Training
Competency Training
What is Competency-Based Training?
Competency-Based Training (CBT) is a way of approaching vocational training that places primary emphasis on what a person can actually do as a result of training (the outcome), and as such represents a shift away from an emphasis on the processes involved in training (the input). It is concerned with training to industry specific standards rather than being based on an individual's achievement relative to others in the group.
The basic features of CBT are:
- outcomes that are designed to meet uniform national standards
- a curriculum that gives students a clear indication of what is expected of them in order to demonstrate competence in a task.
- delivery modes which are flexible and provide continuity of training, and do not oblige students to undertake training and skills in which they are already confident.
- assessment of competencies against specified standards that can be made when students or their instructors believe they are ready.
- A record provided to each student identifying competencies gained.
The Milling Industry has always recognized the importance of training due to the requirements for highly skilled technical milling specialists. In the early 1990's the Milling Industry recognized the need to be represented in the area of training and education and ‘The Milling Industry Training and Education Steering Committee was formed with the following charter;
‘Advise and represent the Flour Millers Council of Australia and the Stock Feed Manufacturers Association of Australia in the development of structured training and education to satisfy skill requirements of the milling industry'
The recognized outcome remains valid. Training is an investment and is no different to any other business decision. It must receive maximum return on the dollar spend and it must complement overall business strategy. The need to see benefit from training can be satisfied by making the focus strategic. It is up to management to lead the direction for training and skilling of the workplace, control the delivery, outcomes and focus it so that it contributes to the company's future performance.
What Industry Wants from Training
- Industry talks skills not just qualifications. Traditional commitment of the training system to full qualifications is at odds with the way large sections of our industry acquire skills and the way enterprises will re-skill new workers displaced from other industries. Entry level is often a discrete set of skills built upon over time using skill sets, on-the-job training and progressive recognition of skills acquired. A model which delivers genuine flexibility and choice, and enables training providers to legitimately deliver incremental building blocks of skills as well as full qualifications is paramount.
- The current funding model for the delivery of public training is one of the single biggest barriers to skills development in rural and remote Australia. Industry requires a flexible, client focused funding model which genuinely supports both the diagnosis of individual enterprise and learner skill needs and customised training solutions as a matter of priority.
- Recognised training plays a key role in attracting and retaining new workers to the industry, injecting higher level skills into the existing workforce and by diffusing the latest practices across the industry. It must, however, be delivered as part of a whole-of-business solution. It must be capable of diagnosing an enterprise's skill needs in line with its business goals, integrating research findings and new technologies within a broader approach to the challenges of labour supply. In short, we need a multi-faceted, solutions-driven approach to workforce development.
Industry requires ongoing access to a trained and skilled workforce and needs to attract and hold skilled labour for shift work.
This will be assisted by establishing recognition of the cereals milling industry as an attractive and challenging career choice for a future workforce.