Training and assessment strategies (TAS) must be unique and identify the assessment methods per course / training product/ program, be it a full qualification of just one unit of competency. The biggest problem I have seen with TAS documents are they are written for audit, are jam packed full of stuff that isn’t a succinct document with any flow or actual strategy.
Here are 5 key areas to not when you are developing or reviewing a TAS
1 Keep it short and sweet
Guess what? You cannot hide behind the more is a better analogy for assessment strategy and sufficiency. Thirty-plus pages of repetition in a strategy is not a strategy it is a doorstop. Clear, accurate, adaptive to suit different cohorts, and industry consulted.
[ASQA] note:
Taking shortcuts like developing a generic strategy from a template and asking an employer to ‘sign off’ will not be effective and does not demonstrate that the strategy was informed by the industry.
The quality registered training organisations need to meet the industry, have conversations and meetings, and any other activities directly related to the content of the training and assessment to build strong relationships. A few names on the TAS is not cutting it. Examples of this relationship are requests from employers to meet with graduates for potential employment, use of industry facilities for placement of the students during and after training and assessment and or discussions with employers on their specific needs, and the RTO then contextualising the training with the employers material, such as policies and procedures, examples of the product in training material, etc.
Using the Prickly2sweet system that has the evidence of your industry engagement when you review your assessment is an example of great industry engagement, storage of evidence, and links with assessment.
2 Understand Who the TAS is for
The strategy is a document that should be used for the original and unique way of training and assessing a specific cohort. It can also be used for future planning and strategic review of the course/ training product. It must reflect the actual outcome and intent of the complete product, whether it is one or many units, a statement, or a full qualification. We love assessment here in EDCV and the Prickly2sweet system, so focusing on assessment here, the TAS is to clearly identify the way the organisation and team of stakeholders plan to conduct an assessment. It’s important to note that this plan must also be evidenced in completed assessments. This means if the strategy says the assessments are going to be done one way or another there must be evidence of this occurring.
3 Write it down
A strategy must be documented, detailed, and refer to other related system processes and policies related to training and assessment. It does not need to include the source information for everything; this is especially relevant to those processes that are generic and the same for each training product. An example of this is the methods of maintaining human resource currency. If the RTO is maintaining human resource currency the same way across the organisation no matter which training product, they are involved in then refer to the one process.
4 Check, check, cross-check
Writing the TAS once and putting it away is not best practice, and neither is a compliance person writing it and not collaborating with the stakeholders who are involved in implementing it. Use the Validation process to check, check and cross-check with everyone about the strategy. Review the TAS at different points of the program. Ask the questions like, is it still correct, is it still current and are you seeing the outcome that you planned for?
5 Simple things can make all the difference
Here are some really simple things to make sure you have right, especially if you are using a template.
1 Remove any reference to 'RTO' that's a classic mistake that organisations make when they use a purchased template - they leave sections that aren't relevant, or include instructions on how to complete the document.
2 Make sure you change the footer when you update - correct dates make a difference,
3 check all the codes are correct and the titles of the units are also worded correctly.
4 Don't forget your equipment lists references and
5 Sign it - nothing worse than seeing all this work go into a TAS and no one has authorized it or taken ownership.
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