Skills Express
REPORT | Rick Bell, R/SEO, Teaching & Learning TAFE NSW - South Western Sydney Institute, Building & Construction Faculty, Granville Campus
Many existing workers will benefit from the TAFE NSW expansion of the Skills Express program later this year. “Skills Express” is a TAFE NSW product developed jointly by the South Western Sydney Institute (SWSI) and the Manufacturing Engineering, Construction and Transport Curriculum Centre (MEC&T).
Skills Express originated from a program developed in 2001 by the Building and Construction faculty at SWSI. Teachers recognised a need for a process to recognise the existing competencies of the many mature-aged workers who were enrolling in night-trade programs to gain a qualification to meet licensing requirements.
Success
The program has proved highly successful. Completion rate is approximately 80% to 90%. Feedback has been very positive in relation to the process and rigour of the programs.
Generally, the shortest time period needed by an applicant to achieve a Certificate III qualification is approximately 2-3 months, although sometimes the full 12 month enrolment period is needed.
The program
- The ‘Skills Express’ program is aimed at existing workers who have no formal trade qualification with the aim of gaining a nationally recognised Certificate III qualification (and preparation for licensing)
- The program has been adapted and designed in response to the 2006 COAG report to help address Australia's’ trade skill shortage
- The aim is to provide recognition of existing skills and knowledge through the collection of evidence
- It is an ‘assessment only’ pathway and commercial rates apply
- Existing workers require at least 4 years experience working in the trade area being applied for
- The program is not designed for apprentices, or those with no experience working in industry
- Candidates will be required to provide a portfolio of evidence up-front and then undergo a series of assessment activities to allow demonstration of skill and knowledge
- The assessment process is ‘Holistic’ designed to identify what they do know and what they don’t know.
Skills Express Project scope
The project’s scope is to source or develop assessment tools and instruments to support skills testing across ten trade-based AQF 3 qualifications targeting key skill shortage areas.
These areas include:
Note: The project outcomes may be enhanced by linking to existing electronic self-assessment tools such as Prove It!; Competency Navigator; SkillsPro; or any other compatible e-tool.
- Automotive – Light Vehicle
- Automotive – Heavy Vehicle
- Construction – Bricklaying
- Construction – Carpentry
- Hospitality – Retail Bakery
- Hospitality – Commercial Cookery
- Community Services – Hairdressing
- Engineering – Fabrication
- Engineering – Mechanical
- Refrigeration – Air-conditioning.
The process
There are several distinct stages that occur in the successful running of a “Skills Express” program:
- Candidates make contact with a nominated Training Services Unit co-ordinator who records their details onto a database and sends out an information package, which has a number of attachments;
- Candidates attend an information session approximately 2-3 weeks prior to the scheduled assessment days where they are provided with details of the program; are guided through a self-assessment and made aware of the requirements to a allow them to prepare a professional portfolio. Candidates have approximately three weeks to prepare their portfolios.
- Payment and enrolment into the “Skills Recognition” programs must be completed and received by the Training Services Unit no less than seven days prior to the scheduled assessment dates. This is stipulated so attendance numbers can be finalised.
- Candidates then attend the scheduled assessment days at the designated college, where they will undertake a range of projects that have been mapped against the national Certificate III qualification.
- The assessment process is conducted holistically through the clustering of units of competence, i.e. the projects. The timeframe is typically 2-3 days and may include an evening to fulfil a theoretical component. The aim is to identify what they can demonstrate through practical observation, verbal questioning, written assessment and/or through the furnishing of supplementary evidence. Where competence is not achieved the candidate will be directed into structured training.
The program is currently being expanded across TAFE NSW and will be widely available as of second semester through the MEC&T Gateway.
For further information, contact Steve Johnson (Principal Program manager) at MEC&T, or access the Gateway site at http://esd.tafensw.edu.au/planning/default.htm