1. Trainer and Assessor at an RTO

Private Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are companies that are authorized by the Australian government to teach nationally recognised qualifications. These certificates and diplomas are developed together with industries that range from child care to information technology and from accounting to aviation.

There are currently around 5,000 RTOs in Australia today. Each of them employs trainers and assessors who specialise in delivering vocational education for specific industries. This means that there is likely to be an RTO that offers courses for the industry you are interested in or have experience in, whether it be child care, hairdressing, bookkeeping, or many others.

What do RTO Trainers and Assessors do?

Trainers at an RTO don’t only teach courses, but also check if their students know how to perform certain skills. Instead of assigning letter grades, you assess if they are competent or not yet competent. To do this, you will make use of techniques like assigning hands-on projects, written questions, and even problem-solving scenarios. The Certificate IV in Training and Assessment is the minimum qualification these RTOs require.

You can check out the full list of RTOs in Australia by going to the official database website.

2. Vocational Education Teacher or VET Trainer with TAFE

Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes have the same function as private RTOs but are often operated by state and territory governments. Depending on your location, there may be many TAFE organisations that oversee a network of different campuses. Vocational Teachers play an important role in Australia’s Vocational and Education Training sector.

What do VET Teachers do?

Assessors at TAFE institutes also teach and determine the competency of students to work in a wide variety of industries. Just like RTOs, you make use of nationally recognised standards in training packages to prepare them for actual employment. For this reason, VET Teachers must also hold the Cert IV TAE.

3. Corporate or Workplace Trainer

Companies and corporations often look to improve the skills of their employees. After all, their overall performance depends on their staff being able to do their jobs well. Should their development slow down, they run the risk of losing to their competitors. Training and development professionals prevent this from happening.

What do Training Professionals do?

Corporate or workplace trainers identify the skill gaps of staff members in order to create and implement a training program.

This is done to improve both their performance as well as help the company meets its organisational goals like sales quotas, service ratings, and staying ahead of the competition. Facilitating workplace learning is one of their major roles. This is also how they determine suitable trainers that are best suited to pursue a specific goal for his or her employers.

The exact procedure often varies between industries, but you can expect to make unique resources such as handbooks, tutorials, and evaluations to be part of the process.

Afterwards, tracking the outcome and facilitating supplementary support may be part of your responsibilities. The Certificate IV in Training and Assessment may not be required here, but it has long been considered as the standard for workplace training.

A technical training manager is one concrete example of a training professional.

4. Starting Your Own RTO Company

Starting your own business by creating a new RTO is an option for entrepreneurs who are also qualified trainers and assessors. Since only RTOs are allowed to deliver nationally recognised courses, you can find an industry in your state that is in need of qualified workers and get into training them.

What do RTOs do?

With a private RTO, you can take in students who are looking to study qualifications like certificates and diplomas. To do that, you have to recruit trainers and assessors and develop resources based on the training packages you choose. Holding the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment yourself is not a necessity, but it does give you added benefits like savings from hiring trainers and being able to fill in the gaps in your team.

Other registration requirements include having sound financials, management procedures and proof that you comply with your state’s local regulations. Setting up your own RTO can be a lot of work, but it also comes with the freedom and rewards of running your own company.

You can find out how to put up your own RTO by reading the Service Skills Australia guide.

5. Gaining Additional Qualifications

The Cert IV TAE is best when paired with other qualifications since you can only train and assess in your field of expertise. You can become a trainer for any industry, but only if you have the relevant certification and experience.

For example, if you want to take advantage of the shortage of child care workers and managers in the ACT, NSW and WA, you can take up the Certificate III or the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. This will allow you to train people to fill the need since it is the required qualification for all childhood educators.

Alternatively, you can take up courses for everyday work functions to develop staff members to fill these positions. Common roles include occupational health through the Certificate IV in Work Health & Safety and human resources through the Certificate IV in Human Resources.

Summary: Where Can You Take Your Career?

You have a lot of options when it comes to your career — especially if you have the skills required, and are a qualified trainer and assessor.

Gaining industry experience together with your training qualification is a good start towards becoming an RTO/TAFE Assessor, Corporate Trainer, or even in starting your own training company. Developing your expertise and qualifications further is another good way to branch out as a professional, and land training and assessment jobs that you’re keen on.

Where do you want to take your career? Let us and other budding trainers know by leaving a comment below.

If you’d like more information about job descriptions, wage and salary, or helpful industry skills to have, check out The Ultimate Guide to a Training and Assessment Career.