High quality traineeships: Identifying what works

Introduced to Australia in the mid-1980s, traineeships have adapted the model of apprenticeships— combining work with on-the-job learning and formal training—to a wide range of occupations.

The aim of this research was not to evaluate or comment on the general value or suitability of Australian traineeships. The researchers set out to identify high-quality practices in traineeships through interviews with stakeholders involved in the traineeship system and through case studies in six industry areas— cleaning, child care, construction, retail, finance and insurance and meat processing.

The report suggests a number of policy measures that could improve both the practice and image of traineeships. As an ideal, the high-quality features set a target for which to aim. A good practice guide has been developed from the research to assist employers and the vocational education and training sector to meet this target.

High-quality traineeships were found to be those where:

• Trainees attain a sense of worth and occupational identity, and where a pathway to higher qualifications and career progression is provided.
• Employers obtain a competitive edge and are better able to attract and retain staff.
• The content of the training (as codified in training packages and the associated resources) is current and industry-relevant, and complemented by high-quality, current learning resources prepared by teachers and trainers with good industry knowledge. There is a focus on underpinning knowledge as well as skills.
• There is a well-designed and -delivered off-the-job component as well as on-the-job learning.
• The training provider has close and constructive engagement with the employer and with the trainee.
• There is a strong commitment on the part of the employer towards traineeships, including supportive supervisory staff and a suitable learning environment.
• Intermediaries, such as group training organisations, provide the information and support that employers and trainees need to sustain a good working relationship.

The authors assert that funding incentives are not the main driver for either initial or continued participation in traineeships. Many employers participate even when no subsidies are available because they are convinced of the benefits.

Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER

This project set out to identify the features of high-quality traineeships. Traineeships, like apprenticeships, involve a combination of on- and (usually) off-the-job training and have been available for a little over 20 years. Traineeships have had a ‘bad press’ in many quarters, partly due to a lack of understanding of their aim and structure and partly due to some problems with quality in their early years.

Trainees may be young or mature people, full-time or part-time workers, existing workers or new entrants, in trade, or more commonly, non-trade occupations, part of large-scale programs within major workplaces or engaged as the sole trainee in small businesses. Thus traineeships need to be flexible and contextualised, while remaining a high-quality training program. Around 200 000 Australians, drawn from a diverse population base, now commence traineeships each year. With such large numbers it is important that they receive high-quality training and support, and that the standard achieved by graduating trainees is commensurably high.

The research team undertook case studies of traineeships in six areas during 2007 and 2008: cleaning, child care, construction, retail, finance and insurance and meat processing. For each case study, site visits were made to two company examples, and additional interviews were carried out at national and industry levels. Interviews were also carried out, at a more general level, with 13 highlevel stakeholders—senior officials in government, employer and employee peak bodies, and other major players in the traineeship system, such as Group Training Australia.

There was clear agreement among all stakeholders at all levels about what constitutes a high-quality traineeship: it involves good training delivery both on and off the job, a qualification that is respected by industry, high levels of current underpinning knowledge and skills, and pathways into higher-level jobs and qualifications. It provides appropriate support for disadvantaged learners.

The benefits of traineeships to industries and enterprises were found to include a larger and more mobile skills pool, improved productivity and quality of output, the assurance of consistent skill levels among workers, compliance with national and international industry standards, and safer working practices. These improvements were seen to increase the competitive edge of companies and Australia in the international marketplace.

For individuals, traineeships were found to improve the status of occupations by making explicit the knowledge and skills involved, through the award of a qualification. This formal recognition of the job role and the certification of the performance standards achieved by trainees offer the possibility of advancement, both within and outside the industry. More broadly, traineeships create more worthwhile jobs through multiskilling; for example, full-time jobs can be created from previously part-time jobs that utilised restricted skill sets. This in turn enhances the industry as a career choice.

The components of a high-quality traineeship were analysed using the following features of quality adapted from the Australian National Audit Office’s features of quality:

• Inputs: a high-quality traineeship involves the input of highly skilled and industry-specialised teachers and trainers who are well educated and familiar with relevant learning theories and practices. The traineeship is based on a current, well-planned and widely accepted training package. Trainees are provided with high-quality, current learning resources prepared by teachers and trainers with good industry knowledge. Funding is available to help enterprises and registered training organisations meet the cost of providing the training; funding rules are well known. A traineeship exists within an industry or occupation with a strong sense of vocation, or is able to help to build such a sense.

• Processes: a high-quality traineeship involves some off-the-job training and the delivery of underpinning knowledge as well as skills. On- and off-the-job training are integrated. Mentors are provided on the job. An appropriate balance is found between customisation to the enterprise and a broader industry and educational viewpoint. Through retention of trainees high-quality traineeships show that mutual expectations are being met. Good service from the registered training organisation is an important contributory factor. Intermediary organisations provide correct and timely advice and help to support the trainees in ways within their remit.

• Outputs: graduates of a high-quality traineeship possess skills and knowledge valued across and beyond an industry. They move smoothly onto higher-level qualifications and can confidently expect to compete in career ladders.

• Outcomes: high-quality traineeships provide enterprises and industries with well-skilled staff, sometimes working with entrants who lack many skills that employers would prefer. They contribute to the rise of standards in an industry and to increased employer confidence in selecting staff and in expanding their businesses. Traineeships are viewed by employers as a way of attracting and retaining workers, both to their own companies and to an industry skill pool.

• The influence of objectives and the allocation of resourcing for traineeships: while traineeships were introduced primarily as a labour market program, high-quality traineeships emphasise skill formation, although these two objectives work in tandem with each other. The benefits of traineeships accrue to all parties and the costs are also borne to some extent by all parties.

Within the ‘traineeship life cycle’—the time from sign-up to completion—many factors contribute to quality. In a high-quality traineeship, all parties to the traineeship have similar and clearly articulated expectations. Intermediary bodies and offices of government departments are engaged with enterprises and trainees throughout the traineeship, and information from these bodies is readily and promptly available. Enterprises are committed to devoting staff time to making traineeships work and they ‘market’ them throughout their organisations; structures are set up within workplaces to support trainees, and work is organised to provide suitable learning experiences. Workplaces have good work practices (in relation to quality and to safety) to avoid a conflict between what is being learned and what is experienced in workplaces. Trainees get the chance to interact with a peer group, either within or external to the enterprise and they receive advice from different quarters about their options at the end of the traineeship.

Most important of all, however, is the quality of the teaching and learning that takes place within traineeships. The research showed that off-the-job training is a necessary component of highquality traineeships. However, this need not take place away from the worksite. Registered training organisation staff need to be well qualified, both as trainers and in the industry area in which they are training. Learning materials should be of high quality, with due regard for underpinning knowledge, and with an appropriate degree of contextualisation to suit the needs of the enterprise and/or specific learner groups. Assessment is rigorous, and, while recognition of prior learning (RPL) is available, it is used conservatively. Learners are provided with extensive opportunities to practise the skills being learned in a range of contexts.

When the various individuals and organisations who participate in the traineeship life cycle adopt the features of high-quality traineeships described above, a context favourable to a high-quality traineeship is established—even where other factors are not particularly conducive to a successful outcome; for example, in geographically isolated areas. To assist with the creation of favourable environments for traineeships, the research has suggested a number of new policy options worth consideration:

• Marketing traineeships: governments could conduct a marketing campaign for traineeships similar to that for apprenticeships. This would not only raise awareness of their availability but dispel any doubts about the value and quality of traineeships. Employer and employee peak bodies, skills councils, peak bodies for registered training organisations and state education systems all have a role to play and in many cases need education themselves about the nature and benefits of traineeships.

• Support for traineeship quality improvement: this could occur through more rigorous application of state training authority audit functions. It is also suggested that these bodies provide independent advice and assistance vis-à-vis traineeships. Registered training organisations would benefit from good practice examples of traineeship delivery. Employers should be mentored and otherwise encouraged to develop ‘traineeship management’ skills so that they provide better on-the-job training and support for trainees.

• Training packages: these should include better articulation pathways for both career progression and to higher-level qualifications. State training authorities should review the suitability of individual qualifications for traineeship delivery more rigorously.

• Teaching and training qualifications: governments and peak registered training organisation bodies should consider improving teaching and learning by requiring higher-level training qualifications for trainers and devoting more resources to high-quality learning resources, rather than relying on training package support materials.

• Funding: there may be a case for a traineeship funding model flexible enough to accommodate the diversity of traineeship environments. For example, it can be argued that an on-the-job traineeship in a rural or remote area where the typical learner has literacy problems should receive markedly different funding from an off-the-job traineeship in a metropolitan area.

Traineeships specifically targeted to particular client groups are also more expensive to service and should receive greater amounts of funding. Traineeships provide the opportunity for large numbers of workers to gain nationally recognised qualifications. They offer the possibility of both lateral and upward mobility in employment and they contribute to employers’ efforts to lift quality and productivity. The challenge is to make sure that all traineeships are of equally high quality. This research has suggested ways in which this can be done. A good practice guide—a set of specific tools to assist registered training organisations, employers and intermediary organisations—has been developed for this purpose.