Early 2022, I wrote an article about ‘stackable’ skill sets and the TAE Training Package. At that time the Education Industry Reference Committee (IRC) was exploring skill sets that could be ‘stackable’. By the end of 2022, the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment qualification and several TAE Skill Sets were released. It was said that those TAE Skill Sets were ‘stackable’.
What are ‘stackable’ skill sets?
In the Australian VET system, ‘stackable’ skill sets refer to groupings of one or more units of competency that are less than a full qualification but address specific industry or licensing needs. These skill sets are designed to be flexible and allow individuals to gain targeted skills quickly, often as a stepping stone towards a full qualification. It is said that ‘stackable’ skill sets enable incremental skill development and recognition, supporting entry-level roles, upskilling existing workers, or allowing individuals to explore different career paths before committing to a longer program.
My experience with ‘stackable’ TAE skill sets
For the past two years I have been delivering the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment qualification that has been structured around TAE Skill Sets. The learners are from a wide range of industries, and they are people seeking future employment as a trainer or TAFE teacher. They had made the decision to undertake the full qualification because it is highly unlikely that would be employed by an RTO without being fully qualified.
The two major problems with delivering the TAE40122 qualification that has been structured around TAE Skill Sets are:
- Content is delivered in an illogical sequence
- Unnecessary duplication of content.
The delivery of the full TAE40122 qualification should not be structured around ‘stackable’ skill sets. Instead, it should be structured in a way that ensures content is delivered in a logical sequence and remove unnecessary duplication of content.
Selecting, sequencing and clustering units
Structuring the delivery of the TAE40122 qualification using ‘stackable’ TAE skill sets will create problems.
Each RTO delivering the TAE40122 qualification will still need to select appropriate units and deliver units in a logical sequence. And clustering units is important to give TAE Students a coherent learning pathway. TAE Skill Sets have a role to play, but they should not be used to structure the delivery of the full qualification. An RTO should disregard any structure implied by TAE Skill Sets when selecting, sequencing, and clustering units.
Further information and advice
As a TAE Tutor, I have seen how many RTOs structure the delivery of their TAE40122 qualification. Also, I have seen dreadful training and assessment resources that need to be significantly improved.
Are you an RTO delivering the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment qualification, and do you want more information about ensuring your training product is engaging and well-structured? Do you need to improve your training resources? Do you need your assessment tools validated?
Ring Alan Maguire on 0493 065 396.
Training trainers since 1986
On Target Work Skills 