How evidence matrices can help with currency and compliance

The VET sector aims to recognise VET teachers and trainers as dual professionals – meaning they are both industry experts and teachers. Well-maintained industry currency allows trainers to continuously improve and update their knowledge and skills, in turn providing more relevant lessons and assessment. We know that recording and maintaining trainers’ industry currency, skills and competencies is required by RTOs in compliance with the Standards (1.13-1.16), but this can become a hassle to manage. 

RTOs need an intuitive tool to replace cumbersome spreadsheets that can easily show how they’ve maintained the currency of their trainers’ industry skills and trainer/assessor competencies. 

This is where having an evidence matrix tool and trainer competency matrix can help.

These matrix tools will be in your Student Management System (SMS). With the evidence matrix tool, trainers can upload competency/currency evidence against single units of competency or entire qualifications to the SMS. In aXcelerate, this evidence is grouped under two sections – TAE evidence and unit evidence. Having a simple tool like this can reduce the overwhelm of having many documents to upload by making the process more consistent, straightforward and streamlined.

The trainer competency matrix then allows users to easily track, view and update a trainer's competencies for all programs stored within your SMS. 

Trainers can be automatically notified when units of competency are due to expire or when evidence requires reviewing. Your SMS should also let you create a helpful dashboard widget that displays competency evidence awaiting approval. Administrators will be able to review competency submissions and respond with comments, request further information from the trainer, or give approval.

A tool like this will not only ensure the RTO remains compliant, but it can also provide a way to see from a high level the information obtained from trainers’ industry engagement activities. This information can be useful for RTOs to: 

• design strategies for training and assessment
• select suitable resources
• seek feedback about how to provide training and assessment, and
• confirm trainers and assessors have current industry skills.
  

Trainer competency review period

Administrators can set a review period to serve as a reminder to review the currency of the evidence after a certain period of time, and this can be set for all items of evidence or for specific units, such as a Provide CPR unit. 

Trainer portal

The trainer portal is where trainers are able to upload evidence and view the status and history of the submitted evidence. 

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aXcelerate offers seamless enterprise training and learning & development management.

aXcelerate’s time-saving tools empower 1000+ training organisations across Australia to focus on delivering better learning outcomes.

Learn more here, or speak to a helpful aXcelerate expert here. 

Want to learn more about managing trainers and currency? Check out these helpful articles: 

• The importance of industry currency in VET
• Building capability and quality in VET teaching
• Reporting and Compliance in aXcelerate

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