Giving Direction, Confidence & Support

Assisting Box Hill Institute of TAFE in meeting industry’s needs

Recently, the CMPA and others were invited to make comment to Box Hill Institute of TAFE on how best they should engage industry in the training delivered by them.

The CMPA believes that any system should focus on bettering the abilities of the RTO and ensuring industry minimum standards are maintained or improved. This would include a number of checks, including an interview of trainees.

This proposal is the first of many industry sector advisory panels that will be established within the structure of Box Hill Institute of TAFE or other TAFE providers.

The principle is that this panel should benefit all parties; for instance the candidate by ensuring that they understand their role within industry, industry by giving confidence in the candidates, and the RTO by giving industry feedback.

Such a partnership between industry, its regulator and the RTO is imperative. An industry panel’s objectives should include those listed.

Candidates

1. Ensure the candidate understands the significance of the role they will play within the industry; and
2. Offer a peer group/mentoring facility for the candidates to access.

Industry

1. Carry out an interview process with candidates who have been recognised by the Box Hill Institute’s RTO as competent to give further confidence that a proper compliance assessment has been undertaken;
2. Confirm that the RTO is delivering training and undertaking assessment that complies with current industry minimum standards;
3. Give confidence to owners and regulators that candidates are suitably skilled;
4. Ensure that the expectations of the candidates, owners and regulator are being met; and
5. Ensure that industry’s interests are protected.

Box Hill Institute of TAFE

1. Provide direction for resources and the creation of policies to ensure Box Hill Institute is placing its resources in appropriate areas and maintaining its position at the forefront of industry education;
2. Provide a mechanism whereby RTO deficiencies are highlighted;
3. Ensure a vehicle exists where RTO or candidate concerns can be resolved; and
4. Communicate Box Hill Institute’s role to the industry as a whole.

It is important that the panel makeup consists of a wide cross-section of industry through:

• Representatives who have handled sand, hard rock, clay, mobile crushing and recycling (pertinent to candidates being presented),
• The industry regulator,
• Box Hill Institute’s representative, and
• RIISC representative.

There should be no more than 8 persons on the panel, with a quorum of 3. Representatives should be persons who are recognised by peers in their industry and are carrying out day-to-day activities in the industry.

Industry can contribute to competency-based training and assessment by working with providers ensuring that productivity and work ethos are continually enhanced. (This is clearly the program “Work Safely” is following).

• Work Record Book: Industry needs to assist its workforce in accepting and recognising the need and significance of a Work Record Book to underpin the vocational training processes being undertaken by the company (one Work Record Book per unit of competency).
• Development of Training Material: Industry through its Associations and its own resources must move to a more collective approach in the development and organisation of knowledge and competency based training.
• Reviewing Training Material: That the industry participates in the reviewing of resource materials to ensure it is current and meets the needs of industry.

Where to from here:

The CMPA sees issues requiring further clarification as being that:

• A Statement of Purpose for the panel to work under is developed which brings into partnership the industry, regulator and institute, articulating clear goals
• There are clear objectives for those persons seeking training or being trained
• Training must relate to the learners current and future job requirements
• Training must expand the learner’s employment opportunities and add value to the business
• Training must comply with legislative and regulatory requirements
• Competency assessment consists of knowledge and competency based assessment as industry is seeking an arrangement where training and assessment are provided jointly
• The present block release of Certificate IV is dismantled over time and established as unit release to allow choice and flexibility, and run consistently with the vocational training model being used in the lower levels. The first unit released may be ‘Apply site statutory compliance management plan’.

NEWS FLASH!
We have been advised that BHT received 12 submissions to their survey in addition to numerous verbal submissions. It is great to see such industry participation on this important matter.

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