Donna's Blog
Why does the Cert IV in Training suck so much?
- Details
- 27 October 2014
Anytime I have a conversation with someone who has completed their Cert IV in Training & Assessment (TAE40110) it generally goes something like this:
Me: Do you have your Cert IV?
Them: (eyes rolling) Yes.
Me: What was your experience?
Them: (groaning) Terrible!
Me: What was the cost?
Them: Thousands of dollars….hours and hours of time.
Me: What did you learn?
Them: Nothing. Well, not quite nothing. I learned how to photocopy and hole punch piles of paper into a folder of evidence.
Me: What did you learn about being a great trainer?
Them: Nothing
I feel like the TAE is a bit like learning to drive. If the driving instructor is poor, then it will create poor drivers.
It bugs me no end that our only qualification in this space is taught so badly, and that many graduates come out of the experience thinking that this is how workplace training is done.
The reason that I believe this qualification is failing our workplace trainers is that the focus is on compliance rather than creating engaging learning experiences. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for ensuring that our trainers meet the requirements of the qualification, and my issue is that there isn’t enough emphasis on the delivery of sessions, and teaching participant engagement strategies.
If you are a workplace trainer ask yourself the following:
How do I KNOW my audience is engaged?
If I wanted to improve audience engagement, what would I DO?
What do I need to CHANGE so that I can get more consistent results around engagement?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We have a program entitled Beyond Cert IV that helps people answer these very questions.
