Contextualising units of competency is an essential practice for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to ensure that training delivery is relevant to learners and aligns with industry standards. By adapting training and assessment resources to meet the specific needs of learners and their workplace environments, RTOs can provide a more engaging and practical learning experience while remaining compliant with the Standards for RTOs 2015.
This guide will walk you through the key concepts and steps involved in contextualising units of competency, offering practical tips for implementation and compliance.
What is Contextualisation?
Contextualisation involves adapting a unit of competency’s learning and assessment materials to suit the specific needs of the learners and the workplace environment, without compromising the integrity of the original competency requirements. It allows RTOs to make the training more relevant to a particular industry or job role, ensuring that learners are gaining skills and knowledge that are directly applicable to their work.
While contextualising, RTOs must maintain compliance with the training package rules, ensuring that no core elements of the unit, such as performance criteria or assessment conditions, are altered.
Why Contextualise Units of Competency?
There are several important reasons to contextualise units of competency:
- Relevance to Learners: By making learning more applicable to learners’ real-world environments, RTOs can improve learner engagement and retention of skills and knowledge.
- Industry-Specific Training: Contextualisation allows RTOs to tailor training to specific industries, ensuring that learners develop job-ready skills aligned with workplace demands.
- Meeting Learner Needs: Different learner cohorts, such as those with varying levels of experience or those from different industries, may have different learning needs. Contextualisation ensures training meets these specific needs.
- Compliance: The Standards for RTOs 2015 require that training is fit for purpose and aligned with industry requirements. Contextualisation ensures that the training is not only relevant but also compliant with industry expectations.
How to Contextualise a Unit of Competency
Contextualising a unit of competency involves careful planning to ensure compliance while enhancing the relevance of the learning materials. Here are the steps to successfully contextualise a unit:
Understand the Unit of Competency
Before making any changes, you must fully understand the unit of competency, including:
- Elements: The specific tasks or skills that the learner must perform.
- Performance Criteria: How the tasks should be carried out, ensuring quality and consistency.
- Knowledge Evidence: The theoretical knowledge learners need to demonstrate.
- Performance Evidence: The practical evidence required to prove competency.
- Assessment Conditions: The specific conditions under which assessments must take place.
It is important to remember that contextualisation does not involve changing these core components. Instead, it focuses on adapting the training and assessment process to be more industry-specific or learner-specific.
Tailor the Language and Terminology
One of the simplest ways to contextualise a unit is by adapting the language and terminology used in the training materials. For example:
- If the learners are from the healthcare industry, you may incorporate terms and examples specific to healthcare scenarios.
For learners in the manufacturing industry, use terminology and case studies that reflect the equipment and processes they use in their jobs.
Adapting the language ensures that learners can easily relate to the content, improving their understanding and engagement with the material.
Adapt the Learning Resources
Contextualising learning resources helps to align the unit with industry requirements or the specific needs of the learner cohort. This can include:
- Customising case studies, examples, and scenarios to reflect real-life industry situations.
- Modifying practical activities to better suit the workplace environment of the learners.
- Adjusting the level of complexity in tasks to meet the experience levels of different learner cohorts.
For example, learners working in aged care may benefit from practical activities that simulate caring for elderly patients, while learners in the construction industry might need practical tasks that involve operating machinery or interpreting building plans.
Contextualise Assessments
Assessment tools and methods should also be contextualised to reflect the learners’ workplace environment. This includes:
- Creating practical assessments that match the actual tasks learners perform in their jobs.
- Incorporating workplace-specific documents or forms that learners use in their day-to-day tasks.
- Ensuring assessments are aligned with the work environment by incorporating realistic workplace constraints or challenges.
For example, an RTO delivering training to hospitality workers might require learners to complete assessments based on real-world scenarios, such as preparing and serving food to customers, while using the same equipment and resources available in a typical hospitality setting.
Review and Validate the Contextualised Unit
Once the unit has been contextualised, it’s important to review and validate the changes to ensure compliance with the training package requirements. Key steps include:
- Internal Review: Have trainers and assessors review the contextualised unit to ensure that the learning materials and assessments are relevant, compliant, and effective.
- Validation Process: Conduct formal validation sessions to ensure that the contextualised assessments meet the rules of evidence and principles of assessment. Validation helps confirm that the changes made enhance the learning experience without compromising the unit’s core requirements.
Maintain Compliance
Throughout the process of contextualising a unit, it is crucial to maintain compliance with the training package. This means ensuring that the performance criteria, knowledge evidence, and assessment conditions remain intact, and no essential components are altered.
According to Clause 1.8 of the Standards for RTOs 2015, RTOs must demonstrate that assessments meet the requirements of the training package. Therefore, any contextualised assessments must still adhere to the rules of evidence (validity, sufficiency, authenticity, and currency) and the principles of assessment (fairness, flexibility, validity, and reliability).
Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Contextualisation
- Altering the Unit’s Core Components: Remember, contextualisation does not mean changing the performance criteria or assessment conditions of the unit of competency. Doing so can lead to non-compliance.
- Over-Contextualising: Adding too much detail that is specific to one workplace or industry can reduce the transferability of the skills learned. Keep the contextualisation broad enough to apply to a range of workplaces within the industry.
- Neglecting the Review Process: Always ensure that contextualised materials are reviewed and validated to guarantee compliance and effectiveness.
Conclusion
Contextualising units of competency is a valuable practice for RTOs looking to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of their training programs. By adapting learning materials, language, and assessments to suit specific industries or learner cohorts, RTOs can provide engaging and practical training that aligns with industry requirements. However, it’s important to carefully manage the contextualisation process to ensure compliance with the training package and ASQA standards.
