In my opinion

Lessons from down under

Peter Bryant

Peter Bryant suggests that the UK could learn from Australia's approach to workplace assessment

Peter Bryant is the programme leader for workplace assessment programmes at the Institute for Work Based Learning at Middlesex University. Prior to joining Middlesex, he was a headteacher of business at South Western Sydney Institute, the largest further education provider in New South Wales, Australia, where he worked across a variety of workplace assessment contexts.

Workplace assessment is an intrinsic part of the organisational development processes of any successful enterprise. It is a multi-faceted role, which supports and recognises the existing skills and knowledge of employees, and encourages the development and sharing of their recently acquired ones.

More than a process of summative feedback and measurement of performance or competence, workplace assessment is core to the principles of continuous improvement and innovation that drive organisational change and strategic development.

I have been involved in workplace assessment for nearly 17 years in a variety of industries across Australia. Experience has shown me that workplace assessors both inform and implement strategic objectives within organisations and engage with wider industry partners and sector groups to enhance the skills base and professional status of the job roles, tasks or professions they assess.

Successful workplace assessment is underpinned by an understanding of what is being assessed, and the importance of the authenticity of the experience that demonstrates the attributes of the employee. To this end, workplace assessment is fundamental to the development of a learning culture within an organisation - one that values not just the ability of the employee to undertake or apply skills or knowledge, but to evaluate and share those skills in order to improve theirs and others' practice. A learning culture is characterised by the development of ongoing critical reflection, and commitment to the role of supported and engaged staff in the achievement of outcomes, as opposed to a repetition of the mantra that "our people are our greatest asset".

This is the greatest challenge facing workplace assessors in the UK, as well as in Australia: to position workplace assessment in the domain of organisational development and strategic success, supporting the notion that a learning culture is both an economic and corporate necessity, and that trained and knowledgeable staff are not a luxury, but the key to a reflexive and vital organisation. We also need to do this while maintaining our commitment to the quality and standards that support the validity of our work, and complying with the ever changing legislative and policy environment.

In the mid-1990s the Australian Government identified a number of structural issues that were impacting on the long-term viability of industry to maintain its global competitiveness and support its base of skilled employees.

Through three successive reviews of training and education, the Government sought to restructure workplace training and assessment. Its strategy was to improve the professionalism of workplace assessors and to foster closer relationships between industry and training through the development of a national training system which included registration of training providers, national qualifications, and most importantly, nationally agreed and accredited curriculum.

Australia's national training agenda works towards achieving four core aims:

• Industry will have a highly skilled workforce to support strong performance in the global economy.
• Employers and individuals will be at the centre of vocational education and training.
• Communities and regions will be strengthened economically and socially through learning and employment.
• Indigenous Australians will have skills for viable jobs and their learning culture will be shared.

The capability of workplace assessors was to be improved by the development of a Certificate IV and Diploma qualification in workplace assessment and training (equivalent to the UK levels 3 and 5 on the National Qualifications Framework). These qualifications were supported by a research-driven approach to university level qualifications in workplace assessment, and the formation of National Centres of research into vocational education and training. Further to this, the playing field of learning and assessment was levelled with the development of industry-led units of competence, nationally recognised qualifications, and a funded, policy-agenda-supported approach to the recognition of prior learning.

In the modern Australian model, there are strong links between employers, workplace assessors and vocational and further education providers (both government-funded and private), in order to improve the practices of workplace assessment, encourage transferability of employable skills and overcome mounting skills shortages.

These changes were mandated by the Australian Government. The allocation of funding was dependent on employers, registered training organisations and industry skills councils both implementing and continuously improving these nationally accredited processes.

Additionally, continuous professional development was supported by a hierarchy of qualifications and skills sets aimed at specific competencies within an industry. These replaced the complex network of state qualifications, national training and private training that had segmented learning into non-transferable pockets.

Much of this will sound familiar to us in the UK, with the rolling introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training.

Am I arguing for an interventionist approach, similar to the Australian experience here in the UK? Not necessarily, although there have been a number of benefits that can be linked to the approach, including an enhanced industry involvement in workplace assessment, along with a more universal commitment to accredited workplace training and assessment.

What I am advocating is an approach, led by workplace assessors themselves, that seeks to increase the professional status and relevance of assessment both locally and globally. It is an approach informed by the latest developments in theory and experience, where workplace assessors
are actively engaged in their practice and inform the national agenda on training
and assessment.

Amid the complex networks of qualifications, competencies, industry skills, formal and informal training provision and accredited activities, workplace assessors need to be at the forefront of research, policy making and organisational development.

We need to identify our crucial role in our own industry and sectors, to be able to share those experiences with colleagues, policymakers and employers, and position our practice clearly as one that is central to an innovative organisation.

This is the primary reason for the Institute for Work Based Learning at Middlesex University partnering with the CIEA to develop postgraduate programmes in workplace assessment. These innovative, work-based programmes are designed to prepare workplace assessors for a senior leadership role in improving the overall quality of workplace assessment through policy or strategy formulation, research, planning and implementation.

Using a comprehensive and contemporary approach to research evidence, theory, policy and practice, the programmes (with qualifications from Postgraduate Certificate through to Masters) are designed to allow workplace assessors to critically reflect on their practice, position workplace assessment in the development and ongoing success of a learning organisation, and to develop a strategic approach to standards, assessment and strategic organisational development.

It is hoped that through these programmes, and others supported by the work of the CIEA, that workplace assessment will be further recognised by UK industry and government as essential to economic recovery and industrial competitiveness.

Click here for more information on the workplace assessment programmes at Middlesex University (starting October 2010)

Understanding work-based learning

Authors: Professor Simon Roodhouse and Dr John Mumford
Publisher: Gower Price: £60
ISBN: 978-0-566-0919701
Ratings (out of 5) Readability (4), Usefulness (4), Relevance (5)

In times of economic difficulties for Higher Education Institutions (HEI), this is a timely publication, writes Graham Herbert. The purpose of the book is to show how those in full-time employment can access and benefit from university-level education while continuing in full employment.

The book looks unashamedly from the perspective of the learner, but intimates how useful it will also be for HEI to consider. Roodhouse offers a number of international comparisons that look at how accreditation of prior experience and learning (APEL) can lead to qualifications that benefit the learner, the company they work for, and benefit the HEI.

Roodhouse considers approaches to, and definitions of, 'workplace learning'. The term is used to embrace all types of learning generated or stimulated by the needs of the workplace. Organisations are expected to respond flexibly and rapidly to market changes and a premium is now placed on the need for flexibility, not only within workplaces but also between them.

This book explores conflicting ideologies critical to the future form of the university and to higher education in industrialised nations. This ongoing transformation of higher education in the UK, it argues, has become dominated by the dawn of third-stream activities, as universities endeavour to resolve, re-assert and legitimise themselves as quasi-public institutions.

It explores how restructuring, downsizing and outsourcing have resulted in a decline in large companies and a growth in the small-to-medium-size enterprises. There is a focus on the pivotal role of the mentor in such scenarios and how this role can be legitimised, supported and developed both within the workplace and the HEI.

Of most practical value will be the extensive case studies and Roodhouse's reflection upon the activities and the lessons learned. Case studies contain a breadth of experiences ranging from a senior executive studying for a part-time PhD, to a busy mother juggling home, work and learning priorities.

For anyone considering taking on such a course, like those at the CIEA's partner HEIs, this is an important book.

Graham Herbert is deputy head of the CIEA

I-progress

Distributor: Rising Stars (risingstars-uk.com)
Price: Available on subscription and prices vary as to the length/nature of subscription
Ratings (out of 5)
Usefulness: 4; Accessibility: 4; Comparability with teacher judgements: 4

This product aims to raise attainment in maths through online personalised assessments, writes Graham Winter.

Assessments can be selected and allocated to students by attainment target, assessment focus and by National Curriculum level. With a few mouse clicks, an assessment can be set for a class on a topic. The software marks each test, and the teacher can instantly see progress of groups and individuals.

The authors have established it at KS2 and are about to introduce it to KS3. We are only using it for middle-ability level at KS3.

One of the claims made for the product is that it will provide reliable assessments students and teachers can access at school and at home. I don't intend to allow the students to take tests from home, however I do applaud the way that parents can access it at home.

I-progress is promoted as a teaching resource to enrich lessons. The material is rather dry for this - a process similar to giving out test questions in isolation. But I like its traffic light system whereby the APP-style spreadsheet of attainment statements is managed and strengths and weakness of individuals and groups can be identified at a glance, enabling teachers to monitor progress and confirm each child's National Curriculum level in a consistent and reliable way.

Graham Winter is director of mathematics at
Langley Park School for Boys

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