Supervising your apprentice or trainee guide - Module 5

The Training Plan sets out what the apprentice or trainee needs to achieve. This is linked to units of competency in a training package assessed by the RTO assessor.

The competencies listed in the Training Plan are from National Training Packages. Once assessed and deemed competent in all the competencies with employer's endorsement, the apprentice or trainee will receive a nationally recognised qualification issued by the RTO.

The formal training provided as part of an apprenticeship or traineeship covers various competencies developed by industry. 

A competency is a set of knowledge and skills relevant to the workplace. It specifies the level of skill required to perform the functions or tasks at work to complete an apprenticeship or traineeship and receive a nationally recognised qualification. 

The apprentice or trainee must be deemed 'competent' by successfully completing a variety of assessments. As their supervisor, you assist in this process as part of your role.

Being competent means:

• knowing how to do a job
• understanding workplace policies and procedures
• being part of a team
• dealing with everyday problems that may occur
• understanding why it should be done that way
• being able to apply skills consistently
• being able to transfer skills to different situations
• being able to do different tasks at the same time.

For your apprentice or trainee to be deemed competent in a particular unit of competency, they will need to be able to demonstrate their knowledge and ability in several ways.

Below is an example of a work function, broken down into different elements of knowledge and skills. This example refers to competency in a unit based on using tools and equipment appropriately.

For example ‘Use tools and equipment’

• able to select tools and equipment
• able to follow procedure for clean-up
• able to use tools correctly
• know of safety
• able to prepare tools
• knowledge of procedures for use.

Assessment by the RTO can take many forms. Your RTO carries out assessments by collecting evidence of your learner's skills and knowledge, comparing it to a set of industry-based standards and judging whether your learner meets them. Your RTO Assessor may meet with you and your learner to develop an assessment plan.

Your assessor will explain:

• Evidence required for each unit of competency.
• How you can gather this evidence.
• When to expect assessment and monitoring visits.
• How they'll deem your learner 'competent' or 'not yet competent'.

Your assessor is responsible for:

• considering your learner's individual needs
• setting written tests, assignments, or practical tasks, assessing competencies
• scheduling role plays to assess unusual scenarios
• observing your learner in your workplace
• requesting your learner demonstrate specific tasks
• allowing you or your learner to challenge assessment results
• your assessor may ask you to:
  • write a report about your learner's competence
  • supply recorded evidence, including photos and videos, showing how your learner has applied their skills
  • provide work records such as job cards, appointment books and procedure manuals.

If the apprentice or trainee is deemed not yet competent (NYC) this means that they have been unable to demonstrate the application of the knowledge and skills required. They may be set further tasks to practice skills or be provided with reading and study material to assist them in building their skills or knowledge.

Your role in assessment

As the workplace supervisor, you play an important role in the assessment of your apprentice or trainee. You will be required to confirm their competence for each competency. An RTO assessor may ask you to provide a third-party report on the competence of your apprentice or trainee to perform certain tasks.

Knowing and understanding the assessments your apprentice or trainee is working on will help you to help them, giving them opportunities to practice in the workplace under your supervision and guidance.

As a supervisor, when signing off competency, you are responsible for reviewing the apprentice or trainee's skills and practical application of those skills in the workplace. Your signature on each competency verifies that you believe your apprentice or trainee has the skills and application needed to work unsupervised in this skill. It is important you take this responsibility seriously.

In many larger organisations, it is common for apprentices or trainees to move around into different areas and with different supervisors throughout the course of their apprenticeship or traineeship. If this is the case, you must ensure that prior to moving on from your supervision you have signed off their competencies where you deem the apprentice or trainee has appropriate skills and practical application to undertake these job roles to industry standards.

If you don't feel your apprentice or trainee has achieved competency, this must be noted on the Training Plan and discussed with both the RTO and the new supervisor. In addition, you must discuss with the apprentice or trainee exactly what needs to be seen in the workplace to gain competence, so they can continue to work on these skills under a new supervisor.

Record keeping checklist:

• Training Plan
• Records of your RTO's visits to your workplace and activities undertaken
• Evidence of tasks your learner has completed at work (photos, videos)
• Results of workplace training undertaken by your learner with the RTO
• You learner's workbook/ record of training supplied by the RTO
• The Industrial Award or Workplace Agreement Record of time worked, and wages paid.

Apprenticeships and traineeships are approved for a nominal term based on how long it should take a learner to gain the required skills. This is detailed in your Training Contract.

To be awarded their Certificate of Proficiency, your learner must successfully complete all the units of competency detailed in the Training Plan that make up their qualification.

Every time you sign off a competency, you are confirming you've seen your learner complete a task in your workplace over a period of time, separated by feedback, further learning, and practice.

You sign off a competency when you have complete confidence in your learner's ability to work unsupervised to industry standard in a variety of situations.

The RTO must now obtain an employer's endorsement of an apprentice or trainee's competence to industry standard before they issue the qualification.

The Employer Endorsement of Competence is found in Part Five of the Sample Training Plan. It is signed off at the end of the apprenticeship or traineeship to confirm that:

• Your apprentice or trainee is competent to industry standards in their nominated vocation.
• You support the RTO issuing their qualification.
• You may be obliged to pay your apprentice or trainee a higher rate because of the qualification being issued (as per the award) and
• You or your apprentice or trainee can seek to complete the apprenticeship or traineeship before the nominal completion date or continue the training up to the nominal completion date.

As apprenticeships and traineeships are competency-based instead of time-based, your apprentice or trainee needs to understand that final sign off means their employment with you may end. They will also be expected to perform their role with the independence and productivity expected of a qualified person. If you feel your apprentice or trainee needs more time to build confidence, discuss this with them before you sign off their last unit of competency and the Employer Endorsement of Competence.

Once the qualification is issued, Training Services may invite you and your apprentice or trainee to apply for competency-based completion of the apprenticeship or traineeship.

• All communication styles are equally valuable and everyone is a blend of all four styles.
• Your communication style is also influenced by other factors such as life experiences, education and maturity.
• Understanding yourself better is the first step to becoming more effective when working with others.
• Learning about other people’s communication styles can help you understand their motivators and stressors and how they differ from your own.
• You can improve the quality of your workplace communication and relationships by using a flexible communication style to build more effective relationships.