Further BSB42015 Development

Having completed 13 units for BSB51915 Diploma of Leadership and Management, I have been working on the units for BSB42015 Certificate IV in Leadership and Management.

I’ve completed the first 3 core units so far:
• BSBLDR401 Communicate effectively as a workplace leader
• BSBLDR402 Lead effective workplace relationships
• BSBLDR403 Lead team effectiveness

I‘m about to start developing BSBMGT402 Implement operational plan.
In most cases, although I have developed resources for the previous superseded unit, it’s not just a case of re-mapping. In some cases it’s almost a complete re-write.

Although the performance criteria are usually identical, the Knowledge Evidence is written in a different way. It’s no longer sufficient for knowledge to be demonstrated with performance. The candidate must “explain”, “outline” or “describe”.
The Performance Evidence bears practically no relationship to the previous Critical Aspects of Evidence. Re-mapping of the old resource might be sufficient but there’s no guarantee.

So for those of you who are upgrading your existing resources, be warned. The learning material will probably be fine, but your assessments will definitely need looking at.
On the up side, I’m actually enjoying this challenge (apart from the pressure of time). It gives me a chance to look back on what I have written with fresh eyes and see ways to make the resource much better than last time.

Sandy Welton

BSB51915 and Other Developments

A great deal has happened since my last blog in February. The new BSB Training Package was endorsed in March and that made nearly all of my existing resources obsolete.

Thank you so much to my web designer Kevin, who managed to change my whole web site at very short notice. Just a warning Kevin, the changes are ongoing as I develop the new training resources.

I started with BSB51915 Diploma of Leadership and Management and currently have 13 units completed.
BSBLDR501 Develop and use emotional intelligence is one of the new units, and I must admit when I started developing it, I wondered why it had been included. It seemed a bit “psychological” for a management qualification. By the time it was completed, I had convinced myself that BSBLDR501 may be the most important of all the units for a management role. So if I can convince myself, hopefully the learners will feel the same way.

Demand for BSB51915 resources has been gratifying – which makes the time spent developing worthwhile for me. As they were developed, I sent them to my favourite RTO, International Teacher Training Academy, and Carolyn Fletcher and her trainers went through everything with a fine tooth comb for me. It was so helpful to have this independent view and the suggestions they made for further improvement.

ITTA is one of the RTO’s delivering BSB51915 and I received this feedback from her today in relation to BSBLDR501 and BSBLDR502:
“We have a few trainers/assessors from other RTO’s currently doing the two LDR units with us – the feedback is great and Carolyn Laycock who is taking them through is really enjoying the units so far.”

I’ve now completed BSBHRM405 Support recruitment, selection and induction which was a special request. Personally I can’t see why they have included this Cert IV unit in Group A of BSB51915 – especially when it is not in BSB42015 Certificate IV in leadership and management. However, there’s obviously a demand for the unit so now my clients have a choice of electives.
I’d like to say a special thank you to my pre-existing clients who have come back for the new resources. Also, thank you to my new clients. Many of the new clients are just purchasing a couple of units first to see how they go. I’ve just had a further order from one of them, after they ran the first two units, saying how happy they are with them.

I just wish I had 10 pairs of hands, as I can’t develop the resources quickly enough. Currently I’m working on BSBLDR402 Lead effective workplace relationships. I had previously developed BSBWOR401A Establish effective workplace relationships which is stated as equivalent but in fact this one is going to need a re-write because of the way they have changed the knowledge evidence and performance requirements.

Sometimes I think it’s change for the sake of it – but at least it keeps me busy.

Sandy Welton

The VET Roundabout

Well, our poor VET system seems to be going through so many changes that it’s difficult for all of us to keep up.

I hope all of you are organised for compliance with the new Standards.  These days we seem to spend so much time dealing with compliance issues that it’s a wonder there’s any time left for training.  If you need help, give my friend and colleague Carmel Thompson a call.  Her details are on my Relationships page.

I’m still getting interest in my resources for BSB41412 Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety, and also BSB51107 Diploma of Management, but new development is on hold (apart from TAE).  The new requirement for independent validation has kept me busy validating resources (not my own resources of course – that would be weird).

TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment is still in limbo.  I managed to get hold of the draft units from IBSA, but much good that will do, since we still have no idea when the new qualification is going to be endorsed.  Of course, it would help if there was an endorsement body!

I have, however, revisited all of the TAE40110 resources and basically re-written from scratch.  This is to allow for the fact that everything is different now – particularly the new format of Training Packages and the introduction of foundation skills.  I’m not marketing the revised resources yet – but watch this space.

The changes to the VET system and Training Package format involved a lot of re-writing of TAE Cert IV units.  Hopefully this means that I will be ready to go once TAE40115 is finally endorsed.  Chemène Sinson of Blackwater Projects is also re-writing, and is just as frustrated as me.  It’s hard to remain motivated when the goalposts keep moving.  It may seem strange that, as competitors, we nevertheless collaborate, but we think there’s plenty of room for both of us.

In relation to delivery and assessment of TAE40115, it looks definite at this stage that trainer/assessors must hold a Diploma of TAE.  If you are in this position, I recommend that you contact Carolyn Fletcher of International Teacher Training Academy: http://www.ittacademy.net.au/.  Carolyn uses a “mentored RPL” approach.  I’ve collaborated with Carolyn for several years now and she is a consummate professional with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Sandy Welton

TAE40114 Development

Ongoing Development of TAE40114

The new qualification has still not been endorsed. However, I have sourced draft units and am now in development mode — hopefully so that it is ready by the endorsement date.

This is a complete re-write for me. Although the unit requirements have not really changed much, the VET system has changed dramatically, so the content of learning and assessment will need review.

I’m looking for feedback on the best approach to this. I’ve actually rewritten the Design units and just run this with a group, which gave me an opportunity to trial it with real learners. That was very helpful and given me lots of ideas for improvement.

One of the problems with this qualification is that clients want to achieve it in the shortest time possible, and of course normally for a Cert IV qualification we would expect a 6 month to 1 year timeframe. Currently I’m delivering TAE over one month with 9 days of workshops.

The objective is to do as much as possible of the assessment work during the workshop, so I’m getting my trainees to do research prior to each workshop so as to minimise the “homework”. That is working well but I am looking for even more ways to give a definitive structure and achievable timeframe without compromising the evidence requirements.

I’ve also just delivered the assessor skill set to a group, contextualised for a mining company. In order to achieve this within a short time frame, I decided to take the holistic assessment approach — clustering the 3 units. That worked really well.

On this basis, I am looking at holistic learning and assessment for the full TAE. Obviously the electives and TAELLN411 will still need to be stand-alone. However, the resources can be clustered in 3 sectors, Design, Assessment and Delivery. This goes back to the approach I originally used when developing TAA resources in the past.

The main concerns I still have are in providing the following evidence:

Assessment requirements for TAEASS402 Assess competence:

• Gather evidence to demonstrate consistent performance in a real assessment environment

This indicates that we can’t use a realistic simulated environment.

Assessment requirements for TAEDEL401 Plan, organise and deliver group-based learning

• facilitating group-based learning by preparing and delivering at least three training sessions, including:
  • at least two consecutive sessions of at least 40 minutes duration, that follow one of the learning program designs, to a learner group of at least eight individuals
  • at least one session delivered to a different learner group of at least eight individuals, with evidence of how the characteristics and needs of this group were addressed

At the moment I am struggling with how this can be achieved. Unless the candidate is currently working in a training role they will not have access to 2 different groups of at least 8 VET learners.

Since the Cert IV TAE is essentially a “licence to practice” in VET, candidates need to hold it before they can deliver training in an RTO.

Many people also need the qualification in order to apply for positions as enterprise trainers.

I welcome suggestions and comments.

Sandy Welton

TAESS00006 Workplace Supervisor Skill Set

I’ve always believed that problems in an organisation trickle from the top down – starting with the CEO. Problems with the workers on the front line are often the result of poor training and skills in middle management (the frontline managers). It’s noticeable that organisations where senior management is proactive in developing their frontline managers are more innovative and productive. That’s why I think the Certificate IV in Frontline Management is such an important qualification for the success of Australian enterprise.

So far I have developed the following units in BSB40812 Certificate IV in Frontline Management:

• BSBMGT401A Show leadership in the workplace
• BSBMGT402A Implement operational plan
• BSBMGT403A Implement continuous improvement
• BSBSUS301A Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices
• BSBWHS401A Implement and monitor WHS policies, procedures and programs to meet legislative requirements
• BSBWOR402A Promote team effectiveness

I definitely plan to add to these, and am looking for suggestions on which units to prioritise.

Future Directions

Some of my clients are telling me they are not happy with the resources currently available for the new RII Resources and Infrastructure Industry Training Package. These clients are asking me whether I would be prepared to develop RII resources, and I’m thinking about it.

I have developed resources in the past for the old RII09 – for a specific client – so the requirements are familiar to me. Also, I have sufficient contacts in the industry that I can consult for technical expertise.

A lot will depend upon demand. If I receive sufficient enquiries I’ll go the next step.

To Find Out More –  Contact Us on 0407 131 075 or Use the Form Below.

Clarifying the TAELLN401A and TAELLN411 Issue

TAELLN401A and TAELLN411

If you are a member of LinkedIn you will see there has been a lot of discussion about the LLN unit for TAE – what’s superseded – what we can deliver – whether RTOs need to apply for scope if they want to deliver TAELLN411.

I had one of my RTO clients phone in a panic because they had received notification that they needed to apply for scope if they were intending to deliver TAELLN411.  This client had purchased my TAE40110 current course including TAELLN401A and when they looked on training.gov.au it said it was superseded by TAELLN411.

I’ve spent considerable time researching this and asking people in the know.  The outcome (at the moment until we get a specific directive) is as follows:

• If you are delivering TAELLN401A as part of TAE40110, continue to do so.  Firstly, it is still included as an elective in the packaging rules for TAE40110.  Secondly, there’s the 12 month teach out period to cover you.
• Advise your trainees to apply for credit transfer as soon as the new TAE qualification is released in July next year.  TAELLN401A is stated as equivalent to TAELLN411.

I have not developed TAELLN411.  If you are looking for resources in this unit please contact Chemène Sinson of Blackwater Projects.  She has developed this unit.

TAESS00006 – Workplace Supervisor Skill Set

I am receiving requests from existing clients for this skill set.  It appears that it is very popular with the mining industry.

I have already developed:

• TAEASS301B Contribute to assessment – as an elective in BSB41412 Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety
• TAEDEL301A Provide work skill instruction – as an elective in TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

At this stage I haven’t developed the third unit: TAEDEL404A Mentor in the workplace but now plan to do so.  I will also need to “tweak” TAEASS301B and TAEDEL301A so that they focus on workplace supervisors but that won’t take long.

As always, my priorities keep changing in response to client demand.  I just wish I had 10 pairs of hands.  I am part way through BSBLED501A Develop a workplace learning environment but have decided to halt development on this unit for the time being, since most demand is for the TAESS00006 Skill Set.

To tell the truth, I am finding it difficult to be motivated to finish BSBLED501A.  Maybe it’s all the interruptions or maybe I just can’t raise the enthusiasm for the unit content and need a change of direction for a while.

I really want to get back to the BSB40812 Frontline Management electives.  I’m told that the most important elective to develop in FLM is BSBWOR401A Establish effective workplace relations.  It seems this is another one that is loved by the mining industry.

Thank you to all my new clients who have recently come on board (as well as to those loyal clients who keep coming back to me).  It gives me a real boost when a client comes back to me because they like what they have already purchased and want more of the same.

To Find Out More –  Contact Us on 0407 131 075 or Use the Form Below.

BSB51107 Diploma of Management

BSB51107 Diploma of Management – Update on unit development

I have (just now) finished the development of the next unit: BSBMGT516C Facilitate continuous improvement.

Development was prioritised because I received a request from one of my current client RTOs.

Now my head is still full of continuous improvement models, PDCA, Kaizen, quality systems and knowledge management systems.  It was interesting that this unit also incorporated required knowledge of sustainability principles.  Fortunately I was able to refer back to the sustainability unit I developed previously: BSBSUS301A Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices.  Although this is a Cert III unit, I really think the way it is written it sits better at Cert IV level as it is very in-depth.

The next cab off the rank is BSBLED501A Develop a workplace learning environment.  I have previously developed a clustered resource for this, as part of my old TAE40110 resources which I have now scrapped and re-developed from scratch.  However, I have a strong feeling that I will need to start from square one with BSBLED501A.  Still, at least it’s very familiar to me so hopefully it will only take me a couple of weeks.

The resources now developed for BSB51107 Diploma of Management in a unit by unit format (including RPL tools) is:

1. BSBCUS501C Manage quality customer service
2. BSBMGT502B Manage people performance
3. BSBMGT515A Manage operational plan
4. BSBMGT516C Facilitate continuous improvement
5. BSBPMG522A Undertake project work
6. BSBRSK501B Manage risk
7. BSBWHS501A Ensure a safe workplace
8. BSBWOR501B Manage personal work priorities and professional development
9. BSBWOR502B Ensure team effectiveness

BSB51107 requires 8 units in total so this gives my clients a little bit of choice.  Once I have developed BSBLED501A Develop a workplace learning environment then there will be 10 units to choose from.

Unless I receive other requests I will then be concentrating on BSB40812 Certificate IV in Frontline Management units, as I have a number of requests for further units in this qualification.

To Find Out More –  Contact Us on 0407 131 075 or Use the Form Below.

TAE and BSB Updates

Sometimes I get so busy with writing resources that when I’ve finished I forget to tell anyone they are done. I’m finding myself more and more driven by the priorities of my existing RTO clients – and as far as I’m concerned that’s how it should be.
The following is a summary of the current status.

TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

The primary priority was TAELLN401A – the Language Literacy and Numeracy unit for TAE40110. All of my clients who were delivering TAE40110 wanted to offer this unit, since the LLN unit will become a core in the new version of TAE. I developed the first set of resources for TAELLN401A in July and it’s now on Version 3.0 after having delivered it several times myself and received feedback from my RTO clients.
There’s been a lot of discussion on LinkedIn about the confusion we are experiencing with regard to the new requirements for trainers and assessors and what RTOs should offer. I’ve also been in contact with Chemene Sinson who, as far as I am concerned, is my only real competitor in the area of TAE development. We’ve put our heads together and worked out:
• Currently IBSA says migration to the new training package will take place in June 2014. Here’s the link https://www.ibsa.org.au/projects/tae-embedding-new-requirements/tae-embedding-preparation
• TAELLN411 will be the core unit in the new TAE qualification and is already released on www.training.gov.au. It supersedes and is equivalent to TAELLN401A so we can credit transfer.
• It’s appropriate to keep delivering TAELLN401A until June next year.
Chemene is working on development of TAELLN411 and I have already developed TAELLN401A. I am not sure that I will develop resources for the new qualification at all. I am getting really tired of the constant changes to the VET system that require a complete re-write of the resources every time.

BSB51107 Diploma of Management

Release 4 of this qualification had two changes to the packaging rules:
• BSBWHS501A Ensure a safe workplace – replacing BSBOHS509A Ensure a safe workplace
• BSBPMG522A Undertake project work – replacing BSBPMG510A Manage projects
I decided to do a complete re-write of my old clustered course and completed these resources in June. This time around I developed the assessment tools on a unit by unit basis rather than clustering them. My own experience in delivering BSB51107 indicated that this was more effective as it gave the trainees more structure and a regular sense of achievement when one unit was completed. The learning guide, however, remained as a single document. Analysing the units there were so many overlaps that it seemed logical at the time.
I have now finished breaking up the learning guide into individual units after discussion with my RTO clients. There were two main reasons for this:
• My clients like the format that I used for BSB41412 and BSB40812 resources. They say that the trainees and the trainers love the format.
• A unit by unit approach gives versatility of choice of electives.
So now I’ve completed the 8 units for BSB51107 and have demand for 2 more, namely
• BSBMGT516C Facilitate continuous improvement; and
• BSBLED501A Develop a workplace learning environment
I have just started work on BSBMGT516C and will follow with BSBLED501A.

BSB40812 Certificate IV in Frontline Management

My client RTOs are telling me that this qualification sits well with BSB41412 Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety. There is quite a lot of cross-over of units in the packaging rules and the skills and knowledge required go hand in hand.
I have completed the core units for BSB40812 and a couple of electives and as soon as I can will be developing further electives. This is a high priority as I am receiving enquiries all the time for frontline management resources.

BSB41412 Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety

Demand remains high and now that many of my RTOs have used the resources, undertaken validation and in some cases audit, I have some solid feedback that indicates they are going brilliantly.
Feedback from Western Australia has been particularly useful. The harmonised WHS legislation has not been adopted in WA and when I wrote the resources I struggled with how to ensure that they were appropriate throughout Australia.
One of my clients in WA has been particularly helpful. Their clients are all in the mining industry but they considered the simulated workplace based upon commercial construction worked well, as the construction based activities also applied to the mining environment. This RTO modified the resources to incorporate mining legislative requirements and said that it was easy to do so.
Incidentally, I have received a number of enquiries for RPL tools for the emergency procedures unit PUAWER002B. I didn’t feel competent to write these because they need to be benchmarked in a highly contextualised manner. I have written the RPL tools without benchmarking. One of my clients offered to benchmark them for me but they haven’t got back to me. If any of my existing clients would like the tools in their raw form so they can add the benchmarking I am happy to email the documents without charge.

To Find Out More –  Contact Us on 0407 131 075 or Use the Form Below.

TAE40110 and BSB51107 resources completed

In my last blog I said that I was working on the BSB51107 resources. I did in fact finish them and then went straight on to finalising the resources for TAE40110, forgetting to tell anyone that the BSB51107 resources were all finished!

BSB51107 Diploma of Management has two changes. The core OHS unit is replaced with the unit BSBWHS501A and Manage Projects is now BSBPMG511A Undertake Project Work.

I decided to re-write the course from scratch. Having delivered my previous clustered Diploma of Management course over a period of time I decided that clustering of assessment is not the best approach. For this reason, each of the units now has separate assessment tools. The Learning Guide remains a single document. This is mainly because four units require in-depth knowledge of legislative requirements – so I’ve created a separate chapter dealing with legislation in detail, and then designed assessment tasks for each unit that focus on legislation as it applies to the unit.

BSBMGT502B Manage people performance, BSBMGT515A Manage operational plan and to a lesser extent BSBWOR502B Ensure team effectiveness all require competency in developing operational/work plans and KPIs for a team. Each of these units has a separate chapter in the Learning Guide which could stand alone. However, the knowledge gained in previous chapters is useful for those that follow, so ideally the learning guide should be treated as a single entity.

I’m encouraging my client RTOs to avoid the trap of offering a plethora of electives. For one thing, BSB07 Business Services Training Package states that the trainer/assessor must hold the actual unit or equivalent – so it’s important that your training and assessment strategy aligns with the competencies of your trainers. For another, at Diploma level a flow of learning with units that have a logical relationship is much more appropriate in my opinion.

Now on to TAE40110. This qualification is a minefield. It’s so important to get it 100% because it is the key qualification that underpins everything we do in the VET sector. My old clustered course is now history. I have created unit by unit resources. Also, before I was prepared to release them I wanted to trial them myself. I have now used them for two groups with great success. This time I’ve included TAELLN401A because the Cert IV LLN unit will become a core in the future.

TAE10 Training Package is once again being revised and will be in the new format. IBSA has the Case for Endorsement at this link: https://www.ibsa.org.au/tae-case-endorsement. The revised Training Package is due to be endorsed in June 2014. You will find the timeline for restructure of IBSA Training Packages at this link: https://www.ibsa.org.au/projects/restructure-training-packages-project/development

IBSA states on its web site that:
“… from July 2014 the current LLN elective in the Certificate IV would move into the core of the qualification. This will have implications for RTOs in delivering the Certificate IV and also for assessors in meeting the skill requirements to assess this qualification.”

There is a very useful booklet entitled “Changes Ahead for VET Trainers and Assessors” at this link: https://www.ibsa.org.au/free/changes-ahead-vet-trainers-and-assessors-report

I have also removed my TAE Diploma resources from sale. They were written over a year ago and I don’t have time to revisit them at this stage. Instead, my next project is BSB40812 Certificate IV in Frontline Management. I’ve completed the core units and have demand for a number of electives.

I plan to take a week off to catch up with my clients and then get stuck into the electives for BSB40812 Certificate IV in Frontline Management. One day I might also have a social life.

Completed BSB51107- TAE40110 Next

It’s 6 weeks since my last blog and I must admit it’s just as long since I had a chance to come up for air and look at what’s going on in RTO World. I have completed BSB51107 Diploma of Management in the new format and my current project (nearly completed) is TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

For BSB51107 I have learned from experience in delivering the qualification myself as well as from the feedback from my client RTOs. The new structure gives a lot more versatility because the assessments are not clustered. They are separate documents. The Learning Guide is a single document in a logical learning flow. That’s because there are overlaps between the units. Legislative requirements are covered in the first chapter because they apply to several of the units. For the rest of the Learning Guide there is one chapter per unit. My head right now is with TAE40110.

Since commencing development of the new resources to replace my old clustered course, I have delivered the course twice using some portion of the new resources. That involved a rather complex balancing act, as I needed to use the previous clustered TAE40110 course for the units I had not yet developed. However, it gave me a brilliant opportunity to trial the new resources and compare how they were received by the trainees in comparison with the clustered course. I should have everything ready to go in 2 weeks. My idea for this new version of TAE40110 resources is to enhance the versatility.

In an ideal world we would always choose a face to face workshop training environment as it enhances the learning outcome through discussion, informal questioning and sharing of experience. However we are in the real world and this is not always possible. The new courseware can be given to the trainee to work through self-paced with remote trainer support.

The problem with TAE40110 is that a Certificate IV qualification should take between 6 to 12 months, whereas the demand is to achieve it in the shortest possible time frame. I am delivering this qualification over 3 weeks (8 days) and that’s only possible because my RTO conducts a stringent training needs analysis. All my trainees are at least Cert IV level in their area of expertise when they walk in the door and they all have experience of delivering training.

I am requiring the learning materials to be read prior to the day of the workshop. This enables most of the assessment activities to be achieved during the workshops and works a treat. There is still some homework and trainees are warned ahead of time to cancel their social life for the 3 weeks of the course, but at the end of the 3 week course they can submit a complete evidence portfolio. This is proving to be a big selling point.

For my client RTOs who are waiting for more units in BSB40812 Certificate IV in Frontline Management, I am hoping to start these in 2 weeks. At the moment I have all of the core units completed plus the sustainability unit (which I only needed to “tweak” from the version I developed for BSB41412 Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety).

As you can see, I am “flat out like a lizard drinking”. If there are any experienced instructional designers who can develop quality resources please don’t hesitate contact me. I have a list of requests as long as your arm.