News & Events
Teaching TAFE teachers: is a certificate IV up to the challenge?
By Tom Karmel
TAFE Teacher
9 October 2009
TAFE teachers work in a range of different settings – classrooms, teaching workshops, workplaces and online - and deal with students from all walks of life. The Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (officially known as the TAA04) has become the standard teaching qualification in the VET sector. This contrasts with school education where a teaching degree is mandatory and universities where only discipline knowledge is required. This leads to the obvious question: is the certificate IV in training and assessment an effective teaching qualification? Berwyn Clayton, Victoria University, is examining this matter in her forthcoming research commissioned by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.
In a discussion paper due for release shortly, Clayton looks at the history of the certificate.
The Training Package in Assessment and Workplace Training was endorsed in 1998. It was largely put together to address the developmental needs of trainers employed in workplace settings. However, many registered training organisations (RTO) also chose to also use the training package to train their own staff, and it became recognised as the qualification for VET practitioners. Disquiet about the training package's structure, focus, quality and relevance led to a review in 2001. In 2005 the certificate IV in training and assessment was rolled out with the aim to ‘provide an initial set of minimum benchmarks for entry and which can represent, and give recognition for, ongoing skills and professional development needs and career options’1. Four years on since it was introduced, it is under pressure as the key qualification for VET.
Clayton outlines some of the issues surrounding this training package such as uneven quality, inconsistencies in delivery, and the perceived inability to meet both the needs of trainers in workplaces and teachers in institutional settings. She draws on an investigation by Precision Consulting of industry’s expectations of assessment. Many of the respondents ‘advised that they had little faith’ in the certificate IV. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also expressed concerns about the quality and consistency of some of the assessment being undertaken in the sector. Further consultations with key stakeholders revealed similar concerns around assessor capability in the sector. Comments were made on the relatively low level of qualifications for VET trainers and assessors and lack of pathways for higher level skill development, and variations in the quality of delivery. It is interesting to note that the criticisms which are now being made of the certificate IV are similar to the criticisms made of its predecessor.
In response to these concerns, Innovation and Business Skills Australia initiated a review of the certificate IV2. The review points out that the qualification is but one of many available to VET practitioners if they want to expand their skills. It appears that the issue is that a qualification designed for workplace trainers has become the defacto standard.
In concluding her discussion paper, Clayton notes that ‘what remains at issue is how well the Certificate IV provides novice teachers and trainers with the knowledge bases and the sense of self-efficacy and preparedness as they enter the field’. Through interviews and surveys with teachers, trainers and RTO managers she will examine individual practitioner expectations and experiences on completion of the certificate, after approximately six months in the field and a final reflection approximately 12 months after completion.
Clayton’s final report is due in late 2010.
To be alerted to when Practitioner experiences and expectations with the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA04): A discussion of the issues is available on the NCVER website subscribe to NCVER News at http://www.ncver.edu.au/newsevents/subscribe.html.
Dr Tom Karmel is the Managing Director of NCVER.
1Carnegie, J 2002, ‘Training and Assessment: The vital training package’, The Australian TAFE Teacher, Autumn 2002, 20-21 in Clayton, B 2009, ‘Practitioner experiences and expectations with the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA04): A discussion of the issues, NCVER.
2See Review of Certificate IV (TAA40104) Training and Assessment A Revised Model for Consideration
