Sukh Sandhu, Author at RTO Group

ASQA’s strategic review of online learning

As part of its ongoing maintaining quality and compliance assurance requirements surrounding online learning in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is now conducting its strategic review.

The organisation began the strategic assessment in 2020, motivated by the large number of providers who transferred their distribution to the internet in response to the circumstances generated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in the country.

Between December 2020 and May 2021, three popular ‘Feedback Loop’ webinars, which were held as part of the strategic review, were recorded and published in this insights report.

You can read more information about the strategic review, Click here.

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu ASQA Comments Off

CAQA Recruitment – Right people, Right skills, Right now

Are you looking for quality staff? Sick of wasting money on job ads that disappear in 100’s of other ads? Are you only getting applications from people who are not qualified to work in VET?

Introducing CAQA Recruitment, a place dedicated to recruitment in the vocational education and training sector.

Looking for staff?

Design and post your job advertisement and search the applicant database for suitable applicants. It is a quick and straightforward process that will have your job advertisement up and running in no time.

Looking for a new opportunity?

The Applicants section allows individuals to register for work and build a personal profile online. Get your resume in front of employers and be the first to know about new job openings. You decide how much or how little information you want to display and you can submit your applications directly to the employer.

We will post the job openings on our social media channels and sites, as well as on our website

Call us on 1800 266 160 or email info@caqarecruitment.com.au

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu News Comments Off

Professional Business Analysts (Proba)- Find business analysis solutions for your organisation

Stuck in the past, oblivious to prospects and using inefficient methods of doing business with consumers and suppliers?

Professional Business Analysts (Proba) business analysis consulting services can assist you in outsourcing the right people to your team, making it easier to achieve your objectives.

Unless you are a bob on the water, what business operator does not want their organisation to develop better customer solution-focused tools, systems and processes or to resolve any functional or technical issues that may impede growth? Nobody wishes to obstruct prospects for advancement. It’s a necessary aspect of doing business.

However, where do you find a qualified business analyst who can assist you with the projects? With Proba, you will have access to tried-and-true business analysts accessible to assist you in enhancing your business’s performance, accomplishing your business goals, and assisting you with business tasks.

It’s difficult to find a reputable partner to assist you with complex and sophisticated business systems tasks. You need someone who understands your perspective and can see the larger picture. Someone who is aware of your ambitions and appreciates what you are attempting to accomplish. You require an individual or a team of business analysts who become familiar with your organisation, its aims, and commercial drivers. With Proba, you can be confident that your project will be analysed by professionals that possess the necessary abilities and experience to produce a viable solution.

Why should you use our services?

Our business analysts have considerable expertise working with the public sector, not-for-profit organisations, and commercial businesses.
We can assist you with conducting your business analysis in the most efficient manner feasible.
We have set up a comprehensive methodology and framework in place for conducting business analysis. We are one of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced business services firms.
We are prepared to provide the highest quality commercial services.
We offer affordable expert business analyst services to Australian and worldwide organisations.
We match skilled business analysts with projects that require their knowledge, and our creative problem-solving approach ensures our clients’ success.
Our business consulting team possesses extensive industry experience, which enables them to have a clear understanding of the various business outcomes as well as strong technical skills necessary to comprehend how a solution should be implemented, supported, and integrated into existing business information technology systems.
PROBA’s team possesses exceptional communication and interpersonal abilities, ensuring that the project’s outcomes are attainable, organised, cost-effective, and successful.
We have a demonstrated track record of offering business analysis consulting services to Australian clients on a number of business systems projects.
PROBA enables us to efficiently and successfully undertake and deliver any project.
You’ll receive all of the benefits of an experienced team with extensive knowledge in all facets of business systems consulting – at a fraction of the cost.
Hiring our business analysis consultants will provide you with the peace of mind that your business is making sound decisions.

We provide comprehensive responses to all of your inquiries and more. That is why our clientele continue to patronise us.

Among our services are the following:

Business Analysis Consulting Services
Data Consulting Services
Testing
Mobile Strategy
Cloud Engineering
Professional Web Development Services
SAP Consulting
SEO ( Search Engine optimization) Services
Prototyping
Business Intelligence Analytics
Professional Mobile Application Development Services
SAP HANA Cloud Services
UX/UI Design
Professional Web design Services
Competitor Analysis Services
IT Consultancy Services

Our track record demonstrates our ability to adapt to a variety of clients and projects and business processes in order to produce a successful conclusion.

Perhaps it’s time to have a business systems analyst examine your organisation and provide more effective business solutions that fit your needs. If that is the case, we should speak. We offer a variety of services aimed at assisting your organisation in improving its performance and achieving its objectives. Our experts have been hand-selected for their experience in the industries in which they work. We provide a variety of service alternatives and respect your time by delivering reports promptly. Choose from a variety of our consulting services – we look forward to working with you!

Simply visit our website for additional details. You may learn more about who we work with and our services on our website. While you’re there, have a look at our blog, where we highlight recent industry changes, offer advice on how to improve your business analysis consulting using Agile methods, and provide other relevant information for your role.

Contact our world-class team immediately to infuse your business analysis strategies with strength!

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu News Comments Off

Course delivery using different delivery modes

What delivery modes can you use to deliver training?

Face to face/ on campus/ classroom based delivery

It is learning in a classroom environment with qualified trainers who guide the learners through high-quality learning and assessment activities. The trainer usually teaches all of the units of competency content to a small group of learners, with social distancing procedures now in place to ensure the safety of each individual participant. The small groups of learners are maintained to ensure that everyone receives the attention they deserve.

Online mode of delivery

Learners can obtain a wide range of learning outcomes by participating in online learning activities that are managed through the use of an online environment. Online mode of delivery offers a lot more flexibility and value to learners as they can watch the recorded videos, access self-study materials, participate in forums and discussions and use online libraries and support systems.

Distance mode of delivery

For a variety of reasons, training organisations may choose to deliver vocational education and training courses via distance delivery methods. Among the possible reasons are:

due to employment or other responsibilities, the learner cohort wants to learn outside of normal training hours,
the geographical spread of enrolling learners
access to the most up-to-date industry practises may be accessible,
as well as the possibility to offer a greater variety of units of competency as elective units for a qualification.

Workplace mode of delivery

The workplace mode of delivery includes training and assessment that can be provided at the learner’s place of employment.

Blended mode of delivery

Blended delivery (BD) is a form of study that incorporates different modes of delivery, for example offering training to students using both online and face-to-face delivery methods. Students get access to a wide range of learning materials as well as self-study materials for each unit of study they complete. Additionally, students can attend workshops on campus to develop their abilities, as well as participate in synchronous online sessions where they can merge theory and practice.

Whatever method you use to offer instruction to students, you must plan, document, and implement techniques that ensure that students obtain all necessary skills and knowledge in the subject matter. This need includes ensuring that students have access to appropriate resources, facilities, and trainers.

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu Education Comments Off

Converting the audit quality practices to system-centred rather than individual-auditor-centred

When we talk about “audit quality practises,” we talk about the factors that influence the outcomes of audits conducted on behalf of a regulatory body, such as the behaviour of auditors, the decisions they make, the approaches they take and the way they act in order to ensure that audit outcomes are appropriate, suitable, relevant, and based on facts rather than personal opinions and biases against an individual or organisation.

In this article, we discuss a number of the components of audit quality practises that are important to consider.

Standards to audit the regulatory body and its officers

The million-dollar questions are: who audits the auditors, and can they achieve consistency in their decisions? Despite the fact that some government agencies are auditing some of their actions, the vast majority of the judgments and practises of the regulatory body go unnoticed and unanswered to anyone. A clear set of standards should be established for the regulatory body, and clear guidelines should be developed for their auditors. The audit practices, boundaries and guidelines should also be clearly defined.

External complaints resolution department

How can genuine complaints be resolved when the freedom of information (FOI) and complaints handling are controlled by the same individual and department within ASQA? Yes, these approaches are acceptable for a brief period of time in order to conceal malpractices, but for how long will they remain hidden from the rest of the industry? How can a regulatory agency establish confidence with its stakeholders if there is no credible external entity to evaluate and review its operations and procedures? On paper, the Ombudsman is there to investigate their decisions; yet, how many times have they made decisions that were against the regulating body? Where are those statistics and how do those decisions make the regulatory body change their practices? Complaints and feedback from stakeholders are opportunities to improve the system, framework, and processes. If you ignore investigating complaints and feedback from stakeholders or just have blind faith in what your auditors tell you, then you will never be able to improve any practices.

Professional development workshops for auditors

Workshops for professional development are essential for everyone in the sector, and auditors are no exception. As representatives of a government agency, they hold a position of authority and influence. As a result, they require far more professional development and personal development sessions than anybody else working in the education and training industry. Regular professional development workshops would assist them in understanding how they should strictly adhere to regulatory rules rather than rely on their own personal judgments, prejudices, and opinions to make audit decisions.

Internal validation and moderation meetings

Internal validation and moderation meetings for audit outcomes and practices are required in order to establish high-quality audit practices. Decisions should be made in accordance with what the system suggests, rather than what the individual recommends. In order to train the auditors on what can and cannot be accepted in a black and white manner, set templates, policies, practices and protocols should be used. The outcome of these moderation meetings should be shared with the industry in order to inform them of what was discussed, which tactics were changed, and why and how the strategies will affect the training organisations in question. Every time a new auditor audits the processes and documentation of a training organisation, the results should not be a surprise to the training organisation or consultants representing them in the audit.

Audit reports

The audit reports should not only cover non-compliances, but they should also include where the compliance has been found. In a number of instances, the same auditor has made different judgments over a period of a few weeks, and this type of activity should be considered unacceptable by any regulatory authority.

When it comes to audit reports, the most important purpose is to have reasonable certainty that the report as a whole is free of any misrepresentation and errors; and to ensure that any noncompliance issues that are identified are clearly reported to all parties through the audit report.

In order to ensure that all stakeholders have faith in the system and are fully informed, the quality of audit reports is vital to an effective and efficient regulatory system. The purpose of audit quality procedures is to instil confidence in the correctness and dependability of audit practises. It is vital that audit quality and consistency of audit execution be consistently enhanced in order to retain public confidence in the regulatory system.

These are just a few of the critical improvements that must be included in the new regulatory framework to ensure its success. What other changes would you like to see implemented in audit activities? Write to us and tell us about your experiences interacting with the regulatory body and your thoughts on the matter.

We are interested in listening to your suggestions, feedback and stories, please email us at info@caqa.com.au.

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu Audits Comments Off

Quality training and assessment resources from CAQA Resources

While operating as a registered training organisation, you will be required to make a range of decisions, with obtaining high-quality training and assessment resources being among the most significant.

To ensure that your students receive the learning experience necessary to function competently in their chosen vocation, you need to invest in quality assessment and learner resources. It is only through the use of high-quality training staff as well as good training and assessment materials that a Registered Training Organisation can achieve this.

The quality of education and training that you deliver may suffer if you employ individuals who are not experts in their profession, accordingly, not having compliant assessment and learner resources means the quality of training you offer or promise will also suffer. You must spend time reviewing the quality of your assessment and learner resources against the following criteria:

ASQA’s guide of developing assessment tools https://www.asqa.gov.au/resources/guides/guide-developing-assessment-tools
Compliance with clauses 1.8 to 1.12 https://www.asqa.gov.au/standards/training-assessment/clauses-1.8-to-1.12
Compliance with clause 1.3.
https://www.asqa.gov.au/standards/training-assessment/clauses-1.1-to-1.4-2.2
Principles of assessments
Rules of evidence

Investing in high-quality training materials is therefore vital for the survival and eventual success of a training organisation. When you provide quality, it will have a significant impact on the reputation of the RTO, its legal requirements, and the quality of the outcomes. According to ASQA audit analysis published in 2017, over 80% of RTOs failed to comply with Standard One during the audit process and one of the major non-compliance has been the quality of assessment and learner resources.

Consider the following two scenarios:

Scenario 1

You are an industry leader and well-known in the RTO sector for what you know and what you do, but if your training and assessment resources are non-compliant, or worse, if a regulatory body audits you and determines that this is the case and makes decisions based on the findings, your training organisation’s reputation will be questioned. The regulatory body has suggested that students be reassessed for a period of 12 or 24 months in a number of instances. As a result, if you lack compliant training and assessment resources or do not adhere to compliant regulatory practices, you may experience significant challenges.

Scenario 2

Your RTO is unable to contextualise and customise or even worse know the requirements set around the assessment and learner resources because you assume that simply purchasing them from a resource provider qualifies you as compliant. Without acknowledging and comprehending reality, there are a number of resource providers that sell substandard quality resources, and if you purchase these materials, you may risk losing your RTO registration.

The question arises as to what to do when evaluating assessment and learner materials? How can you determine their quality? How can you make informed decisions and avoid wasting your hard-earned money?

This advice may help:

1. Maintain current knowledge and skills in compliance with legislative and regulatory standards.

You must spend time updating your knowledge and skills in relation to legislative and regulatory requirements. This includes contacting industry leaders who know what is compliant and what is non-compliant, attending professional development sessions, subscribing to and attending all regulatory body-sponsored webinars and conferences, subscribing to and reading VET and RTO newsletters, and also asking external auditors to conduct audits on your training and assessment systems on regular intervals.

2. Begin with a compliant copy of the learner and assessment resources that will serve as the foundation for the entire unit of competency:

Some publishers and developers are prone to displaying only a small number of their best samples and claiming that these samples reflect all of their qualifications. This is both incredibly distracting and misleading for the buyer who will assume that all material will be of the same quality. In order to avoid making such a mistake, you should request a complete sample, even if the sample is provided through an online platform to safeguard the copyright.

3. Ensure that all your assessment and learner resources have been pre-validated.

Poor quality of assessment tools is a contributing factor in the majority of RTO non-compliance problems. As an RTO resource provider, we receive a steady stream of calls from RTOs who have already spent money on substandard materials only to realise that fixing them will cost more than buying new resources. You can avoid this by following the steps below:

a. Pre-validate before use: By rigorously and thoroughly validating your new resources before putting them to use, you effectively protect your RTO. Fixing non-compliant resources is an expensive and time-consuming exercise that takes a long time to complete.

c. Make sure that all action verbs and action words are covered in the training package when you are pre-validating. For example, if the performance criteria is “consult with stakeholders,” a plural form is used, which means consultation with more than one stakeholder is required. Consult is a verb that means to seek advice or information from someone i.e. involves open-ended questions and communication.

d. Everything is addressed at least twice if it is not clearly stated in the training package that once is sufficient.

e. It is a must to assess performance criteria, foundation skills, and performance evidence using practical, workplace-based, or scenario-based methods and strategies.

f. Check the footer and header of the documents to ensure that all version control, unit name and code, and other pertinent information is accurate and up to date.

g. All equipment, resources, and materials specified in the assessment conditions must be made available in order for the assessment to take place.

4. Verify that mapping documentation for the assessment tools and learner resources are available.

The mapping materials associated with the assessment tools and learner resources should be available. Check this before you purchase the training and assessment resources. Ensure that the training and assessment resources have met all of the unit requirements.

5. Verify that the correct assessment method has been used.

Many assessment instruments use non-compliant techniques for determining learner competency. If the assessment assignment asks a student, “How would you do this?” or something along these lines, you must be extremely cautious, especially if there is a mapping to performance criteria (PCs) or performance evidence (PEs), as such a question has no wrong answer. The student may provide an answer that shows incorrect understanding, but because the question is not asking for the correct way of doing something, there is no wrong answer.

In order to establish competency in performing a task or job, evidence must be provided in the form of an observation that properly identifies the specific performance level for each practical skill performed. Many observation checklists are simply copied and pasted versions of PEs and PCs from the unit, found on the national register. It has the potential to cause complications during an audit and result in non-compliance.

6. Determine whether there are sufficient learner resources to meet the training requirements.

Choose among those learning resources that will allow you to demonstrate that you have satisfied the learning criteria for the delivery of the qualification. ASQA will audit your RTO to establish whether or not there are sufficient training and assessment resources for the students to be able to implement the theory learnt into practice in the workplace.

The training resources you choose are important as they can determine whether or not you will be able to demonstrate compliance during an audit. One suggestion that you might find really useful is to review the content and ensure it meets the compliance requirements. For example, when you look at materials you may find that they have double spacing between lines and a large number of photos. The material of these types of resources is typically lacking in depth. You will also observe that the use of this type of formatting will result in a two-fold increase in the number of pages. Some publishers employ this technique to give the appearance that their content is more extensive than it actually is. Therefore, look at each of the performance criteria and make an informed judgement if the information is adequately covered or not.

7. Check to determine if the information is accurate, up to date, and thorough.

Finally, but certainly not least, you should check the clarity of the content you are considering purchasing. One method of obtaining legitimate, reliable, and up-to-date training materials is to select learning resource publishers and developers who appoint subject matter experts in order to obtain the proper and comprehensive material. Assessment activities, session plans, assessment workbooks, and learning guides, among other instructional methods, should be included in the training material to ensure that students receive sufficient learning material.

Student assessment workbooks should be a comprehensive collection of assessment assignments used to gain an understanding of a student’s level of knowledge.

Trainer/Assessor evaluation resources are items that are intended for use by trainers in the assessment process.

Trainers employ a variety of assessment tools, such as benchmark answers and assessor instructions, to gather the information that is necessary for providing training.

Self-study guides are available to students to assist them in developing an enthusiastic approach to learning.

Mapping documents, learner manuals, and PowerPoint presentations should be included in the training tools to help make the training complete and user-friendly.

8. The resources are plagiarism-free

Use applications such as Grammarly and/or Turnitin to confirm that the resources are free of copyright and plagiarism issues before using them. If it is general information that is freely available on the internet, you should not be concerned; but, if it is information from a different publisher or from copyrighted websites or other materials, you should be concerned and should refrain from using these products.

CAQA Resources

CAQA Resources delivers high-quality solutions in the form of compliant RTO resources that are comprehensive and totally adaptable to meet your specific requirements as well as the needs and requirements of students.

When it comes to learning and assessment for your learners, CAQA Resources is your go-to for staying compliant. Our RTO resources, training and learning materials, assessment tools, as well as learning kits, provide a comprehensive selection of resources for a wide range of qualifications.

Visit our website www.caqaresources.com.au and look through our comprehensive list.

Contact us on 1800 266 160 or email info@caqa.com.au for more information on how to obtain the best training resources for your RTO.

Training Packages: CAQA Resources can deliver resources from the following training packages:

List of all training packages CAQA Resources have available or are currently writing:

AHC – Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package
AUR – Automotive Retail, Service and Repair Training Package
BSB – Business Services Training Package
CHC – Community Services Training Package
CPC – Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package
CUA – Creative Arts and Culture Training Package
EAL – English as an Additional Language Training Package
FBP – Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Training Package
FNS – Financial Services Training Package
FSK – Foundation Skills Training Package
FWP – Forest and Wood Products Training Package
HLT – Health Training Package
ICP – Printing and Graphic Arts Training Package
ICT – Information and Communications Technology Training Package
MEM – Manufacturing and Engineering Training Package
MSF – Furnishing Training Package
MSM – Manufacturing Training Package
MSS – Sustainability Training Package
NUR – Nursing Training Package
PMA – Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Refining Training Package
PSP – Public Sector Training Package
RII – Resources and Infrastructure Industry Training Package
SHB – Hairdressing and Beauty Services Training Package
SIR – Retail Services Training Package
SIS – Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package
SIT – Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training Package
TAE – Training and Education Training Package

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu CAQA Resources, RTO, Training and Assessment Comments Off

Resource Validation Services: Why outsourcing can be a great option

Following the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment (Governance and Other Matters) Bill 2020, ASQA has made a significant upgrade to the architecture of the vocational education and training (VET) sector and its approach.

The rapid change roadmap includes strengthening ASQA’s strategic stakeholder engagement and education to build provider capacity for self-assurance.

In line with this new approach, ASQA has shifted its regulatory approach into practical engagement with providers. Five best practice principles underpin this method – one of them being a focus on self-assurance, i.e., to support the quality of RTOs through their self-assurance.

Thanks to ASQA’s new blueprint, more than any time ever, ASQA is driving engagement and cooperative relationships with RTOs and promoting and building a shared understanding of self-assurance and excellence in training outcomes.

In a working paper issued in April 2021 under the title “Approach to Assessing Performance”, ASQA has made it clear that the performance assessment (the new language for auditing) will mainly focus on self-assurance. The paper also clarifies that ASQA’s increased focus will be on clause 2.2 of the Standards for RTOs. In other words, RTOs existence will depend on their validation and the self-assurance attested through their validation practice.

In light of ASDA’s new approach to self-assurance, validation has become the centre of gravity of compliance. Having such clear communication by ASQA, the ball is in the RTO’s court.

What is self-assurance and clause 2.2, and why is validation in the centre?

Self-assurance refers to the way the RTO’s operations are managed to ensure a focus on quality, continuous improvement and ongoing compliance. In contrast, Clause 2.2 systematically monitors training and assessment strategies and practices to ensure continued compliance.

Both are centred at one point – Validation. The best way to systematically evaluate and use the outcomes of the evaluations to continually improve the RTO’s training and assessment strategies and practices is through evaluation information collected under clauses 1.9, 1.10, and 7.5, validation outcomes, client, trainer and assessor feedback and complaints and appeals.

It is for obvious reasons that in 2020, ASQA identified the following clauses of concern in its regulatory strategy, which are directly related to lack of thorough validation:

1.8 implement effective assessment systems
1.1 have appropriate training and assessment strategies and practices, including the amount of training
1.3 have the resources to provide quality training and assessment, including sufficient trainers and assessors, learning resources, support services, equipment and facilities
3.1 AQF certification is issued only where the learner has been assessed as meeting training product requirements
1.2 appropriate amount of training is provided, taking account of the learner’s skills, knowledge, and experience and mode of delivery.

Time and history have repeatedly testified that RTOs do not focus on validation; hence, more than 60% of RTOs have their assessment tools deemed non-compliant..

There are very few, if any, who have not been handed a dreaded report by ASQA, a non-compliant report. The two common non-compliance that consistently turns up in audit reports are the Training and Assessment Strategy and the Assessment tools – the latter being the top non-compliance.

The main reason for the above is the lack of conducting appropriate validations and ensuring compliance with Clause 1.9, 1.10 and 1.11 of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations.

These clauses relate to the requirements for assessment validation, including the need to have an assessment validation plan, meet minimum validation benchmarks and conduct it in a way that ensures its validity and integrity

ASQA has identified systemic risks in the following qualifications: Equine, Security, Early Childhood Education and Care, Aged and Community Care, Construction (white card training) and Training and Education (TAE). ASQA advises that for Clause 1.10, training products in these areas may need to be validated more frequently.

Despite ASQA’s reminders that assessment validation is a vital tool for providers seeking to get the best results from training and assessment systems, many RTOs are not clear about validation’s role in ASQA’s performance assessment process.

The price tag that comes with the 1.8 non-compliance is dire because if the RTO is found to have non-compliance in 1.8, that will by default trigger non-compliance in 3.1 as non-compliance in 1.8 means issuing AQF certification where the learner has NOT been assessed as meeting training product requirements.

The result is a recall of all students who have participated in the unvalidated assessment tool and revoking their qualifications.

But why do RTOs fail the validation audit when they think they have validated their assessment tools?

There are several factors. The main reason is that not many RTOs realise that the compliance requirements that RTOs face when conducting validation are more complex than many understand or acknowledge.

Validation is more than:

Having a checklist that ticks and flicks,
Having a compliance officer that signs the signature boxes
Having a validation schedule that never materialises.
Finding consultants who are happy to endorse any validation without worrying about professional and ethical obligations and the RTOs risks.

So, the questions are:

How do you ensure that training and assessment strategies align with training package requirements?
How do you ensure that practices align with training and assessment strategies?
How have the outcomes of industry engagement been incorporated into your strategies and practice?
How do you know, from an organisation perspective, that you issue a qualification to a competent student?

Multiple questions, but the answer is one – organise quality-focused validation by an independent validator, who is not employed or subcontracted by the RTO and has no other involvement or interest in the operations of the RTO.

Validation requires systematic processes and ethical and pragmatic components to compliance. It requires more than an internal team to manage and maintain a positive reputation. It requires experts to decipher confusing or abstract standards and establish and integrate best validation practices. It requires engaging external validators to evaluate your training and assessments.

This is the very reason why RTOs should involve independent subject matter experts like CAQA in their validation plan and practices

Here at CAQA, our seriousness starts from our definition of Validation.

CAQA goes beyond the classical definition of validation as an assessment health check tool. We see validation as the destination of high-quality training and assessment. For us, validation is the cornerstone of high-quality training and assessment that equips students for employment or further study, and a means to success in their chosen career.

How does CAQA conduct Validation?

Our validation’s overarching vision and purpose is comprehensive and does not focus on the assessment tool only.

By engaging in the validation process, we will make sure that we:

Check that your assessment tools have produced valid, reliable, sufficient, current and
authentic evidence,
Enable your RTO to make reasonable judgements about whether training package (or VET
accredited course) requirements have been met
Review a statistically valid sample of the assessments and make recommendations for
future improvements to the assessment tool, process and outcomes and acting upon such
requests.
Ensure your assessment validation plays a vital role in ASQA’s performance assessment
process(audit).
Make it an integral part of your self-assurance to achieve excellence in training outcomes,
Make it an integral part of the systematic monitoring procedure of your training and
assessment strategies and practices to ensure ongoing compliance with Standard
Ensure it becomes routine practice to evaluate systematically and use the outcomes of the
evaluations to continually improve training and assessment strategies and
practices
Review how practice aligns with systems and how to monitor, review and improve
techniques.
Align assessment practice with the requirements of the relevant Standard.
Ensure you own a system for ensuring ongoing compliance with the relevant Standard.
Ascertain a mechanism to monitor, review, and continuously improve
(self-assurance) to ensure compliance with the relevant Standard requirements on an
on an ongoing basis.
Strengthen the interaction between practice, systems and continuous improvement
Provide validation related professional development to management and staff to help

you manage your operations and ensure a focus on quality, continuous improvement and
ongoing compliance.

Call us on 1800 266 160 or email info@caqa.com.au to find out more. Let us bring CAQAs Validation professional team to you – don’t wait until your next audit is due.

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu ASQA, TAFE, VET Sector Comments Off

Message from the General Manager (19 September 2021)

Message from the General Manager

Have you looked at ASQA’s new Corporate Plan? The plan shows that the organisation is committed to best practices and proportionate regulation. ASQA will assist providers in better understanding what they do, why they do it, and how they do it. According to ASQA, we may anticipate fair processes, consistency, and transparency from them in accordance with the strategic deliverables from the published plan. For more information, Click here.

In this newsletter, you will also be able to read about the other services we can provide such as CAQA Recruitment and Professional Business Analysts (Proba).

As always, if you require assistance in any way, please contact us via email at info@caqa.com.au.

Anna Haranas
General Manager

September 19, 2021 Sukh Sandhu News, VET Sector Comments Off

Part 1- The trainer and assessor files

Compliance of your trainer records is a must for any Registered Training Organisation. If you do not know what you are looking for, you will always have difficulty finding it. The purpose of this article is to provide you with the required information and resources to ensure you can audit and review your trainer and assessor files to be compliant with the current regulatory requirements and standards.

Legislative and regulatory requirements:
Trainers and assessors must comply with the following SRTOs 2015 requirements:

Clauses 1.13 – 1.16
Trainers and assessors who deliver any Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualification or skill set from the Training and Education Training Package (TAE10, TAE or its successor) are also required to meet additional requirements, outlined in Clauses 1.21 – 1.24.

Requirements for all trainers and assessors:
Trainers and assessors must meet the following criteria and guidelines:

the vocational competencies at least to the level being delivered and assessed
current industry skills directly relevant to the training and assessment being provided, and
current knowledge and skills in vocational training and learning that informs their training and assessment.

In addition, training and assessment may only be delivered by persons who have:

Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40110 or TAE40116), or its successor*, or
A diploma or higher level qualification in adult education.

Your RTO must also ensure that all trainers and assessors undertake professional development in the fields of:

knowledge and practice of vocational training, and
learning and assessment, including competency-based training and assessment.

Trainer’s CV
An RTO must hold valid files for all Trainers and Assessors (this includes files for contractors and employees). A valid file includes the following information:

A current copy of the trainer/assessor’s CV (usually updated on an annual basis)
The RTO’s name, the position title and a description of the job-role
Details about the vocational competencies that the trainer/assessor holds
Details about the vocational competencies that the trainer/assessor is delivering/assessing.
Information about industry currency and skills
List of VET professional development activities
Confirmation that it is a true and up-to-date copy of the CV (usually means the trainer/assessor initialling each page of the CV to confirm the accuracy of the information provided)
Signature and date of last update of the CV

It is also recommended that all resumes/CVs are verified for currency and authenticity through the undertaking of reference checks.

Reference:
Fact sheet—Meeting trainer and assessor requirements, published by ASQA https://www.asqa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net3521/f/FACT_SHEET_Meeting_trainer_and_assessor_requirements.pdf

(To be continued in the upcoming newsletter and blogs)

September 15, 2021 Sukh Sandhu ASQA, Audits, News, RTO Comments Off

What are the specific programs selected for Skill First 2022 for new applicants?

Skill First -2022 List of Specific Programs

Do you know that one of the main eligibility criteria to apply for the 2022 Provider Selection Process is that your RTO must have delivered training (in the course that you seek to deliver under the contract) in one or more Programs of the 2022 List of Specific Programs?

But what are the List of Specific Programs?

Do you want to know the list of the courses that makes you eligible to apply for the Skills First training for Specific Programs? Click This CAQA link and it will take you to the list of the specific programs for 2022.

Non-foundation skills programs
Program ID	Program Name
22470VIC	22470VIC Certificate II in Engineering Studies
ACM40818	ACM40818 Certificate IV in Farriery
AHC32419	AHC32419 Certificate III in Irrigation Technology
CHC22015	CHC22015 Certificate II in Community Services
CHC42015	CHC42015 Certificate IV in Community Services
CHC52015	CHC52015 Diploma of Community Services
CHC33015	CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
CHC43015	CHC43015 Certificate IV in Ageing Support
CHC43115	CHC43115 Certificate IV in Disability
CHC43315	CHC43315 Certificate IV in Mental Health
CHC30113	CHC30113 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
CHC50113	CHC50113 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
FBP20217	FBP20217 Certificate II in Baking
FBP30217	FBP30217 Certificate III in Plant Baking
FBP30317	FBP30317 Certificate III in Cake and Pastry
FBP30417	FBP30417 Certificate III in Bread Baking
FBP30517	FBP30517 Certificate III in Baking
HLT33015	HLT33015 Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance
HLT47815	Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing
MEM20105	Certificate II in Engineering
MEM30219	Certificate III in Engineering – Mechanical Trade
MEM30505	Certificate III in Engineering – Technical
SIT31016	Certificate III in Patisserie
SIT40716	Certificate IV in Patisserie
TAE40116	Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
UEE31220	Certificate III in Instrumentation and Control
UEE31420	Certificate III in Security Equipment
UEE43220	Certificate IV in Industrial Automation and Control

Foundation skills programs
In order to deliver Foundation Skills Programs (as indicated on the 2022 Specific Programs List) under a Skills First VET Funding Contract, you must be included on the Foundation Skills Approved Provider List and have the relevant approval to deliver that program.

Program ID	Program Name
10727NAT	Certificate I in Spoken and Written English
10728NAT	Certificate II in Spoken and Written English
10729NAT	Certificate III in Spoken and Written English
10730NAT	Certificate IV in Spoken and Written English for Further Study
22333VIC	Certificate I in Developing Independence
22447VIC	Certificate I in Mumgu-dhal tyama-tiyt
22448VIC	Certificate II in Mumgu-dhal tyama-tiyt
22449VIC	Certificate III in Mumgu-dhal tyama-tiyt
22472VIC	Certificate I in General Education for Adults
22473VIC	Certificate II in General Education for Adults
22474VIC	Certificate III in General Education for Adults
22476VIC	Certificate I in General Education for Adults (Introductory)
22481VIC	Certificate II in Work Education
22484VIC	Certificate I in EAL (Access)
22485VIC	Certificate II in EAL (Access)
22486VIC	Certificate III in EAL (Access)
22487VIC	Certificate IV in EAL (Access)
22488VIC	Certificate II in EAL (Employment)
22489VIC	Certificate III in EAL (Employment)
22490VIC	Certificate IV in EAL (Employment / Professional)
22491VIC	Certificate III in EAL (Further Study)
22492VIC	Certificate IV in EAL (Further Study)
22555VIC	Certificate I in Initial Adult Literacy and Numeracy
22566VIC	Certificate I in Work Education
22567VIC	Certificate I in Transition Education
FSK10119	Certificate I in Access to Vocational Pathways
FSK10219	Certificate I in Skills for Vocational Pathways
FSK20119	Certificate II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways

September 11, 2021 Sukh Sandhu Education, News Comments Off

Part 1- The importance of internal audits

This is our first article in the series regarding “Internal audits”. Our main intention is to provide you with the required knowledge and skills, and equip you with the necessary resources to ensure you can audit your organisation against quality frameworks and standards effectively and efficiently.

What are Internal audits?
Internal audits are an independent, collaborative, impartial, objective assurance and consulting activity formulated to add value and improve operations of an organisation. It assists the organisation to bring a systematic, disciplined approach to effectively evaluate, monitor and improve the effectiveness of risk management, internal control and governance processes. Internal audits act as a catalyst for a strong risk and compliance culture within an organisation.

What are the benefits of conducting internal audits?
Internal audits act as a catalyst for enhancing an organisation’s governance, risk management and controls by presenting insight and recommendations based on interpretation and examination of data and business practices and processes. There are a number of other benefits, such as:

Audits assess an organisation’s performance and practices against the regulatory framework, guidelines and legislative/statutory instruments.
Audits provide management of an organisation with information on the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.
Audits evaluate achievement of organisation objectives
Audits ensure assets are safeguarded and secure.
Audits assess efficiency, effectiveness and the economy of business activities.
Audits review operations and processes to ensure they are protected from any fraud, malpractice or corruption
Audits increase financial reliability and integrity
Audits help to improve the “control environment” of the organisation
Audits are great learning lessons for all parties involved
Audits identify the business areas that require urgent attention
Audits identify opportunities, accountabilities and risks
Audits help management understand what it needs to know, when it needs to know it and how it needs to be done or implemented.
Audits identify better ways of doing things by recommending how to improve internal controls and governance processes

What is an audit scope?
The scope of audit refers to the focus, extent, boundaries and range of the activities covered by an internal audit. It includes:

The objectives for conducting an audit
Nature and extent of auditing procedures and activities performed
The organisational units that will be examined
Location of the audit
Time-period that will be covered
Related activities not audited in order to define the boundaries of the audit.

The audit scope, ultimately, establishes how deeply an audit is required to be performed.

What is usually included in an RTO internal audit?
The internal audit is usually a documented process that includes the evaluation of the following:

Quality framework and standards and legislative guidelines
Training packages and the companion volume (including the implementation guides)
Assessment and learner resources
Training and assessment strategies
Trainers and assessors
Industry consultation and engagement and how improvements are made from them
Recognition of prior learning and credit-transfers
Transitioning planning, processes and procedures
Student certification and completion processes and procedures
Third-party agreements and monitoring processes and procedures
Student support, progression and welfare processes and procedures
Student and staff Interviews and questionnaires
Student records, student files and student data analysis
Enrolment and pre-enrolment processes and procedures
Marketing and advertising practices and procedures
Regulatory compliance and governance practice
Policies and procedures an organisation uses
Other organisational practices and systems

Who can be an internal auditor?
An Internal auditor can be anyone who has the required knowledge, skills and experience to objectively, professionally and unbiasedly evaluate your organisation’s processes and procedures to identify opportunities for improvements.

It can be an internal staff member or an external person such as a compliance consultant.

The required knowledge, skills and experience of internal auditors will be discussed in our next edition.