The online delivery of VET during the COVID-19 pandemic: part 2

Description

The coronavirus pandemic created unprecedented challenges for the vocational education and training (VET) sector. This report, the second of two, presents insights into the experiences of registered training organisations (RTOs) that transitioned to online delivery in response to the pandemic and describes how their experiences may shape their intentions to deliver VET online in the future. These insights have been informed by a survey of RTOs, administered in collaboration with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), and through a series of semi-structured interviews with the case study RTOs.

Summary

About the research

The coronavirus pandemic created unprecedented challenges for the vocational education and training (VET) sector. This report, the second of two, presents insights into the experiences of registered training organisations (RTOs) that transitioned to online delivery in response to the pandemic and describes how their experiences may shape their intentions to deliver VET online in the future. These insights have been informed by a survey of 1247 RTOs, administered in collaboration with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), and through fifteen semi-structured interviews with case study RTOs.

Key messages

• Many RTOs moved from face-to-face to online training delivery in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Of those RTOs surveyed that only delivered face-to-face training pre-pandemic, about two thirds transitioned at least some training online in response to this health emergency.
• Transitioning delivery online was a complex exercise for RTOs. Determining the suitability of the material for online delivery needed to be considered at the micro level (that is, individual units), as opposed to the skill set, qualification or training package level.
• The suitability of online delivery extends beyond the practicalities of training and assessment.
  • Training in highly emotive topics, such as suicide risk, child protection, and family and domestic violence, can be traumatic for some students. RTOs raised concerns about their ability to provide a duty of care for students when delivering training of this nature online.
  • Face-to-face learning was deemed critical by RTOs delivering foundation skills, especially where students had learning comprehension difficulties.

• Not all students have the language, literacy, numeracy and digital (LLND) skills required to learn effectively in an online context.
• Training courses that contained a high proportion of practical components were particularly challenging to transfer online, with many RTOs transitioning theoretical components online while delaying practical elements. This had implications for students’ continuity of learning and placed additional pressure on trainers.
• Around three-quarters of RTOs surveyed agreed that the move to online delivery, while challenging, had provided opportunities to review the effectiveness of existing training/assessment delivery methods and encouraged creativity.
• 61.8% of RTOs surveyed intend to use more blended learning in the future, and 22.1% are likely to permanently transfer more units or parts of qualifications online. This raises questions on how to best support RTOs to ensure that their plans for online delivery reflect not only students’ needs but also the suitability or otherwise of training material for online delivery.

Executive Summary

The introduction of strict social distancing measures and mandated lockdowns necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic created new and unprecedented challenges for the vocational education and training (VET) sector. In response, approximately three-quarters (75.2%) of registered training organisations (RTOs) surveyed in early 2021 moved training to an online environment. The substantial shift to online training delivery was also identified through an analysis of total VET activity (TVA) data,^[1] with the number of subjects being delivered via an online-only mode increasing by almost 24% in 2020 compared with 2019.

This project provides a picture of how the VET system responded in 2020 to the uncertainty and challenges — to training delivery and assessment — generated by the pandemic, also detailing its influence on RTOs’ future training delivery plans. The findings from this research have been presented as a two-part series. In part 1, the incidence of online training during the first year of the pandemic is compared with the incidence pre-pandemic using administrative data, along with an investigation of training types and subject results across these periods (Hume & Griffin 2021). In this report, part 2, we explore the journeys of RTOs and their use of online training delivery — from pre-pandemic through to their pandemic response and future intentions. A survey of RTOs and in-depth interviews explored the barriers and opportunities of the move to online training delivery. Case studies of five different areas of training are also presented, demonstrating the variable challenges experienced across the VET sector.

The move to online training delivery

The delivery of training in an online context was not a new concept for many of the surveyed RTOs, with approximately half delivering at least some training online prior to the pandemic. Although it was evident that this pre-pandemic experience played a part in the ability or desire to shift online, it’s important to recognise that close to two-thirds of the surveyed RTOs that were not delivering any training online prior to the pandemic moved some training online in response to this national health emergency.

Discussions with the case study RTOs revealed that the amount of material transferred online was largely determined by the extent of the associated practical training and assessment. Trainers delivering courses containing large amounts of practical components — such as those from trades qualifications — were only able to transition the theory components of those courses online, delaying delivery of the practical elements. This had implications for the curriculum sequence, with theory being moved forward to fill the gaps left by the delayed practical components. Once the practical elements could be resumed, trainers often had to reteach the accompanying theory, since students struggled to remember what had been taught (earlier) online. This reshuffling of the curriculum not only had implications for students and their learning but also placed additional demand on trainers.

To facilitate the move to online, many of the surveyed RTOs that were not delivering online training prior to the pandemic introduced new software to their organisations — primarily meeting platforms (69.9%) and learning management systems (LMS; 28.6%). Others upgraded or expanded existing tools, including meeting platforms (30.1%), digital tools such as Prezi or PowerPoint (30.1%) and learning management systems (29.3%). Around half of the RTOs that shifted their training online indicated that their trainers received training in specific technology. For many of the case study RTOs, this training often consisted of initial formal training, which was followed by informal collaboration and ideas-sharing between trainers. These informal collaborations were used by trainers to share arrangements that worked well with their students and to seek feedback on the challenges encountered.

The surveyed RTOs held mixed views of how this shift to an online environment had influenced the quality of training delivery. More than a third indicated that the quality of training did not change when it shifted online in response to the pandemic, although similar proportions stated that quality had declined with the move, a decline predominantly caused by poor student engagement, a lack of face-to-face interaction, and a reduction in practical training. Further, more than a quarter of RTOs indicated that training quality improved when training shifted online. This was primarily due to the flexibility offered by online training, the ability to change or update resources, and improved student engagement. A positive influence on student engagement was particularly noticeable for a case study RTO delivering the Certificate III and Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care. This RTO introduced a mobile-friendly learning management system, which allowed their predominantly full-time-employed students the flexibility to undertake training in short bursts, at a time and place suited to them.

Challenges and opportunities

Although more than 84% of surveyed RTOs reported that trainers and assessors had adapted well to the shift online, they also acknowledged that trainers and assessors were challenged by:

• the time pressure/urgency to shift online (62.8%)
• the time commitment required for developing online resources (60%)
• students who lacked the digital skills necessary for online learning (58.6%).

When considering the range of challenges that students may have faced with the shift online, the unsuitability of online delivery for some students was perceived by RTOs to be the greatest challenge (71.7%), followed by:

• isolation/lack of peer interaction (63.4%)
• maintaining engagement in an online environment (62%).

These findings are consistent with those of the 2021 National Student Outcomes Survey, which found the main challenges students faced with the shift to online learning in response to the pandemic were a lack of face-to-face interaction with both trainers and peers.

Mature-age students,^[2] with a lack of digital skills and low confidence in using technology and software, were identified in both the RTO survey and the semi-structured interviews as the cohort who struggled most when transitioning to online training delivery.

Although RTOs and their trainers and students faced many challenges, around three-quarters of RTOs surveyed agreed that the swift and unexpected transition to online training delivery also provided opportunities. When RTOs were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed with a range of statements about the arrangements that worked well or not so well with the move online, the following three had the highest levels of agreement:

• The shift to online delivery provided the opportunity to review the effectiveness of existing training/assessment delivery methods (74.8% agree).
• There was increased opportunity for innovation and creativity with the shift to online delivery
  (74% agree).
• The shift to online delivery provided the opportunity to review the quality of existing training/assessment content (72.5% agree).

What comes next?

Due to the ongoing nature and volatility of the coronavirus pandemic, predicting the style and format of future VET delivery is challenging. The survey findings indicate the use of blended delivery modes in VET will likely increase. About 62% of RTOs surveyed stated they were likely to use more blended delivery modes in the future, while 22.1% were likely to permanently transfer more units or parts of qualifications online. This view was echoed by many RTOs in the semi-structured interviews, with the forced move online prompting the realisation that certain units, courses, or parts thereof, were suited to online delivery. For example, RTOs delivering training in the construction, manufacturing and electrotechnology areas found that certain soft skill^[3] units could be successfully taught online.

RTOs take many factors into consideration when determining the suitability of online training. For example, delivering training on emotive topics, those that include suicide risk, child protection, and family and domestic violence, can be traumatic for some students. For this reason, units of a highly emotive nature were not considered suited to online delivery (even where they contained no practical elements), with RTOs concerned about their ability to adequately provide a duty of care for the emotional wellbeing of their students.

While acknowledging the plans of many RTOs to expand their online training offerings, the effects on students must also be considered. Research demonstrates that online VET delivery can be associated with poorer student outcomes (Xu & Jaggers 2013; Griffin & Mihelic 2019). Due to the extent of the shift to online training in response to the pandemic, it is likely that student outcomes data over the next few years will paint a much clearer picture of the true impact of the pandemic on students. The challenge for policy-makers, regulators and RTOs will be balancing any long-term changes to delivery modes with the potential impacts this could have on student experiences and outcomes.

1. See Hume & Griffin (2021) for the full analysis of TVA data.

2. A definition of mature-age students was not provided, meaning that the parameters of this term were open to interpretation.

3. Also known as employability skills or generic skills: ‘Employability skills are a set of broad skills, including communication, problem-solving and teamwork’ (Wibrow 2011).