Workplace Learning : Sausage Rolls
Presentation by John Paterson, Head Teacher and Ron Clark, Part-Time Teacher in Meat Retail, and by Michele Walsh, Teacher of Baking
Sausages were the catalyst for switching to a predominantly workplace assessment approach for apprentices which has “revitalised the Meat Retailing section” at Nepean campus.
The first steps in workplace assessment were taken six years ago when John Paterson asked his class in ‘Making sausages’ how many of them were already making sausages in the workplace, and found that every student was. Instead of delivering the unit in the classroom, he changed to assessing in the workplace. Now 70% of meat retail students at the college undertake the course entirely by workplace learning and assessment. More recently the Baking section has also shifted to on-the-job for 30% of its students.
Both sections feel that workplace learning and assessment will continue to increase, as both students and employers are very happy with the approach, and the teachers feels the change has revitalised the section.
Resources
For each unit of workplace delivery, a Training Plan is set up which documents all the tasks and activities needed for 
students to be deemed competent, incorporating the unit elements and performance criteria. These are represented as tasks and activities relevant to the particular workplace, which can be used as a checklist for structured workplace training. The apprentice and manager both sign off when they believe that the apprentice has undertaken all the relevant training and is ready for assessment.
The teacher also produces an assessment guide, which indicates what activities will be required for assessment of units, or of integrated units where appropriate.
Work practices
Teachers generally visit the apprentice once every two weeks, for approximately one and a half hours. However, there is the opportunity to take a more flexible approach to delivery and assessment, and one teacher, working part-time and covering a large region in Western NSW, works one week per month, travelling 1,6000 kms in that week. Programming is on the basis of 12 students requiring 8 hours of contact per week.
The Baking teacher, Michele Walsh, often sees students at 3am, during their normal shift. Michele’s tip was to always ring ahead to make sure the apprentice is at work before setting out!
The success of the approach depends on the workplace mentor or supervisor, who is responsible for the majority of training. Building up a good relationship between the teacher and workplace mentor is seen as critical to success. One apprentice may need several mentors in order to cover the full range of units. This leaves the teacher to focus on assessment, which needs to be very thorough.
Choosing workplace partners
The teachers acknowledge that not all employers and workplaces are suitable to participate in workplace learning and assessment. Occupational Health and Safety is a primary concern, and teachers must be confident that the workplace has good standards of OH&S. Employers with well-structured learning opportunities for their apprentices, and with clear company policies and procedures are welcomed. However, employers are not excluded from the program simply because they do not produce a certain type of product and so aren’t able to provide instruction in a particular competency. In that case the teacher either provides the instruction his/herself, or arranges for the apprentice to undertake that section at another workplace.
Benefits
Benefits that are appreciated by both employers and apprentices are:
- Saves time in travel, and absence from the workplace, especially for country students
Provides immediate feedback on performance - Enables the teacher to establish a personal relationship with the apprentice, and to learn more about their individual circumstances
- Allows training to be customised, for example by changing the order that units are undertaken.
- Enables self-motivated students to complete the course in shorter time, and students with learning difficulties to spread the course over a longer time.
Equally, teachers appreciate the opportunity to build up rapport with students, and feel that retention and pass rates improve. They also value the opportunity to develop a relationship with businesses and individual employers in their region, and are sometimes able to introduce new techniques, or reinforce OH&S good practice, by working in partnership with the employer.
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