Glossary of Training Terms

Accredited training Accreditation provides an assurance to people buying training that they will get what they are paying for in terms of industry recognition. Accredited courses are a structured sequence of vocational education and training that lead to an Australian Qualifications Framework qualification or Statement of Attainment. In Victoria, the body that accredits vocational training is the Victorian Qualifications Authority (VQA).

ANTA Australian National Training Authority In July 1992 the Australian National Training Authority was created to advise Ministers on developing and implementing proposed policies on a national vocational education and training system. This role has now been taken over by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) Info can be found at http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/policy_issues_reviews/key_issues/nts/

Assessment Assessment is the process of collecting evidence and forming judgements on the extent of progress towards competency standards. Competency based assessment is primarily concerned with actual performance. Additional assessment of knowledge, skills and attitudes are effectively applied in a given situation. Assessment should be valid, reliable, fair and flexible and the ITAB recommends a range of evidence be collected using a variety of assessment methods, including self-assessment.

ARF Australian Recognition Framework The Australian Recognition Framework, which took effect on 1 January 1998, sets out new recognition arrangements within the vocational education and training (VET) sector. Developed jointly by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and industry, the ARF streamlines VET recognition processes and will ensure that skills and qualifications are recognised across Australia. By encouraging greater flexibility and responsiveness on the part of training organisations, it will also support a more competitive national training market The ARF provides the foundation for the Mutual Recognition of training organisations, qualifications and training products throughout Australia and incorporates revised registration arrangements for training organisations. The new recognition arrangements are underpinned by strengthened quality assurance measures, including nationally agreed registration requirements and rigorous monitoring and audit processes. Further information on the ARF is available on the ANTA web site, while information regarding transition arrangements and the registration of Registered Training Organisations is available through State and Territory Training/Recognition Authorities.

Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) has provided a comprehensive, nationally consistent yet flexible framework for all qualifications in post-compulsory education and training since its introduction in 1995. The AQF comprises twelve national qualifications issued across the secondary schools sector, the vocational education and training (VET) sector and the higher education sector (mainly universities). In the VET sector, the qualifications are: Advanced Diploma Diploma Certificate IV Certificate III (traineeships are usually at this level) Certificate II Certificate I It should be noted, however, that there is rapidly increasing provision of vocational education and training in the schools sector, which may be recognised at the appropriate Certificate level, or as credit towards a Certificate qualification. It should also be noted that increasing numbers of Graduate Certificates are being issued in the vocational education and training sector, and that substantial numbers of Certificate qualifications are issued in the higher education sector.

Community Services Training Package A national training package that describes all the competencies required of staff employed at all levels in the community services sector. (See Training Packages)

Competency The concept of competency focuses on what is expected of an employee in the workplace rather than on the learning process; and embodies the ability to transfer and apply skills and knowledge to new situations and environments. Competency is a broad concept that includes all aspects of work performance and not just narrow test skills.

Competency Based Training Competency Based Training has been defined as a way of approaching vocational training that places primary emphasis on what a person can actually do in a workplace as a result of training (the outcomes) rather than the process of training. It is concerned with training to industry standards rather than an individual's achievement relative to others in a group.

Competency Standards Competency standards provide a means for industry to set out their requirements for what people need to be able to know and do in the workplace. They provide clear benchmarks for the training system in developing and delivering courses relevant to workplace requirements. Competency standards also provide benchmarks for assessment, enabling people to be sure that the system is delivering what industry has asked for. Competency standards are made up of units of competency, which are themselves made up of elements of competency, together with performance criteria, a range of variables, and an evidence guide. Competency standards are an endorsed component of a training package. The process of developing national competency standards typically includes a number of core activities and decisions, such as: Establishing a Project Management Committee Project wide planning issues Researching the area under investigation The initial competency analysis Consultation, validation and review Endorsement of standards.

Flexible Delivery Flexible delivery is an approach to vocational education and training which allows for the adoption of a range of learning strategies in a variety of learning environments to cater for the differences in learning styles, learning interests and needs, and variations in learning opportunities. It refers to the ability to deliver training using different methods (self-paced, resource based, technology based etc.) and venues (workplace, home skills centres etc.). If the training system is to become customer driven, responsive to the needs of industry and efficient, it has to be able to deliver training in flexible ways as well as the standard classroom setting.

Group Training Group Training companies act as "employers" in traineeships and apprenticeships. The trainee is indentured to the company rather than an individual workplace/employer. Group Training Companies rotate trainees between host employers and usually have their own facilities to train trainees between placements. This arrangement creates opportunities to: establish a greater number of training positions give trainees a diverse range of on-the-job training with different employers provide flexibility for small or specialised employers. Group training schemes assist thousands of people, and help many enterprises, to access training. Group schemes will play a growing role in assisting training providers and individuals as well as providing opportunities for small organisations and employers to share training resources. They also help provide information and on-the-job assessment. They make it easier to access training at the entry level and beyond.

ITABs Industry Training Advisory Bodies ITABs include representatives from unions, employers and/or governments. They are organised federally with State and Territory ITABs providing advice to State Training Agencies and to their equivalent National ITAB. There are ITABs for each of the 18 recognised industry divisions. The key functions of State/Territory ITABs as defined in the joint ANTA/VEETAC review of the National ITAB network are: To contribute to the development of the national strategic plan for training within their industry; To develop, against the background of the national strategic plan for training within their industry, plans for the implementation of vocational education and training relevant to their industry's training needs in the state and to contribute to state training profiles and plans; To provide advice to their State Training Agencies on policy, planning, delivery and resource allocation issues, and the respective role of public and private providers; To play a major role in accreditation and recognition processes in accordance with the National Framework for the Recognition of Training; To work with public and private providers in the development of training programs; To provide policy advice to industry and government on the training needs of their industry; To provide advice to relevant national ITABs to assist them in carrying out their roles and functions.

Key Competencies Key competencies are the generic abilities (integrated knowledge, skills and understandings) that everyone needs for effective participation in work, education and adult life. These competencies are: Collecting, analysing and organising information Communicating ideas and information Planning and organising activities Working with others and in teams Using mathematical ideas and techniques Solving problems Using technology Cultural understandings. Key competencies are the tools for putting general education to work. They are essential if students are to participate effectively in emerging patterns of work organisation and a world of increasingly rapid change. They apply to work generally rather than to specific occupations or industries and they will help people participate effectively in further education and in adult life. These competencies are sometimes referred to as the "Mayer key competencies" after Eric Mayer, Chairman of the Committee that proposed the competencies in 1992.

Mentoring Mentoring is a learning relationship that is formed between a person who demonstrates excellence in the area in which another staff member wants to improve. Arrangements for mentoring vary according to individual requirements, but generally involve regular supervision sessions.

NTF National Training Framework In late 1996 Ministers of Vocational Education and Training endorsed the major features of a National Training Framework, designed to make the regulation of Australia's national training arrangements simpler and more flexible, by simplifying the way training is regulated, by defining who is responsible for training, and by describing how high standards of quality can be guaranteed. The major features of the National Training Framework are: revised and simplified arrangements for the recognition of training organisations and training products assuring quality of training provision Training Packages that integrate nationally available training products including new assessment arrangements with competency standards.

RPL Recognition of Prior Learning Recognition of Prior Learning means recognising that people learn through work and life experiences as well as through education and training throughout their life. In the past learning through a formal education process was valued; little value was placed on experiential learning through life or work. It is now recognised that learning can occur through a variety of experiences, both formal and informal. The main focus of RPL is on the skills, knowledge and attributes acquired through these experiences, not on how, when or where the learning occurred. In other words, the emphasis is on the learning outcomes. It is important to understand that it is not the experience but the learning from the experience that is assessed in the RPL process. A fee is charged by RTOs to assess whether the evidence presented satisfies the requirements.

RCC Recognition of Current Competency A process whereby competencies currently held by a person, acquired through training, work or life experience are acknowledged. It?s more commonly known as recognition of prior learning.

RTO Registered Training Organisation An organisation registered by a state authority (VQA in Victoria) to deliver accredited training. RTOs include TAFE colleges and institutes, adult and community education providers, private providers, community organisations, schools, higher education institutions, commercial and enterprise training providers, industry bodies and other organisations meeting the registration requirements.

Traineeships Traineeships provide industry endorsed and accredited quality training in a wide range of industries that can be tailored to suit individual workplaces/enterprises. They are a development from the long-established apprenticeship system of vocational training in the workplace, but are generally offered outside the traditional "trade" professions such as auto engineering and plumbing. Traineeships are supported by the Commonwealth Government through incentive payments to employers who recruit trainees. For further information go to www.intraining.org.au/traineeships.html

Training Packages Training Packages are major new features of the National Training Framework and bring together three endorsed components; competency standards, assessment guidelines and nationally recognised qualifications. Non-endorsed components include learning strategies, assessment materials and professional development materials. The packages are developed by industry through the National ITAB arrangements and endorsed by the National Training Framework Committee. Most industries either have endorsed or are currently developing their training packages. The first training package for community services, called "Community Services Training", was endorsed by ANTA and came into effect on 3 February 1999. Go to www.intraining.org.au/ for more info.

VET Vocational Education and Training Broadly speaking VET is all training which equips people with the skills to undertake work. Traditionally VET is understood to refer to work-oriented post-secondary education and training other than university training, (degree or post-degree, i.e. "professional") but the boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred, and late secondary education is becoming more VET-oriented.

Information for this glossary was adapted from glossaries on the ANTA and NSW CS&H ITAB websites.