Working under Supervision

Introduction

Working under supervision is a great way for people with trade or vocational experience to be supported in taking that first step in delivering training and assessment in the VET sector.

If your Registered Training Organisation (RTO) engages a person who does not hold the required competencies to be a trainer and assessor, that person needs to be supervised by a qualified trainer to maintain the quality of your training and assessment.

The Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 (the Standards), sets out what is required when using a person who does not hold the required competencies as a trainer and assessor. Whereas the Users’ guide to the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 details what an RTO must give consideration to when determining supervision requirements.

What does the Users’ guide to the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 say?

Clauses 1.17 to 1.20—Provide supervision of trainers where needed

Clause 1.17

Where the RTO, in delivering training and assessment, engages an individual who is not a trainer or assessor, the individual works under the supervision of a trainer and does not determine assessment outcomes.

Clause 1.18

The RTO ensures that any individual working under the supervision of a trainer under Clause 1.17.

holds a training and assessment credential specified in Item 6 of Schedule 1, that is relevant to the learner cohort which the individual is involved in training and assessing, or is actively working towards a training and assessment credential specified in Item 8 of Schedule 1;
has vocational competencies at least to the level being delivered and assessed; and
has current industry skills directly relevant to the training and assessment being provided.

Clause 1.19

Where the RTO engages an individual under clause 1.17, it ensures that the training and assessment complies with Standard 1.

Clause 1.20

Without limiting clauses 1.17 to 1.19, the RTO:

determines and puts in place:
i) the level of the supervision required.
ii) any requirements, conditions or restrictions considered necessary on the individual’s involvement in the provision of training and collection of assessment evidence.
ensures that trainers providing supervision monitor and are accountable for all training provision and collection of assessment evidence by the individual under their supervision.

What do clauses 1.17 to 1.20 mean for your RTO?

If your RTO uses a person who does not hold the required competencies to be a trainer and assessor, that person needs to be supervised by a qualified trainer to maintain the quality of your training and assessment.

You need to consider the level of training/assessment skills and knowledge this person has and put in place arrangements for appropriate supervision and guidance. For example, a person who has recently completed the Enterprise Trainer - Presenting Skill Set but who has little or no experience as a trainer will require a program of close supervision and mentoring, until they have demonstrated a reasonable level of skill, after which the supervision requirements could be reduced.

Regardless of their skills and knowledge, a person that does not hold the required competencies:

must be formally supervised
must not determine assessment outcomes.

People working under supervision arrangements can only provide training if they have the vocational competencies and current industry skills and knowledge relevant to the training being delivered. Training is best provided by those who can undertake—to an industry-standard level—all of the tasks defined in the elements of units of competency and modules.

In addition, as of March 2024, they must hold one of the following credentials or its successor relevant to the learner cohort:

TAESS00007 / TAESS00014 Enterprise Trainer - Presenting Skill Set
TAESS00003 / TAESS00015 Enterprise Trainer and Assessor Skill Set
TAESS00008 / TAESS00013 Enterprise Trainer - Mentoring Skill Set
TAESS00021 Facilitation Skill Set
TAESS00029 Volunteer Trainer Delivery Skill Set
TAESS00030 Volunteer Trainer Delivery and Assessment Contribution Skill Set
TAESS00020 Workplace Trainer Skill Set
TAESS00028 Work Skill Instructor Skill Set
TAESS00022 Young Learner Delivery Skill Set
or a credential issued by a higher education provider (as defined in section 16-1 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003) which would enable the individual to satisfy the academic requirements for registration as a secondary school teacher in accordance with the registration requirements in at least one State or Territory.
or is actively working towards one of the following credentials or its successor:
- TAE40116 / TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
- TAE50116 / TAE50122 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training
- TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development.

Assessment decisions may only be made by a qualified assessor. A qualified assessor may make assessment decisions in conjunction with the person being supervised, who may gather some or all of the relevant evidence. The supervising trainer and assessor:

is responsible for the quality of training delivered
makes all final decisions about assessment outcomes.

What differs when working under supervision and delivering Certificate IV in Training and Assessment?

It is critical that training products from the TAE Training Package are delivered to the highest levels of quality, so that trainers and assessors hold all the skills and knowledge required. These training products underpin the quality of vocational education and training in Australia and graduates in these qualifications are responsible for training much of the Australian workforce.

The requirements applying to the delivery of the TAE Training Package, by persons working under supervision, differ to the requirements of all other training products.

Clause 1.23 of the Standards for RTOs 2015, specifies that trainers and assessors delivering the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Assessor Skill Set, or Teacher Enhancement Skill must hold one of the following qualifications:

TAE50111 or TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (or its successor*),
TAE50211 or TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development (or its successor*), or
a higher-level qualification in adult education

*Note: The successor to TAE50116 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training is the TAE50122 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training.
The successor to TAE50216 Diploma of Training Design and Development is the TAE50122 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training.

If a trainer does not hold one of the qualifications listed above, the trainer must:

hold TAE40110 and TAELLN411 or TAELLN401A and TAEASS502 or TAEASS502A/B.
or TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (or its successor)
work under the supervision of a trainer/assessor that meets the requirements of Clause 1.23(a), and
not determine assessment outcomes.

Note: The above-mentioned requirements for qualifications are as currently defined in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015.

How can my RTO demonstrate and provide evidence of compliant practice?

Evidence that supervision arrangements have been implemented could include:

completed review documentation showing that a qualified trainer and assessor has monitored training by observing training sessions whether face to face or online delivery (or both), including providing feedback to students and providing feedback to the person being supervised.
completed assessment materials showing that the supervising trainer and assessor has made final assessment decisions.
interviews with both people to confirm that the supervising arrangements had been implemented as planned.

During a Performance Assessment (audit), ASQA may review student records and interview trainers and assessors to confirm that your supervising arrangements, assurance practices and your documentation are aligned.

New RTOs

If you are seeking registration as an RTO and you intend to have people delivering training or assessment under supervision, you must provide evidence that suitable supervision arrangements have been developed. RTOs must be registered for at least two years before applying to deliver training products from the TAE training package.

Case study No.1

PQR Education has employed 3 new trainers and assessors who do not hold any TAE qualifications, however do have significant industry experience in the field that they will be training and assessing.
PQR Education have enrolled these new staff members in the full TAE qualification and have developed a training plan for them to obtain their trainer and assessor qualification.

Each new staff member is allocated a supervising trainer and assessor as a mentor with a formal supervision agreement in place that records the supervision activities and monitors the outcomes.

These supervised activities include:

A pre-delivery meeting where the supervising trainer and assessor will meet with their allocated staff member before each session to review content and delivery approach, discuss learning activities and address any issues. This may be scheduled periodically and multiple session plans discussed every week or fortnight.
Direct observations, which include the supervising trainer and assessor directly observing the delivery of training and/or assessment periodically in person. The frequency of the direct observation is dependent on the skills, knowledge and experience of the supervised staff member and how much of the TAE qualification they have completed. Frequency may be lessened over time and demonstrated capability.
Post delivery debriefings are held after the delivery of a training session to review and reflect on performance and discuss issues arising. This is periodically scheduled weekly or fortnightly.

PQR Education ensure that the level of supervision required is determined in accordance with the level of training skill and experience held by the relevant staff member and ensures that supervision is frequent and involves direct observation of performance. As more TAE units of competency are obtained, the supervising trainer and assessor may recommend the level of supervision decrease.

PQR Education also monitors and ensures that the new staff members are making satisfactory progress towards completing their credentials within two years of commencement.