VET in Victoria:
Introduction to the National Training System
National Training System
- Key Terms
(36kb)
VET in Victoria
- Overview (403kb)
Reproduced, with permission: Victorian Auditor-General's Office, Vocational education and training: Meeting the skill requirements of the manufacturing industry, Victorian Government Printer,
Nb: Some structural changes with the Office of Training and Tertiary becoming part of the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development in late 2006 and being renamed Skills Victoria in 2008..
Vocational Education and Training Requirements
Post Compulsory Pathways
What are Training Packages?
What is Competency Based Training and Assessment?
- Vocational Education and Training and Competency Based Assessment
- Learn about the Australian Qualifications Framework
- What is the Australian Quality Training Framework?
- What does a training package describe?
- What is a unit of competency: What employability skills are needed?
- What is competency based assessment?
- 8 step process to Competency Based Assessment (11KB)
- The dimensions of competency
- What is Holistic Assessment?
- Interpreting Competency Standards
What is a unit of competency: What employability skills are needed.
Other useful VET Links
Click here to go to the Links page.
Vocational Education and Training Requirements
Apprenticeship and Traineeship Training Delivery Practices: 
Top
Please see the 2006-2008 TAFE Program Delivery Guidelines (A pdf held on the Skills Victoria website)
What is Competency Based Training and Assessment?
Vocational Education and Training and Competency Based Assessment Top
The Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector provides training and education for specific vocational purposes. While primary and secondary schooling concentrates on generic skills and knowledge development and the university sector provides broad skills and knowledge for professional work or study, the VET sector caters for the majority of the population who need vocational skills for work and life. These are called competencies - that is, skills and knowledge applied in a work context.
What is the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) 2007? Top
The AQTF 2007 is the quality assurance and recognition system that underpins the national VET system and informs the regulatory arrangements in the States and Territories. It provides the standards that Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) must meet and continue to meet for registration. RTOs may be registered to provide either training and assessment or assessment only services. They have to go through a registration process with their State or Territory Registration Body (VRQA in Victoria) to make sure they are suitably equipped to provide service for a particular Training Package.
Click here for details on the AQTF 2007.
What does a training package describe? Top
The critical skills, knowledge and attitudes or competencies which individuals need for employment have been compiled into a document for each industry or industry sector. This is called a Training Package. A Training Package is a set of nationally endorsed standards and qualifications for recognising and assessing people's skills. A Training Package describes the skills and knowledge needed to perform effectively in the workplace. It does not describe how an individual should be trained.
To find out more about your Training Package go to the National Training Information Services website.
What is a unit of competency? Top
The competency standards in a Training Package describe work outcomes. Each unit of competency describes a specific work activity, conditions under which it is conducted and the evidence that may be gathered in order to determine whether the activity is being performed in a competent manner. By examining different aspects of the unit of competency, you will be able 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 are the conditions under which this work activity may be conducted?
- What evidence is needed to prove that a person is competent?
- What knowledge and skills are need to perform this work activity?
- What employability skills are needed?
- Where should evidence be gathered?
- What resources are required to gather the evidence?
What is competency based assessment? Top
Assessment is the process of collecting evidence and making judgments on whether competency has been achieved. The purpose of assessment is to confirm that an individual can perform the standard expected in the workplace, as expressed in the relevant endorsed industry or enterprise competency standards.
Key Features of competency based assessment include:
- Identifying pathways;
- Making competency meaningful;
- Actively engaging industry or workplace;
- Target the audience;
- Evaluate and judging evidence; and
- Record and feedback.
The dimensions of competency Top
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, in accordance with the standard of performance expected in the workplace.
Competency involves successful work performance. It is usually seen to comprise four dimensions:
- Task skills - undertaking a specific workplace task(s);
- Task Management Skills - Managing a number of different tasks to complete a whole work activity;
- Contingency management skills - responding to problems and irregularities when undertaking a work activity, such as:
- Breakdowns;
- Changes in routine;
- Unexpected or atypical results or outcomes; and
- Difficult or dissatisfied clients.
- Job/role environment skills - dealing with the responsibilities and expectations of the work environment when undertaking a work activity, such as:
- Working with others;
- Interacting with clients and suppliers;
- Complying with standard operating procedures; and
- Observing enterprise policy and procedures.
- Integration of key employability skills.
What is Holistic Assessment? Top
Holistic assessment focuses on the assessment of whole work activities rather than specific tasks or components of a work activity. In conducting a holistic assessment the assessor develops an image or picture of how a competent worker would perform the activity.
Having established the image or picture of competence, the assessor then identifies the evidence that the candidate needs to show competence and the techniques that would be used to gather the evidence. Using this information the assessor then reviews the evidence and decides whether the candidate is competent
Interpreting Competency Standards Top
Competency Standards define the skills, knowledge and attitudes required for effective performance in the workplace. Standards are expressed in outcome terms and have a common format comprising unit title, unit description, elements, performance criteria, range statement and evidence guide. They are descriptions of the competencies required for effective performance in the workplace, both in the routine conduct of the job role and in the ability to adapt to changing role definitions. Competency standards relate to the industry as a whole, but need to be interpreted in terms of specific worksite. In other words, assessors need to take the information contained within the competency standards, relate this to the particular workplace, then use or customise that information to inform the assessment process.
Within the national VET system, competency standards form the benchmarks for assessment and the basis for nationally recognised qualifications.
Page updated 17 September 2009