You may have heard about ChatGPT. And you may be wondering what all the hype is about. What ChatGPT can do is impressive but there are some limitations.
Whether you’re a trainer, instructional designer, training materials developer, or just someone interested in the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), this webinar is for you.
The webinar will cover:
What is ChatGPT?
What can and can’t ChatGPT do?
How to use ChatGPT before and during training?
A real-time demonstration of ChatGPT’s capability will occur throughout this interactive webinar.
The following booklet has been developed as support material for the webinar.
This image of Vegemite, cake, sausage, pizza, sandwich and training wheels on a bike will only make sense half way through this article.
I have discovered that ChatGPT can be addictive. This morning I asked ChatGPT, what are the key features of the Australian VET system?
Here is the first response given.
Not a bad answer. However, I would edit the terms ‘Accredited training providers’ to be ‘Registered training providers’, and ‘private colleges’ to be ‘private training providers’.
Again using ChatGPT, I regenerated the response to the same question and was given the following.
Again, not a bad answer. But I dislike the American English spelling of words with a ‘z’ rather than the Australian English spelling of words with an ‘s’. For example, ‘recognize’ should be ‘recognise’.
And I may disagree that there is consistency across all states and territories. There is often great inconsistencies from one RTO to another RTO. Therefore, this may be misleading. Also, it may be contestable to say that the Australian VET system is highly regarded. This claim would need further evidence or justification.
Next, I got ChatGPT to regenerate the answer to the same question but to make it funny. And this is what I was given.
Well done ChatGPT! However, some Victorians may remember that in recent years a TAFE was involved in the rorting of government funding, and one of the rorters referred to what they were doing as a ‘sausage factory’. So, this may not be funny to some people, but the full analogy is nicely written.
I regenerated the response and was given the following.
I don’t think the second response is as good as the first response, but there are some interesting ideas.
I wonder if ChatGPT can be used as a discussion generator when delivering the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or Diploma of Vocational Education and Training. It could be a bit of fun. What do you think?
Postscript
I added this postscript about 6 hours after publishing the article because I had received some comments that prompted me to further use ChatGPT.
How could the Australia VET system be improved?
A vision statement for the Australian VET system
This vision statement is quite inspirational. I think it is better written than the current vision statement that was agreed by Skills Ministers and endorsed by the National Cabinet on 31 August 2022 (replacing the previous government’s vision statement that was released three years earlier). Did you know that there was a vision statement for the Australian VET system? Here it is.
And finally, I use ChatGPT to compare the Australian VET system with honey.
I had better stop now before it gets too silly. I had thought of asking ChatGPT to provide an answer in the writing style of Dr Seuss.
Oops! Too late …
Do you need help with your TAE studies?
Are you a doing the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and are you struggling with your studies? Do you want help with your TAE studies?
You may ask, “is there only one thing wrong with the Australian VET system?” And you are probably right to say that there is more than one thing that is wrong with it. But I have come to the conclusion that Prime Ministers and government ministers with the responsibility for the Australian VET system do not have, or have limited, understanding of the VET system. And this is, and has been, a major cause of the deterioration in the effectiveness and quality of Australia’s VET system.
The rise and fall of the Australian VET system
The current VET system was introduced in 1993. It was 30 years ago that we established a national VET system that recognised the importance of industry engagement, and industry leadership. Also, the VET system changed from curriculum-based to competency-based. In the background, or foreground, has always been the desire to deliver relevant and quality training. Australia was proud to have a VET system that was world-class, if not world-leading.
The following is my representation of the incline and decline of the Australian VET system. Many people who been around the VET system for awhile would have experienced a continued improvement of the VET system between 1993 and 2008. And they have probably thought that the VET system has deteriorated over the past decade, or so.
Kevin Rudd won the federals election in 2007 (Kevin 07). Then we had the Global Financial Crisis(GFC) that required Australia to make significant economic decisions. These decisions included substantive reforms to the Australian VET system. This was a turning point for VET in Australia because it started a continuous, and relentless series of changes. Since 2008, many changes have been introduced prior to previous changes being fully implemented. The VET system has become unstable, and teeters on the edge of chaos. In the name of ‘simplification’, the Australian VET system becomes more complex. The current reforms again promises ‘simplification’ but will deliver greater complexity.
Current reforms to the Australian VET system
Everything in the Australian VET system is being changed.
I think that the biggest problem with Australia’s VET system is that we do not have one creator or one architect. We have consultations, sometimes sham consultations, to determine what changes are needed. Ignorant, misinformed, and conflicted people are given the opportunity to contribute their ideas. Good and bad ideas are embraced by government. Some of the bad ideas are theoretical, unproven or based on ideology. Sometimes research is conducted so that the government can say that they are making decision based on evidence. But some research is limited or biased. Very few people have the time, intellect, or interest in combating government decisions or proposed changes.
The architect of the current reforms, or changes, to the VET system was Steven Joyce, an ex-politician from New Zealand. He did an extremely short-duration review of the entire Australian VET system. The ‘Joyce Review’ provided Scott Morrison with a blueprint for his government to take to the 2019 federal election. The Scott Morrison government won the federal elections in May 2018, and commenced implementing the recommendations from the ‘Joyce Review’.
VET system and political interference
The VET system is influenced by political interference. It is subjected to interference by politicians. Australian Government invest billions of dollars each year into the VET system, and as taxpayers we hope that our politician make good decisions and spend our money wisely. Sometimes, it seems that politicians spend money to appease their backers or to buy votes, rather than make positive changes that would make the VET system more efficient and effective.
The Prime Minister and the ministers responsible for VET, past and present, reply on their advisers and their bureaucrats for ideas. And these ideas are influent by VET experts and academics, lobby groups and associations. We end up with an incoherent patch-work of ill-conceived ideas. This is what the ‘Joyce Review’ provided and this is what has been implemented for the past four years. The impact of these changes will begin to be felt during 2023 and into 2024.
The future of Australia’s VET system
The current Anthony Albanese government did not stop, or pause, the reforms started by the previous government. It seems that the Prime Minister and Brendon O’Connor, the federal minister with responsibility for VET, agree with the massive changes started by their predecessors from the other side of politics. These changes may significantly damage, if not destroy, the Australian VET system. If destroyed, the VET system would need to be re-created again in about 5 years (two election cycles). This will cost billions and billions of tax-payer dollars.
I predict that people will continue to complain about poor quality training after the current changes have been fully implemented, and ‘skills shortages’ will prevail.
My conclusion
I come to the conclusion that our politicians is one thing that is wrong with the Australian VET system. They seem to think short term. They seem to lack understanding of the VET system and its history. They seem to lack systemic thinking. They seem to rely on advice or ideas from ignorant, naïve, self-interested or conflicted advisers, bureaucrats, lobbyists, VET experts and academics. I am not saying that our politicians are bad people. I am saying that the decisions they make can be bad.
It is a shame that the current changes to the VET system were not stopped when the Anthony Albanese government was elected. But they probably didn’t have a VET policy apart from ‘Free TAFE’. The current government probably didn’t, or doesn’t, understand the current changes to the VET system, or they agree with the changes.
It is probably too late. The implementation of changes to the Australia’s VET system were started by the previous government and the current government will complete the implementation before the next federal election. Both sides of politics can take the blame if the system is ruined.
TAEDES412 Design and develop plans for vocational training
TAEPDD401 Work effectively in the VET sector.
The above list is in alphabetical order for the unit codes.
About this article
This article focuses on the TAEDES412 Design and develop plans for vocational training unit of competency.
This unit has three elements:
Plan vocational training
Design plan for vocational training
Develop session plans for vocational training.
Assessment requirements for the TAEDES412 unit
Knowledge evidence
A TAE Student must demonstrate they have the following knowledge:
Legislative and VET regulatory requirements relating to designing and developing plans for training
RTO policies and procedures for designing, developing and finalising plans for training
Purpose and use of the National Register of VET, including identifying changes to nationally recognised training products
Basic instructional design principles relating to designing and developing plans for training
Purpose and key content of plans for training
Key components of training and assessment strategies
Facilitation techniques that support and engage learners and check for learner understanding
Features of different modes of delivery, and how those features are represented in plans for vocational training
Relationship between training and assessment and implications for designing and developing training plans
Types of learner characteristics, and implications for designing and developing plans for training
Processes for interpreting nationally recognised inits of competency to identify the standard of performance required
Contents of Companion Volume Implementation Guides relating to designing and developing plans for training
Sustainability matters to consider when designing and developing plans for training.
Do you need help with your TAE studies?
Are you a doing the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and are you struggling with your studies? Do you want help with your TAE studies?
TAEDES411 Use nationally recognised training products to meet vocational training needs
TAEDES412 Design and develop plans for vocational training
TAEPDD401 Work effectively in the VET sector.
The above list is in alphabetical order for the unit codes.
About this article
This article focuses on the TAEDES411 Use nationally recognised training products to meet vocational training needs unit of competency. It is the unit of competency that provides an introduction to the Australian competency-based VET system.
This unit has three elements:
Prepare to use nationally recognised training products
Analyse nationally recognised training products
Apply and evaluate selected nationally recognised training products.
Assessment requirements for the TAEDES411 unit
Knowledge evidence
A TAE Student must demonstrate they have the following knowledge:
VET regulatory requirements for using nationally recognised training products
Function of nationally recognised training products in a competency-based VET system
Purpose and use of the the National Register of VET
Structure, levels and overarching content of the AQF
Purpose, structure and content of accredited courses and endorsed training package qualifications, skill sets, units of competency, and their associated assessment requirements
Purpose, key content and use of support material relating to nationally recognised training products
Basic overview of the nature, purpose and structure of current authorised Australian foundation skill frameworks
Methodology relating to analysing and using nationally recognised training products to meet the skills and knowledge needs of learners.
Do you need help with your TAE studies?
Are you a doing the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and are you struggling with your studies? Do you want help with your TAE studies?
On Target Work Skills 