While training packages outline the required knowledge and performance criteria for job roles within an industry, they do not prescribe the training or learning process. Registered training organisations (RTOs) use training packages to help design their curriculum or training programs, and there is a wide range of ways each RTO approaches this process. This project will investigate the different ways RTOs go about interpreting and translating training packages into training programs with the aim of supporting best practice and innovation in curriculum development.
Click across the tabs to view active and completed project stages. Consultation takes place at every stage of the project.
The research will look at innovative curriculum design and implementation practices, including how RTOs add value to qualifications and other training package products to better serve the needs of particular employers, student groups and communities. Research will consider the challenges faced by RTOs when translating training package content.
The insights gained from this research project will help inform future JSC activities, providing insight into:
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Project Scope
The project will include desktop research, a literature review, a survey, interviews and site visits, covering three critical qualifications for the workforce served by Skills Insight:
These qualifications have been chosen because they are widely used by RTOs, but each supports a different range of occupations. As a result, this research will be able to collect valuable insights into how RTOs approach qualifications with different intended outcomes and purposes.
This approach recognises that some qualifications are closely associated with specific occupational outcomes, while others have a more general purpose. For example, the majority of graduates from the Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing become veterinary nurses. The Certificate III in Agriculture supports a broader range of occupational outcomes across the agricultural sectors. The Certificate II in Rural Operations is used to provide learners with the foundational skills required for many roles across rural and regional industries. As such, each qualification requires a different approach by RTOs when translating the skills standards into training programs.
Consultation
A range of training providers have been invited to participate in this research project. They represent public and private RTOs, of various sizes, across a variety of geographic locations, with a variety of student cohorts and degrees of specialisation.
However, all RTOs are welcome to provide feedback at any time throughout the project. We encourage you to register for project updates through our newsletter using the subscription button above. Alternatively, get in touch with the Project Manager, Ngaire Stratton, at [email protected] or by calling 03 9321 3526.
Project Timeline
Project Team
Ngaire Stratton
Project Manager, Skills Insight
[email protected]
Diana McNaughton
Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Skills Insight
[email protected]
The Griffith University team conducted a schedule of on-site interviews with RTOs around the country in June and July. RTOs were also invited to respond to a survey around their experiences developing learning and assessment resources.
A range of training providers were invited to participate, all of which deliver at least one of the three qualifications identified for inclusion in this project:
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If you would like to receive updates about this project, please subscribe to our newsletter and select ‘general newsletter’ as one of your industries of interest.
The team sought insights into the challenges faced by RTOs when translating training package content, as well as how RTOs use curriculum design and implementation practices to best meet the needs of particular employers, student groups and communities.
Next Steps
A report has been drafted, outlining the findings of the literature review, case studies and the survey, which is currently undergoing internal reviews.
It is due for submission to the Department of Employment and Workforce Relations on 31 October.
The insights gained from this research project will help inform future JSC activities, providing insight into:
This stage has not yet commenced.
At the finalisation stage, final checks are conducted and the outcomes of the project are submitted to the Department for consideration. Following this, outcomes are published or enacted.
In collaboration with Griffith University
Skills Insight is undertaking this research project in collaboration with Griffith University. Consultation with RTOs will explore how they go about choosing and translating training package products, such as qualifications and units of competency, and analysing current industry practices and student needs to develop curricula and deliver training.
Griffith University will develop a report based on the consultation and research findings, including what is known about translating training packages into training programs in Australia and similar national curricula internationally, and research into resource creation in other education and training sectors. The centrepiece of the report will be a model of translation with a set of recommendations to support best practice in translating training products. It will build on current RTO capabilities and processes for developing, contextualising and updating resources, delivery strategies and plans to support learning.
