Frontier Institute of Technology

Can I exclusively be a Trainer and Assessor and Still Remain Industry Current and Capable?

‘ We teachers are gardeners and our students are our flowers blooming in the garden.’

Whenever I wear the hat of a teacher or a Trainer and Assessor, I am driven by this proverb that a wise man once said. 

Just like a gardener very carefully makes the earth ready for plantation, then sows the seed with all nutrients and nurtures them with light, fertilisers and water, a teacher prepares and guides every student. 

The hard work of the gardener is seen when the flower blooms and not for today but every time it blooms. For a teacher, all the efforts of a Trainer and Assessor bear fruit with the success and growth of each student. 

If you carefully analyse the role of this gardener, he is continuously studying the soil, weather and fertilisers that he can provide to the flowers to enhance the growth process. He cannot limit himself only to a particular type of soil, weather and fertiliser that is available. Instead, he must be aware of the changing weather conditions and essential nutrients the plant needs and create the right environment to boost its growth. 

The gardener can only provide the environment and essential nutrients for the growth of the plant but the plant has to grow by itself. Likewise, in creating manpower to the everchanging  innovative industries, a Trainer Assessor plays a relatively  similar role as the Gardener in the growth of a professional. Hence it is vital to understand that you as a Trainer and Assessor are holding the magic stick to shape the future of industrial growth and sustainability. 

Creating the Workforce Of Tomorrow 

You are a Trainer Assessor because you believe that you can bear the weight of ‘tomorrow’ and create skilled manpower for the ‘technologically advanced world of opportunities’. You have the knowledge, skills and wisdom in your area of expertise and are ready to share it with the world to inspire another one who wants to ‘walk your way’. 

However, wisdom is not limited to ‘once upon a time’, it needs to be challenged and thereby new wisdom will add to your current wisdom. As a trainer, you cannot rely on past achievements and gloires. This aptitude to learn and improve yourself will enable you to remain aware of the changing needs of your industry. It allows you to continuously bridge the gap between ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow’ and let your learners reach the other end of the bridge with great wisdom that you have built in them. What a wonderful world will it be?

Now, the real question. Can You Stay Industry Current When You Are Exclusively a Trainer Assessor?

Moving away from the philosophy, remaining industry current would keep you up to date with the improving ‘political, economic, social and technology changes’ in your respective areas of expertise. Further this experience can be transformed to the training and assessment strategies,  enabling the learners to be job ready. 

For instance, if you are an Educator in a Child Care Industry, you must be currently practising your everyday job role under certain regulatory requirements, using certain methods of educating toddlers. Now, do you think in the next five years, the same regulation will remain or the methods of educating will be constant? I’m sure there would be certain changes in the regulatory requirements and new methods of educating will be incorporated too. 

So, once you have become a Child Care Trainer And Assessor, how do you plan to stay up to date with the changes is a key question to ask yourself. Remember, you are training and assessing learners to fill your position in the child care sector as an Educator. Hence your industry currency and capabilities plays a major role in the Vocational Education and Training Sector. Your industry currency will be ensured with industry involvement and capability will be triggered by your continuous effort in professionally developing yourself from every aspect of your area of expertise. 

Furthermore, your industry involvement would also impact the changes you could bring in the training and assessment resources and methodologies so that even the process of training and assessing could also meet industry standards. 

Now, after reading the above, I am sure the very question ‘Can i exclusively continue working as a Trainer and Assessor without Industry engagement?’ must become insignificant.

Do Your Skills Match ASQA Requirements? 

From the VET (Vocational Education and Training) regulatory requirements, the above explanations are the framework of understanding behind why ASQA (Australian Skill Quality Authority’ has outlined some essential requirements for Trainers and Assessor, making it compulsory to remain industry current and capable at all times. 

It is an essential requirement for all RTOs (Registered Training Providers) to retain their license to remain RTO.  As per the ASQA Standard  1 Clause 1.13 and 1.16- Employ Skilled Trainers and Assessor, to provide training that reflects current industry practice and valid assessment, every RTO’s Trainer and Assessor must maintain the current of their skills and knowledge in their industry of expertise as well as vocational education and training.

You can read more about the ASQA Standards in this link https://www.asqa.gov.au/standards/training-assessment/clauses-1.13-to-1.16

The Mark of Good Trainers and Assessors- Demonstrating Current Industry Skills

To ensure that you have current industry skills to be a trainer and assessor and are a competent practitioner, you must make sure that you are regularly exposed to industry workplaces and also participate in workplace tasks.

Trainers and assessors must constantly show how they have maintained, upgraded or developed new skills that are relevant to current industry needs. This can take several forms based on the industry area. 

Some examples of how trainers and assessors can demonstrate current industry skills include:

  • Volunteering or working part-time in the industry area
  • Undertaking accredited training relevant to the industry area
  • Belonging to industry associations
  • Engaging with industry (for example, through discussions with employers or attending industry networking events)
  • Reading industry journals and subscriptions
  • Staying informed about changes to technology
  • Keeping up to date with changes to legislation.

Delivering training and assessment in a workplace does not constitute the development of current industry skills. However, attending a workplace to experience the latest techniques, processes and resources could contribute to the demonstration of current industry skills.

As a trainer and assessor, you should undertake relevant professional development in VET. The Standards do not prescribe what form this evidence takes, but most RTOs include the registers of the development activities that trainers and assessors have completed.

Coming Up Next

I hope you have enjoyed reading the article. And, I hope that your questions about maintaining industry currency have been answered to a large extent. 

The next topic that I would be covering is ‘2. How do you know which course of AQF level you are qualified to train and assess?’

A previous topic that was covered in this blog series 1. Questions to ask yourself before enrolling for a certificate iv training and assessment course.’ 

How do you know which course of AQF level you are qualified to train and assess?’

The goal of these blogs is to help you become a successful Trainer and Assessor who shapes a modern, skilled and reliable workforce. If you have any other questions that you would like answered, write to us an info@frontier.edu.au and I will try to address it at the earliest.