Welcome to the October TAC Update
Following its tabling in Parliament, the Training Accreditation Council's 2021-2022 Annual Report is now available to view.
Highlights during this period include the endorsement of the 2021-2023 Focus on Quality: TAC Regulatory Strategy, the finalisation of the strategic industry review into Community Services qualifications, increasing levels of compliance at main audit and a significant increase in participation in the Council's education program with 1,141 participants in the last financial year.
The Council recognises that 2021-2022 was a challenging period for RTOs as they adapted delivery and assessment to meet changing landscapes. It acknowledges the substantial efforts of RTOs during this period and their ongoing commitment to their learners and delivery of quality training and assessment in Western Australia.
TAC Education Program - upcoming events
October
28 - Kalgoorlie Regional Workshops (Face to Face)
- Understanding Vocational Competence and Industry Currency
- Making an Assessment Decision
November
10 - Industry Engagement
Click here to view the full TAC Education Program schedule and/or register for an event.
The full list of Education Program recordings and resources is also available.
Focus on quality - Industry Engagement
Vocational education and training (VET) enables the skilling of people for industry and the workplace. This means that the training and assessment delivered by RTOs should accurately reflect workplace requirements.
As shown through the Community Services Strategic Industry Audit, effective industry engagement enables RTOs to reflect the needs of industry and current workplace requirements.
Clauses 1.5 and 1.6 of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 require RTOs to ensure that training and assessment practices are relevant to the needs of industry and informed by industry engagement to ensure relevance practices, resources and currency of its trainers and assessors.
To assist RTOs plan and undertake industry engagement the Council has developed a workshop to be held on 30 November 2022. The workshop will include examples of effective engagement to assist RTOs in their practice. Click here to register.
Additionally, the Council has also revised its industry engagement fact sheet and developed a podcast. The links to these resources are available below:
New TAC podcast
TAC has released two new podcasts:
- Trainer and Assessor Requirements; and
- Industry Engagement.
To listen to these and other TAC Talks on aspects of compliance and quality, click here.
Congratulations to the Winner of Trainer of the Year Award
Congratulations to Stephen Delaney, the winner of the WA Trainer of the Year Award. For 20 years, Stephen has delivered training to his students with a pastoral and holistic approach. He readily participates in training to upskill, as well as adapting and improving his teaching style to navigate modern-day challenges.
The Council sponsored award recognises innovation and excellence by a trainer who provides nationally recognised training to learners at a registered training organisation or in partnership with an RTO.
There were 43 finalists across 13 categories in the 2022 WA Training Awards and the Council would like to congratulate all those recognised for their outstanding achievements.
For the full list of the 2022 WA Training Awards winners click here.
Transition Extensions
At the September and October meetings, the Council agreed to extend the transition period for:
- three qualifications from the Construction, Plumbing and Services (CPC) Training Package
- five qualifications from the Financial Services (FNS) Training Package
- 23 qualifications and three units of competency from the Tourism, Travel and Hospitality (SIT) Training Package
- one qualification from the Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical (FBP) Training Package
- one qualification from the Public Sector (PSP) Training Package
- one qualification from the Transport and Logistics (TLI) Training Package
- three qualifications from the Transmission, Distribution and Rail Sector (UET) training package
A full list of training products approved for an extended transition period is available on the TAC Website.
The Council may consider requests to extend the transition period of a superseded training product when certain conditions apply. Further information is available on the TAC Website.
Course Accreditation updates
Council accredited the following courses to 30 September 2027:
- 52896WA Advanced Diploma of Civil and Structural Engineering (Materials Testing)
- 52897WA Certificate III in Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages
- 52898WA Certificate IV in Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages
Council extended the accreditation period for the following courses to 31 March 2023:
- 52818WA Advanced Diploma of Indigenous Pastoral Ministry
- 52817WA Advanced Diploma of Indigenous Studies
- 52815WA Certificate III in Indigenous Studies
- 52814WA Certificate IV in Indigenous Studies
- 52813WA Diploma of Indigenous Studies
Council extended the accreditation period for the following courses to 30 April 2024:
- 52823WA Course in Applied Vocational Study Skills (CAVSS)
- 52832WA Course in Underpinning Skills for Industry Qualifications (USIQ)
Other important updates
Fraudulent Qualifications in WA Mining Industry
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has released a health and safety bulletin in relation to persons conducting businesses or undertakings and the obligation they have to carefully assess the validity of qualifications, supporting documentation and training certificates submitted by candidates applying for jobs in the Western Australian mining industry.
Although this bulletin is aimed at the mining industry, it provides a timely reminder for all RTOs to ensure that sufficient information must be provided on a testamur and Statement of Attainment to ensure that the documentation is able to be authenticated and reduce fraudulent copying and use.
For further information refer to the Council’s Fact Sheet - Issuing Testamurs and Statements of Attainment.
Jobs and Skills Summit 2022
The recent Jobs and Skills Summit led by the Prime Minister, Treasurer and government Ministers was held on 1-2 September 2022.
The Summit examined challenges and opportunities in the Australian labour market and economy, including whether the current systems for higher education and VET are appropriately tailored to respond to Australia's needs now and in the future, and how governments can better integrate training and employment pathways.
The government released 36 immediate initiatives from the Summit that include negotiations on the National Skills Agreement, strengthening the TAFE sector, establishing Jobs and Skills Australia and progressing VET reforms. The Jobs and Skills Summit outcomes document can be viewed in full here.
Meeting of Federal, State and Territory Skills Ministers
On the 7th of October, Federal and State and Territory Skills and Training Ministers met in person for the first time since 2019 to progress a range of key vocational education and training reform matters.
The Skills Ministers agreed to work in close collaboration on a number of different areas including the outcomes from the Jobs and Skills Summit, progression of establishing Jobs and Skills Australia, National Skills Agreements, development of the revised Standards for RTOs and progress of a VET Workforce Capability Blueprint.
National Skills Commission Reports
The National Skills Commission (NSC) have released the following reports:
- Job Openings and Replacement Rates by Occupation
- 2022 Skills Priority List
Latest NCVER Reports
NCVER have released a number of new reports including:
- Apprentices and trainees 2022: March quarter
- VET and higher education pathways - do outcomes differ for the same occupation
- VET qualification completion rates 2021
- Government-funded students and courses - January to March 2022
