Competency Based Training

The Electrotechnology and Energy apprenticeship/traineeship training programs use a method of training called "competency based training" or CBT. CBT allows you to continue training until you achieve competence. It does not specify a time for achieving the full range of competencies that make up a qualification. Time is a factor of learning but not the critical requirement. (The New Apprenticeship Training Program nominates a nominal period of training as a guide for those delivering the training.)

CBT requires you to perform a number of skills that are detailed in national competency standards. You will need to demonstrate:

task skills - individual tasks,
task management skills – managing a number of different tasks
within the job,
contingency management skills - responding to irregularities and
breakdowns in routine, and
job/role environment skills - dealing with responsibilities and
expectations of the work environment.

CBT requires you to develop underpinning knowledge and skills, and also focuses on what you can do as a result of training rather than on what has been learned. The focus is no longer on the learning process but on workplace performance.

The employer (Electro Group) is the person, organisation or company that has employed you. The term employer includes Group Training Companies, which Electro Group is, or similar bodies. These are established for the purpose of training Apprentices, Trainees or Cadets. As your Group Training Company employer is a Group Training Company, you will be assigned to several host employers during your training (competency development) period.

As the employer Electro Group is responsible for certain obligations under statute when you are employed under a Electrotechnology and Energy Apprenticeship Training Program. It's a good idea to make sure you understand the obligations of Electro Group as well as your obligations.

Electro Group's obligations are:

to provide you with an opportunity to learn the requisite technical knowledge and skills in an off-job environment conducive to learning for the necessary competencies (knowledge and skills) required of the
Training Program;
establish with you the training plan for the training program
become familiar with the content, purpose and use of this Training
Plan and the Training program;
to ensure you are provided with an opportunity to record your work experience on a training record book
to ensure that you are exposed to a variety of relevant job
experiences, and are given the opportunity and support to
progress through the activities listed in your Training Plan. A
variety of experiences are essential, so that you get enough
opportunities to acquire and apply the off-job knowledge and skills you learnt on-the job that will help make you an independent and competent worker;
to be sure that you have had the opportunity to gain and
demonstrate the required knowledge and practical skills in the
workplace, before you are verified (that is, "signed off" in your
Training Record);
to be aware of your training and technical education and training program (off-job) and assist you where possible to progress. This should include helping you relate your new knowledge to your jobs and tasks in the
workplace;
to ensure that the relevant supervisor/mentor/coach provides:

1. supervision of your workplace activities;
2. clear and concise instructions;
3. a demonstration of the correct and safe procedures necessary for each task or activity you perform;
4. an emphasis and guidance on safety and on working to sustainable energy principles and practices at all times;
5. information relating to:

• Occupational Health & Safety;
• Sustainable energy principles;
• Statutory requirements;
• Australian Standards;
• Codes of Practice;
• Quality Assurance;
• Manufacturers specifications;
• Company procedures and policies.
to supply you with the necessary equipment you need to do your work.
Such items may include:
1. plans, drawings and text;
2. workplace facilities and transportation;
3. relevant tools, materials and component parts;
4. testing and measuring instruments.
liaise with you in choosing the preferred Registered Training
Organisation (RTO)
assist the selected RTO in monitoring the information required in
the training plan and training program.

Entry Requirements

Before you begin your Electrotechnology and Energy apprenticeship/traineeship training program, it is expected that you will be competent in effective literacy and numeracy skills. You should be capable of a number of tasks (to the levels
required by the performance criteria of your Training Program). These tasks include:

writing relevant to workplace documentation,
number recognition,
conversion of a decimal to a fraction,
conversion of a fraction to a decimal,
transposition of simple formulae,
substitution of units into simple formulae, and
simple calculations using scientific notation.

Apprentice/Trainee Responsibilities

You are to perform all allocated workplace activities under the direct supervision of your supervisor/mentor/coach. You should not attempt an activity unless you have clearly understood all the necessary and appropriate information you have been given.

In the performance of an allocated job or task, you should:

perform the task in a safe and proper manner in accordance with the relevant Health and Safety Acts or regulations;
follow the necessary and appropriate codes, standards and
policies;
perform work to instruction and within prescribed specifications;
cooperate with supervisor/mentor/coach and fellow workers;
seek advice whenever instructions and/or procedures are unclear;
work to acceptable standards of cleanliness, neatness and safety;
carry out activities with a minimum of waste or rework and
practice sustainable energy principles and practices;
keep the training plan and training program schedule given to you at the commencement of your apprenticeship/traineeship in a safe place. It is important that your training plan training program and training records are not lost. The training record or eProfiling as it is known, contains essential information on how to gather evidence on your work experience/activities and training and development. It's a fundamental part of the way your qualification will be issued. The consequences for losing this information could result in an
RTO conducting a more rigorous and extensive assessment before your qualification can be issued. You would therefore be expected to:
ensure that a record of learning experiences is maintained;
attend training courses as required;
use all opportunities provided by both Electro Group (the employer) and the RTO to gain the required underpinning knowledge and skills needed for successful training outcomes;
stay "honest". You should not ask for an item to be verified, that is, "signed off", until you are confident that the particular knowledge and/or skill has been developed and applied;
advise your new host employer (if changing jobs) about their role in the "signing off" of the experiences/activities recorded by you. Your host employer or supervisor/mentor/coach will need to be presented with the eProfiling record form periodically.

Regular monitoring of your workplace activities is an integral part of the training program. Your workplace experiences/ activities as mentioned earlier are to be recorded. This may be with the use of a training record form such as eProfiling (paper-based or online) or by an alternative method. The monitoring process and evaluation of the results your workplace experiences/activities is the responsibility of a RTO.

Employment Contract

You and Electro Group are generally required to enter into a formal agreement (legal contract) which details the Training Program and outlines everybody's responsibilities and registered with the government. Australian Apprenticeship Centres (AAC's) have been established by government to assist you and the Employer finalise these agreements and submit them to government for registration.

Productivity

The Electrotechnology industry believes that sound structured training not only benefits you (the apprentice/trainee) but also, by it's very nature, increases the productivity of a business. This happens when the training requires you to carry out a range of activities directly related to the business. In other words, you actually learn by doing productive work.
To ensure productive effort in the workplace, you must acquire relevant knowledge and skills concurrently, and apply them. This leads to competent performance, safety and increased productivity in the workplace.

The Training Plan

The Training Plan describes the training requirements during the training period. It is essential that you complete the required technical education experiences as well as the workplace experiences/activities. For the technical education experiences your chosen training provider will give you a statement of the learning outcomes you have achieved for this part. You must also gather workplace experience and activities in a formal way.

These two pieces of evidence are likely to be the cornerstone of information required by your RTO in determining whether you are developing the appropriate knowledge and skills for the units of competence making up the qualification.