Training product development policy and procedure

Purpose of the policy

This policy is to ensure that the process for the development of training products is defined for all stakeholders, enabling effective and timely completion of training products and client specific projects.

It defines the responsibilities of individual stakeholders, and the processes to follow for the development of training strategies, and the associated learning resources and assessment materials.

Definitions

Allara – Allara Investments Pty Ltd, trading as Allara learning and is inclusive of; Tactical Training Group Pty Ltd, RTO provider No: 91054 (TTG) and W G learning Pty Ltd, RTO Provider No: 91178 (WGL).

TTG - Tactical Training Group Pty Ltd, RTO provider No: 91054 (TTG)

WGL– W G learning Pty Ltd, RTO Provider No: 91178 (WGL)

Stakeholder - means a Client, Learner, RTO staff, industry representative, government department that has a direct involvement in the training and assessment process.

Training package - means the components of a training package endorsed by the Industry and Skills Council or its delegate in accordance with the Standards for Training Packages. The endorsed components of a training package are units of competency; assessment requirements (for individual units of competency); qualifications; and credit arrangements. A training package also consists of a non-endorsed, quality assured companion volume/s which contains industry advice to RTOs on different aspects of implementation.

Training product - means a course, AQF qualification, accredited course, skill set, or unit of competency currently or previously endorsed by the Industry and Skills Council or its delegate in accordance with the Standards for Training Packages.

SME - means a subject matter expert that has relevant skills and knowledge required to provide realistic advice regarding the content of resources developed.

Scope

The policy applies to all Allara Learning’s (Allara) operations inclusive of Tactical Training Group Pty Ltd, RTO provider No: 91054 (TTG) and W G Learning Pty Ltd, RTO Provider No: 91178 (WGL). It applies to all stakeholders involved in the development and review of training products on the scope of registration for TTG and WGL and client specific projects.

Policy

The General Manager will implement this policy for the development of all training products offered by Allara Learning inclusive of:

Training packages or products on the scope of registration for TTG and WGL
Client specific development requests
Individual accredited units of competency and short courses
Non-accredited subjects.

Where assessment tools for accredited units of competency are developed, the General Manager will ensure that the assessment tool meets the Principles of Assessment and the Rules of Evidence.

Learning and Development personnel, under direction of the General Manager, will ensure that all developments are completed in a professional and ethical manner and:

Within realistic and reasonable timeframes; and
Meet the needs of individual stakeholders; and
Are benchmarked against both the training package requirements and industry standards.

Product development procedures

Business case for development

New training product developments must be requested through the submission of a business case to the General Manager. This is inclusive of standard products listed on the RTOs scope, or non-accredited training products, or client specific developments.

The business case must at minimum provide:

Purpose of the product; and
Proposed target market information; and
Alignment to organisation strategy.

Approval to develop a training product will be at the discretion of the General Manager or CEO.

Consultation

Upon approval to develop, the General Manager along with the Learning and Development, and Training teams conduct consultations with internal and external stakeholders to identify the specific requirements for the training product development.

Consultation should seek to identify and confirm:

An outline of the type of development required; and
A proposed timeframe for completion of the development project; and
Stakeholders required to be involved in the content review process; and
Any additional information that may be required for the development.

Training and Assessment Strategies (TAS)

Standards of practice

In developing Training and Assessment Strategies (TAS) for applications to change scope, and/or the periodic review of existing strategies, the General Manager will ensure that:

Target groups, clients, and industry* are consulted to identify training needs and specific competency requirements; and
Key industry stakeholder feedback obtained from clients and industry experts is utilised in the annual review of TAS; and
Training and assessment materials designed and or produced by Allara or by other organisations, meet the requirements of the units of competency in accredited courses, training package qualifications or skill sets; and
Language, Literacy and Numeracy learning adjustments for participants are within the boundaries of performance standards required in the workplace; and
Allara’s assessment system incorporates provisions for Recognition and encompasses the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence; and
TAS documentation for training products is reviewed in accordance with the Validation Schedule (on Monday.com) which is managed by the Quality Assurance Consultant.

*Clients and industry may be consulted at various times and the culmination of these discussions used to form an opinion of broader industry needs and inform the design of the Training and Assessment Strategies (TAS).

The General Manager will implement the TAS development procedure when training packages and accredited courses are reviewed, added to and/or superseded on Allara’s Scope or when a new training program and or new cohort of students are introduced.

TAS development procedures

The General Manager is responsible for creation, review, and update of TAS documents. Development of a new TAS or update of an existing TAS must be undertaken when:

New training products are added to Allara’s scope of registration; or
A new target cohort of learners is added; or
Changes to the training package have occurred; or
Changes are required because of the consultation and TAS review process.

The General Manger will consult with industry and/or the client where this consultation may be conducted by:

Face to face meeting; or
Email exchange; or
Telephone conversation.

Records of consultation are retained in the Allara learning Client Relationship Management software HubSpot.

When developing or amending TAS documentation, the General Manager will implement information gained from consultations with industry or the client to ensure that the TAS meets the needs and requirements of industry and the client.

The development of a new TAS must be prepared using the TAS template which has been specifically designed to satisfy the Standards for RTOs, 2015 and VET accreditation requirements. This template is available in the Learning and Development SharePoint drive.

When a new TAS is produced or an existing TAS has been amended, the General Manager will:

Notify relevant stakeholders; and
Ensure Trainers/Assessors undertake professional development activities (where relevant); and
Ensure marketing materials are updated to reflect the relevant changes and inform all staff of the change; and

Training resource development

The General Manager liaises with the Head of Learning Content and Learning and Development Designer to ensure the corresponding training resources and assessment tools are developed and/or updated.

The writing process includes 5 key stages:

Writing of a first draft.
First review by a Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Second draft incorporating feedback.
Second review by Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Updating and formatting of final version.

Prioritisation of tasks

Timelines for the completion of unit/s of competency learning resources and assessment tools and prioritisation of the writing will be determined based on several factors:

The volume of current or potential students enrolled in the unit of competency.
The complexity of the writing task.
The AQF level of the unit/s of competency or subject.
The expected training delivery date of the unit/s of competency or subject.

Client based project timelines will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and full project requirements will be reviewed by both the General Manager and the Head of Client Relations.

General writing and review timeline

The below table provides a guide as to the timeframe for writing development, SME review, additional adjustment, secondary review, and final version release.

Task	Writing	First review	Re-Write	Second Review	Final Version
Single Unit	5 days	10 days	2 days	5 days	2 days
Clustered units	10 days	10 days	5 days	5 days	5 days
Client projects	30 – 60 days	10 days	5 - 10 days	5 days	5 -10 days

Timelines within the above table are a guide only and the complexity of the Client project will determine the writing timeframe for the unit/s of competency or subject.

Writing expectations and standards

Learner guides - General writing guidelines

Learner Guides are to be written in simple subject format whereby multiple units of competency can be clustered together to ensure the learner guide can be used for multiple training plans.

Content headings are to be general headings (not unit Performance Criteria).

Learner Guides should be written to follow the flow of a workplace task.

Referencing must be included where external information sources have been relied upon for content.

Assessment tools - General writing guidelines

Assessment tools must include multiple assessment methods enabling flexibility of assessment practice for the Assessor with each assessment to contain at a minimum 2 different tasks. The selection of assessment task must be guided by the requirements of the unit of competency.

Assessment tasks may include, but are not limited to:

Knowledge quizzes, short answer, written, or oral questions.
Case studies.
Projects and portfolios of evidence.
Role plays and simulations.
Demonstration / Observation Checklists.
Third-party Reports.

Instructions for the assessment tool to the assessor should at minimum provide guidance on:

The range and selection options of assessment methods contained within the assessment tool. (Note: Selection by the assessor must be guided by the mapping within the markers guides.)
The overarching assessment conditions that must be met when conducting the assessment.

Instructions for each individual assessment method within the assessment tool must be directly related to the unit/s of competency. This includes each unit’s:

Assessment Conditions, including physical environment and additional resources.
Performance and Knowledge Evidence.
Specific volume or frequency for application of the Skills and Knowledge.

Written / Oral Questions

Written questions may be composed in various formats, including but not limited to:

Short answer
Extended text
Multiple choice
Number sequence
Matching lists

The choice of question type must be guided by the AQF Level of the assessment and the specific knowledge criteria of the unit/s of competency.

Example: Multiple choice questions may be included in a Certificate II or III assessment (i.e., AQF Level 2 or 3) but may not necessarily be suited to a Certificate IV or Diploma assessment (i.e., AQF Level 4 or 5).

Case Studies

Case studies must be written in a holistic manner enabling the learner to provide responses that demonstrate competence against a broad range of the skills and knowledge required by the unit/s of competency.

Where relevant, multiple options of case study choice should be provided enabling the assessor to choose the most appropriate case study situation for the learner’s individual environment thereby providing context for the learner.

Projects and portfolios of evidence

Projects must be written in a holistic manner enabling the learner to provide responses that demonstrate competence against a broad range of the skills and knowledge required by the unit/s of competency.

Specific instructions for projects must provide guidance:

To the assessor to enable substitution of a portfolio of relevant documentation and evidence developed and utilised by the learner within the workplace.
On the number of projects to be satisfactorily completed to achieve competence, where more than one project is provided.

Role Plays and simulations

Role plays must be written in a holistic manner enabling the learner to provide responses that demonstrate competence against a broad range of the skills and knowledge required by the unit/s of competency.

Where observation of a range of interactions and specific volume and or frequency of skills and knowledge is required by the unit of competency, multiple roleplay scenarios should be included to enable demonstration of these requirements.

Specific instructions for role plays must include guidance on:

The volume of interactions required.
Requirements for the assessor to use the observation checklist to document their observations of the learner during the conduct of the role play/s.
The range of interactions and specific volume and/or frequency of skills and knowledge required by the unit of competency.

Demonstration / Observation Checklists

Observation Checklists should be contextualised whereby performance criteria and performance evidence are re-worded to provide clarity to the assessor and the participant of the context of application and must provide space for assessor comments or feedback.

Simulated activities (role play) may be provided as guidance on appropriate activities for learners to demonstrate during the observation.

Specific instructions to the assessor should include guidance on:

The context of assessment.
The standard of feedback required.
The range of interactions and specific volume and/or frequency of skills required by the unit of competency.

Third-party Reports

Third-party Report checklists should be contextualised whereby performance criteria and performance evidence are re-worded to provide clarity and context to the third-party.

Checklists must provide space for a summary comment by the third-party regarding the learner’s performance against the listed skills.

Instructions to the third-party should include guidance on:

The context of assessment.
The standard of feedback required.
The range of interactions and specific volume and/or frequency of skills and knowledge required by the unit of competency.

Assessors guides and mapping - General writing guidelines

A marker or assessor guide must be provided for every assessment tool.

All assessment tasks (i.e., written questions, case studies, projects, role plays, observations, and third-party reports) require suggested or benchmark responses.

Mapping documents must clearly identify where specific elements of performance, Performance Criteria, Performance Evidence and Knowledge Evidence, including Foundation Skills where applicable, is assessed within the tool.

Training product release

Final versions of training product documentation inclusive of TAS, learning resources and assessment tools are to be uploaded to the Training Product Register in Allara's project management software Monday.com.

Notification of the training product and associated materials release is to be provided to all RTO internal stakeholders via an all users email and should identify:

The training product or unit released.
The available associated documents (e.g., TAS, Learner guide, Assessors guide, Assessment tools, PowerPoint presentation).
The version number of the documents.

Record Keeping

The word versions of developed documentation will be stored in the Learning and Development SharePoint drive and a password protected or PDF version made available on the Training Product Register in Monday.com. Documentation includes but is not limited to:

Training and assessment strategies (TAS)
Learner guides
Assessor guides
Assessment tools
PowerPoint Presentations
Formative learning activities
Information handouts

All documents must be date and version controlled.

Version control of documents

All resource documents developed must be saved with a standard file name format where the file name must include:

Unit / subject code and name
Version number
Date of publication (month / year).

Example: SITXFSA005 Use hygienic practices for food safety V1.2 202312

The version number and date of publication must also be included in the footer section (right page alignment) of each document.

Previous versions and marked draft documents are to be stored in the archive folders.