenting an initial strategy when applying for Scope of Registration, delivery teams will need to review and modify learning and assessment strategies for each client group, and for each delivery period. TLQG recommends that learning and assessment strategies are reviewed and updated at least annually, and in conjunction with assessment moderation and Course Advisory Group activities.
Activities to be undertaken in the development of a learning and assessment strategy include:
- Determine industry requirements
- Select qualification/units of competency
- Determine target group needs
- Determine delivery and assessment schedule
- Determine evidence gathering/assessment method
- Validate assessment strategies
More detail about each of these activities is provided below.
When developing a learning and assessment strategy, consider how the learning activities and assessment tasks for individual units complement each other and build on earlier learning to provide for a rich learning experience. Consider how the learning and assessment strategies are building employability skills and contributing to the development of individuals who are job-ready and who are inspired to undertake further learning.
Resources
The Academic Quality, Planning and VET Group has developed a Learning and Assessment Strategy template and exemplar.
Additional information
Adapting to change: How technology is changing work. This guide shows how to develop teaching and learning approaches that allow shared technology skills and knowledge to be incorporated into nationally recognised qualifications. Available in print from Australian Training Products Ltd or on-line by registering on the Resource Generator.
Contextualising teaching and learning: A guide for VET teachers. The focus of this guide is on teaching. It helps practitioners develop training programs that achieve the outcomes of Training Packages and reflect the specific requirements of enterprises, small workplaces and community settings. Available in print from Australian Training Products Ltd or on-line by registering on the Resource Generator.
Determine industry requirements
Developing a learning and assessment strategy requires an understanding of your client and their needs. This means nurturing meaningful relationships with employers and/or industry associations and a consideration of learner characteristics and needs of the target group. It is also important to have a thorough working knowledge of the relevant Training Package/s and be able to interpret and apply units of competency.
Strategies for gaining industry input include:
- Course Advisory Groups (CAGs)
- Attendance at industry meetings
- Surveys
- Training needs audit for an enterprise
Resources
- The Academic
Quality, Planning and VET Group provides support and guidance on
Schope of Registration and Accredition. Information on Course
Advisory Groups (CAGs) can be found on their website. Along with
proformas for Agenda
for Course Advisory Group Meeting and Minutes
of Course Advisory Group Meeting.
- The Academic Quality, Planning and VET Group has developed proformas for a Record of industry interaction - Individual lecturer and a Record of industry consultation. This template is suitable for discussions whan a number of industry representatives are involved. The Record of enterprise requirements is designed for more specific discussions of requirements with a single enterprise.
Additional Information
Select qualification / units of competency
Registered Training Organisation's (RTOs) can customise training programs to meet the specific needs of their clients, including industry sectors, enterprises and individual learners. A qualification is customised by adding, substituting or modifying units of competency. This must be done in accordance with the qualification packaging rules for the relevant training package.
All staff engaged in training and assessment will require access to the relevant Training Package.
Additional Information
Victorian Purchasing guides contain sample qualifications for most training packages. The purchasing guides can be accessed at: http://trainingsupport.ette.vic.gov.au/p_trgpck.cfm?menu=2
The Queensland Studies Authority provides guidelines for the selection of an appropriate qualification structure.
Determine target group needs
To determine the needs of learners within a target group you should consider the following, and document your approaches to meeting students’ needs:
- Are they workers, school leavers, mature learners or other?
- Do they have existing skills and knowledge?
- What is their current language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) level?
- Will they require additional support for LLN?
- Do they have special needs e.g. physical or intellectual disability?
- Where will delivery and assessment take place?
The Academic Quality, Planning & VET Group information fliers Flyer 13:Language, Literacy & Numeracy provides information about RTO and trainer obligations for LLN.
CDU supports learners through the following initiatives:
Support and Equity Services http://www.cdu.edu.au/ses/index.html
Indigenous Academic Support Team http://www.cdu.edu.au/study/indigacadsupport.html
Information Literacy and Researching Skills Training http://www.cdu.edu.au/library/infolit/tutorials.html
Academic English Support Program (AESP) http://www.cdu.edu.au/ehs/caesl/aesp.htm
Additional Information
Working with Diversity: quality training for Indigenous Australians [an ANTA publication]. Prepared by Australian National Training Authority, 2001
Gettin' into it! - Working with Indigenous learners
This guide focuses on designing teaching and learning strategies
relevant to Indigenous learners and their communities. You will need to
register on the Resource
Generatorto dowload, or alternatively is is available in
print from Australian Training Products Ltd.
CDU Equal Opportunity
Policy - this
policy provides the framework for the implementation of equity
principles and processes to ensure compliance with Commonwealth and
Northern Territory anti-discrimination legislation at Charles Darwin University.
Determine delivery and assessment schedule
Consulting with industry to determine how training will be delivered and documenting this plan in a delivery schedule is an AQTF requirement. Delivery may include on-the-job, off-the-job, block delivery, clustering of units, on-line delivery – or any combination of learning and assessment activities.
There may be a range of factors which influence the delivery schedule including:
- The needs of the clients/learners (i.e. physical location, access and equity, disabilities, literacy and numeracy)
- The requirements and work practices of enterprises
- Any specifications for delivery or assessment in the relevant training package
- Availability and location of resources
- Capacity of workplaces to provide learning and assessment opportunities
- Opportunities to group or cluster units of competency
- Any legislative regulations and requirements of the industry
Determine evidence gathering / assessment method
The purpose of competency based assessment is to confirm that an
individual can perform to the standard expected in the workplace, as
expressed in the relevant endorsed industry or enterprise competency
standards. Assessment strategies and evidence gathering tools should
therefore provide for a range of meaningful assessment activities
within a context of work performance.
Assessment in itself should be considered a valuable learning
activity that encourages reflection by the student on the task and
their performance, acknowledges a learner's achievements and identifies
pathways for further learning.
The evidence gathering methods selected for a course should
complement each other, rather than require unnecessary duplication of
work by the candidate. Where learning has occurred in the workplace,
consider what evidence is available to demonstrate competence, in
preference to applying additional assessment tasks.
Detailed information on different forms of evidence gathering
methods, assessment and templates to develop a range of assessment
tools can be found in the Assessment
section.
Validate assessment strategies
- Assessment strategies must be developed in consultation with enterprises/industry, and
- The RTO must validate its assessment strategies by reviewing, comparing and evaluating the assessment processes, tools and evidence contributing to judgements made by a range of assessors against the same competency standards, at least annually
Resources
The Academic Quality Planning
& VET website provides the following resources to assist with
assessment strategies.
Assessment
Moderation Kit
CDU Checklist for Developing and Validating Assessment Strategy
CDU Checklist for Developing and Validating Assessment
Tools
Additional Information
Assessment at unit level is addressed in the Working with Units of Competency section
Validation and moderation of assessment is addressed in the
Assessment
section.
Working with units of competency
Effective workplace performance requires both the skills to function effectively in the workplace and the knowledge and attitudes to apply those skills in routine and non-routine situations.
'In other words, being competent to do a job requires a number
of observable and non-observable skills; it is more than just the
technical know-how – the visible task skills.
Source: Guide 4, Training Package Assessment Materials Project, ANTA,
2001
By looking at different aspects of a unit of competency, a complete picture of required performance is generated, which informs the design of learning and assessment activities. This is often called ‘unpacking’ the unit of competency.
Unpacking a unit of competency
‘Unpacking’ a unit of competency has also called ‘building a picture of competency.’ This means breaking down the competency standard to to gain answers to the following questions:
- What is the work activity?
- What does the work activity involve?
- What skills are needed to perform the work activity?
- What level of skill is needed?
- What evidence is needed to prove that a person is competent?
- what knowledge and skills are needed to perform this work activity?
- What generic work skills are needed?
- Where should evidence be gathered?
- What resources are required to gather the evidence?
Resources
CDU Unpacking a unit of
competency template helps
trainers/assessors break down the unit of
competency, or clusters of units, into easy to understand sections.
This provides important information that will aid in designing
meaningful delivery and
assessment strategies and tools. TLQG strongly recommends this activity
to VET staff whenever they plan for delivery of a new unit, or applying
a unit to a new training/assessment context.
Additional information
DEET Training Package Guide provides a ready reference for VET staff to understand and work with training packages.
Down, C. (2002) Unpacking and repacking Training Packages, ANTA http://trainingsupport.otte.vic.gov.au/p_trgpck.cfm
Addressing language literacy and numeracy requirements
Assessment of language, literacy and
numeracy
skills needs to be consistent with the workplace demands specified in
the relevant units of competency, and that these skills are
developed in learners.
Many trainers screen students prior to commencement of training in
order to identify the level of language, literacy and numeracy skills
held by individual students.
By comparing the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of
units of competency/work tasks with the current skills of students,
training can be structured and designed to build these skills, and also
ensures that additional support needs are identified.
Undertaking an 'unpacking' activity (see Resources in the box above) should identify the language, literacy & numeracy requirements of the unit of competency and help you design teaching and assessment strategies to develop and assess required language, literacy and numeracy skills of learners.
Additional information
Workplace
English Language and Literacy (WELL) Programme
WELL Implementation Guide, Construction and Property
Services Industry Skills Council, Commonwealth of Australia 2005
Literacynet,
The Australian Government adult literacy website
Several Industry
Skills Councils have developed resources to support
Workplace English Language development specific to industry training
packages.
Incorporating and assessing dimensions of competency
Effective
workplace performance requires not only isolated technical skills, but
the knowledge and
attitudes to apply those skills in routine and non-routine situations.
People are considered to be competent when they are able to apply their
knowledge and skills to successfully complete work activities in a
range of situations and environments.
The
Dimensions of competency are:
|
Task skills |
Undertaking the specific task/s required to complete a
work activity to the required standard. This means being able to
perform the individual actions as well as the whole task. |
||||||||
|
Task management skills |
Managing a number of different tasks to complete a whole work
activity. This means working efficiently to meet deadlines, handle a
sequence of interrelated tasks, and progress smoothly between tasks. |
||||||||
|
Contingency management skills |
Responding to problems and irregularities when undertaking a work activity, such as:
|
||||||||
|
Job/role environment skills |
Dealing with the responsibilities and expectations of the work environment when undertaking a work activity, such as:
|
A fifth dimension that is often addressed – but not mandated - is ‘Transfer skills’ which means having the capacity to transfer skills and knowledge to other contexts.
The dimensions that apply to a work task may be found in the different parts of a Unit of Competency, that is, in the Elements, the Performance Criteria, the Range of Variables Statement or Evidence Guide. Not every Unit of Competency will necessarily contain all four dimensions, however, in a group of units they should be covered effectively.
Dimensions of competency must be taken into account when an assessor is gathering evidence of a candidate’s competency for a unit, and assessment should be designed to address these accordingly.
Case studies, questions, simulated work events, and
“what if” scenarios are useful strategies for trainers to use to assist
learners to acquire and demonstrate these capabilities.
Working with the dimensions of competency highlights some critical
points for
assessors:
- it’s important to know what’s inside a unit of competency – more than just the performance criteria.
- Having a good understanding of what the work involves also helps
an assessor interpret the unit of competency.
- Watching a person use their skills is not enough. It’s critical
for assessors to ask questions that explore the candidate’s knowledge
of the job and their ability to problem-solve.
- An assessment (including RPL) that doesn’t explore Dimensions of
Competency is not a valid assessment.
- Assessment of these skills also needs to be recorded so that the assessment is AQTF compliant.
Resources
- CDU Unpacking a unit of competency template helps trainers/assessors break down the unit of competency, or clusters of units, into easy to understand sections. This provides important information that will aid in designing meaningful delivery and assessment strategies and tools. TLQG strongly recommends this activity to VET staff whenever they plan for delivery of a new unit, or applying a unit to a new training/assessment context.
Additional information
- Back2Basics: This resource is designed as a guide to Australia’s vocational education and training system for teachers and trainers. This is by no means a definitive guide but it is a handy means of accessing the information needed on a daily basis.
Incorporating and assessing key competencies / employability skills
Employers today need employees who have more than technical skills. They seek individuals who can demonstrate a variety of social and personal attributes as well as the ability to learn new skills. These skills are also the key for career advancement and satisfaction.
Key competencies refer to generic skills that apply to most jobs. The Mayer Key Competencies were developed by the Mayer Committee in the early 1990s, but from July 2006, these are being progressively replaced by Employability Skills. The Mayer Key Competencies are:
|
1. |
Collecting, organising and analysing information |
|
2. |
Communicating ideas and information |
|
3. |
Planning and organising activities |
|
4. |
Working with others and in teams |
|
5. |
Using mathematical ideas and techniques |
|
6. |
Solving problems |
|
7. |
Using technology |
Key Competencies for each unit of competency can be found at the end of each Unit of Competency. They are assigned a level of 1, 2 or 3:
Level 1 – perform
Level 2 – administer and manage
Level 3 – design and evaluate
In delivering and assessing training it is essential to
integrate the Key Competencies.
Key Competencies may be incorporated by having students work as part of a team in the planning, preparing and presenting of a project. Key Competencies emphasised through this activity will be Planning and organising activities and Working with others and in teams.
Employability Skills are based on the Meyer Key Competencies, but have an expanded emphasis in training and assessment.
A recent report commissioned by DEST (see resources section below) has identified the following employability skills:
- communication skills that contribute to productive and harmonious relations between employees and customers;
- teamwork skills that contribute to productive working relationships and outcomes;
- problem-solving skills that contribute to productive outcomes;
- initiative and enterprise skills that contribute to innovative outcomes;
- planning and organising skills that contribute to long-term and short-term strategic planning;
- self-management skills that contribute to employee satisfaction and growth;
- learning skills that contribute to ongoing improvement and expansion in employee and company operations and outcomes; and
- Technology skills that contribute to effective execution of tasks.
DEST has funded Industry Skills Councils to review all Training Packages, and to make modifications to competency standards to accurately reflect industry requirements. From 2006, these modifications will be progressively released in reviewed Training Packages and will replace the current Key Competency Framework.
Employability skills represent an opportunity to improve learning and assessment approaches and VET practitioners will have flexibility in how competency standards are used to meet the employability skills needs of industry and learners.
Unpacking a unit of competency
template helps
trainers/assessors break down the unit of
competency, or clusters of units, into easy to understand sections.
This provides important information that will aid in designing
meaningful delivery and
assessment strategies and tools. TLQG strongly recommends this activity
to VET staff whenever they plan for delivery of a new unit, or applying
a unit to a new training/assessment context.
Some Industry
Skills Councils have developed, or are developing, resources to
support trainers and assessors to implement Employabiltiy Skills
specific to the industry sector.
Additional Information
CDU
Graduate Attributes & Employability Skills website. CDU has
developed a suite of graduate attributes that align closely with the
Employability Skills defined by DEST. This website outlines these
skills.
The DEET Training Package Guide; lists the elements of employability skills – those facets of the skill that employers identified as important.
Download the full report, Employability Skills for the Future. (PDF 2.5 MB)
DEST, 2005. Incorporating
Employability Skills into Training Packages
Document a unit delivery schedule
The CDU
VET
Unit Information Templates for internal and external delivery
contain a Delivery Schedule Template, which outlines to learners how
and when the unit or cluster of units will be delivered to address all
Elements and Performance Criteria, and what resources students will
require
to participate in the learning and assessment activities.
Clustering units of competency
A number of units of competency may be grouped together to address training and assessment for a complete job function. When this is done well it provides for holistic, efficient and meaningful learning and demonstration of competency.
A good approach to grouping is to look at units with similar or complementary knowledge and skills. For example, the following three units could be grouped to provide a structured and meaningful learning and assessment program.
BSBCMN203A Communicate in the workplace
BSBCMN204A Work effectively with others
BSBCMN202A Organise and complete daily work activities
It is important however, when units are grouped, that all elements of competency and performance criteria are addressed and that the delivery schedule and assessment plan documents how each is addressed.
It is advisable to develop a delivery schedule for each cluster of units which identifies:
- Learning activities
- Delivery sequence, identifying Units, Elements and Performance Criteria
- Assessment methods
- Assessment tasks, identifying Units, Elements and Performance Criteria along with dimensions of competency and key competencies or employability skills
- Resources required
Resources
The CDU VET Unit Information templates (internal and external delivery) contain a delivery schedule template, and Assessment Plan template which can be easily adapted for a cluster of units.
Source or develop learning and assessment resources
While it is frequently necessary to develop learning and assessment tools and resources, a large range of resources have already been developed for a number of training packages. Some are free to use but others are available for purchase. A large proportion of resources developed for and by the Australian vocational training sector can be customised to your specific needs – however, be aware of and adhere to any copyright conditions of use. You may also be able to source materials through RTO practitioner networks and communities of practice.
The Hive Content Management System will soon be implemented at CDU and will provide a multi-purpose repository for teaching and assessment resources.
Search for resources at:
www.flexiblelearning.net.au/toolbox
http://www.aesharenet.com.au/
(When ordering materials, note that CDU's AESharenet number is 701)
Checklist for developing Indigenous e-Learning resources
Pearson Education - VET Resource Finder
Browse Education Topics at EdNA
Assessit.net Assessment Resource Website
Develop resources using the following information and templates:
CDU
VET Unit
Information templates: Templates to develop unit information
document. Unit information must be provided to each student prior to or
at commencement of training.
CDU Study guide and readings print-based templates: Optional resources to develop printed guides to direct student learning
CDU PowerPoint presentation shells: Templates to design effective presentations
The section on Assessment provides templates to develop a range of assessment tools.
