16 _ 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.

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 requirements of the unit of competency as prescribed on the national register training.gov.au and 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:

Meet the needs of industry; and
Meet the needs of individual stakeholders; and
Are completed within realistic and reasonable timeframes; 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, 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 Training Facilitation and Learning & Development 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.

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.

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 student 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 Learning 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 students are within the boundaries of performance standards required in the workplace; and
The 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 5 year validation Schedule.

*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).

TAS development requirements

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.

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.

Incorporating stakeholder needs

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

Approved templates

The development of a new TAS must be prepared using the TAS template which has been specifically designed to satisfy the Standards for RTOs 2025 and VET accreditation requirements. This template is available in the Learning and Development SharePoint drive.

Notification of TAS

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.

Training resource development

General procedures

The General Manager liaises with the learning design team to ensure training resources and assessment tools are developed and/or updated.

The development process includes 5 key stages:

Drafting the assessment instruments and assessors guides
Review by a Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Second draft incorporating feedback.
Pre-validation and report (see 18 _ Validation policy and procedure).
Updating and formatting of final version.

Resource types

A development may include a range of different document types inclusive of but not limited to:

Assessment tools
Assessors’ guides
eLearning modules
Formative learning activities
Information handouts
Learner reference guides
Mapping documents
PowerPoint presentations
Training session plans

The above materials may be developed and produced for both digital and print formats.

Timelines for development

Timelines for the development of learning resources and assessment tools and their prioritisation will be determined based on several factors:

The expected volume of students to be enrolled in the training product or unit of competency.
The anticipated timeframe for accepting enrolments into the training product or unit of competency.
The complexity of the writing task.
The AQF level 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 clients assigned Client Relationship Manager.

A guide to development timelines

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	1^st review	Re-Write	2^nd Review	Published
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

Brand guidelines

All published learning resources and assessment tools are to be developed in accordance with the Allara Learning brand guide.

Assessment tools

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.

Assessment instructions

Assessments must include Instructions for both the participant and the assessor.

Instructions for students must include:

Purpose of the task (Overview)
How to complete the task
Resources and materials required to complete the task
Timelines for completion and assessment due date

Instructions for assessors must include:

Purpose of the task (Overview),
How to complete the task including how to conduct assessment via simulation,
The assessment conditions that must be met when conducting the assessment,
The volume or frequency for application of the skills and knowledge,
Reasonable adjustments appropriate to the assessment task,
Resources and materials required to complete the task,
Timelines for completion and assessment due date,

Assessor guides

An Assessor marking guide must be provided for every assessment tool. Assessor guides are to provide suggested responses.

Suggested responses must set the agreed standard (benchmarks) for which student assessment tasks are evaluated against. They should provide clarity as to the performance and evidence expectations.

Further, benchmarks are to identify the specific performance criteria, perfromance evidence and/or knowledge evidence addressed within the relevant question, step or component of the assessment task.

Mapping documents

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

Training product release

Final versions of training product documentation inclusive of TAS, learning resources and assessment tools are recorded in the Training Product Register and access to these documents are made available via the Training Products Library.

Notification of the training product and associated materials release is to be provided to all RTO internal stakeholders via an instant message notification within Slack. This notification includes details of the training product or unit released and the available associated documents (e.g., TAS, Learner guide, Assessors guide, Assessment tools, PowerPoint presentation).