COVID-19: Changing your training and assessment strategies and practices

by Kevin Ekendhal | Apr 2, 2020 | Uncategorized

As the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to make its impact on our way of life, training providers are increasingly looking at ways they can continue to provide training and assessment services to their learners, but still being mindful that they must maintain the minimum standards.

As we’re all dealing with the disruption to our regular way of life, people are increasingly working from home and self-isolating. As such, training and learning is taking place away from traditional campuses and workplaces and now being delivered into people’s homes.

Registered Training Organisations, Higher Education Providers and schools now need to adapt their training and assessment strategies to continue providing learning opportunities for their students.

As businesses pivot their existing strategies and practices to adapt to these changes it is vitally important to continue to maintain the minimum standards with respect to the competency standards and curriculum. We must ensure that the adjustments made to the way we teach and assess does not compromise the integrity of the units of competency or curriculum.

In order to make these immediate changes, education providers need to ensure they are quick to apply these changes and maintain the minimum standards.

Audit Express provides the following tips for pivoting your business to adapt to the current crisis:

1. Plan, not only for the worst-case but also for the unthinkable.
2. What existing systems do you have that can be used for the current situation.
3. Use the free tools available on the market. 
4. Don’t waste money on things you don’t need.
5. Innovate for what you don’t have
6. Maintain compliance – rapid changes shouldn’t mean you lower your standards.
7. Be agile – use your time wisely
8. Make fast and decisive decisions – but always be considered.
9. Learn and teach how to work from home effectively
10. Be safe and sanitise

As we make our agile, fast and decisive changes, we also need to ensure we keep records of what we do and why we did it. At this time, you should ensure you keep good records of what you’ve done to adjust your training and assessment strategies and practices and how you’ve ensured you support your learners during this time.

To make fast and decisive decisions, re-writing your training and assessment strategies seems like an unnecessary burden to quickly pivot your business to support your learners. Likewise, you’ll need to ensure you effectively communicate these changes to our trainers, assessors and education managers.

Audit Express has designed an example form and repository for you to use and amend and implement in your organisation to maintain records of the changes you’ve made to your training and assessment strategies and practices.

The vocational education and training regulators have also indicated that they are willing to work with registered training organisations to get through this difficult time. I encourage you to visit your respective regulator’s website for more information on how they can assist and to communicate your changes with them:

AQSA: https://www.asqa.gov.au/coronavirus-advice

VRQA:  https://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/news/Pages/News/article-188.aspx

WA TAC: https://www.tac.wa.gov.au/newsandevent/Pages/Special-Bulletin—COVID-19-impact-on-the-VET-sector-and-RTOs.aspx

This is an example of an online form you could use and adapt in your organisation to record the changes to your delivery and assessment strategies and practices. We highly recommend you amend and contextualise this document to meet the requirements of your organisation.

If you would like to get a copy of this online form, please email: info@auditexpress.com.au

We are all in this together, and only together can we get through this incredibly difficult time. If you need any assistance, the team at Audit Express are available.

Take care.