Targeted training is the most effective way to address the needs of your business and industry. It is essential to then choose courses that address the needs of your employees and the objectives of your organisation.
What is a course?
A training course is a structured sequence of vocational education and training that leads to the acquisition of identified competencies. Courses are composed of elements called units or modules. Units or modules are often referred to as building blocks because they combine to construct different qualifications. For example, to meet the requirements of a Certificate III, you must complete a specified course of units or modules.
Choosing the right course
Talk to your employees and find out which skills could be improved. You could contact other enterprises and ask why they chose that course and what outcomes were achieved. Your RTO will help you choose the right course to develop your required skills.
What courses?
The training.gov.au (TGA) website is a database on vocational education and training in Australia. It has detailed information on courses, qualifications, training packages, competency standards and training organisations. It will show you the national code, accreditation details, contact person, providers and whether the course is linked to competency standards.
For more information on courses and qualifications available in the Northern Territory, phone the department's Quality and Regulatory Unit on (08) 8901 1340.
Course delivery
You will also need to consider how the course will be delivered. It could be:
The training could take place:
Take into consideration:
Skills recognition
Skills recognition is the acknowledgment by a training provider that a learner has gained an appropriate level of skills and knowledge that would have otherwise been developed through formal training. These skills and knowledge may have been gained through some form of study, through a training provider or by self tuition, work or life experience.
As a result, the learners may gain:
a nationally recognised qualification without completing the entire training program
formal recognition of their skills, increasing the chance of career progression.
Training providers generally apply skills recognition in two ways:
RPL is the acknowledgment of skills and knowledge obtained through:
formal training or study including courses at school, college, adult education and training programs at work
work experience including paid and volunteer work
life experience including skills attained through leisure pursuits such as musical, mechanical or linguistic abilities.
RPL recognises this prior knowledge and experience, and measures it against the course in which students are enrolled. The individual may not need to complete all of a training program if they already have some of the competencies taught in the program.
Benefits include:
students can finish their courses earlier
study loads and costs are reduced
the student can take on additional study leading to a second qualification
by identifying an individual's current competencies, RPL can effectively target training requirements.
The student needs to provide evidence of prior learning. Training providers take into account previous experience and study achieved in Australia or abroad.
Training providers can also grant RPL to apprentices and trainees as part of their training plans. However, the employer, apprentice or trainee and the registered training organisation must agree to a variation of the training contract or agreement.
Credit transfer, also known as Advanced Standing, allows students to count relevant, successfully completed study including study at TAFE colleges, accredited private providers, professional organisations or enterprises and universities towards their current course or qualifications. It works in two ways:
students receive credit for units or modules they have previously completed and are exempt from retaking them, reducing the study load
students are exempt from certain introductory units but are still required to complete the total credit points or hours for the course.
To find out more, contact your preferred training provider.
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