The future of education is being driven by continuous innovation, enabling easier ways of learning. Technology plays a significant role in nurturing young minds, which has produced a strong demand for students to pursue relevant practical skills, thereby making them future-ready. Looking at the graph of growth in the demand for learning practical skill sets, educational institutions, and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are now welcoming futuristic approaches to enhance learning experiences, by adding advanced-level resources to their collection, thus making the training resources valuable, relevant, and meaningful. This article, let us understand how these advanced-level RTO training resources play an essential role in fostering innovation and empowering students in the present educational landscape.
What are RTO training resources?
- Alike other educational resources, RTO Training Resources, also referred to as materials, tools and learning elements, are utilised by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to coach training and education programs to students. The main objective of designing these training materials is to equip students with important studies and skills in their chosen field. RTO resources aid in the learning process to provide learners with a comprehensive and effective learning experience, embedding them with the necessary competencies to achieve success in their career field.
- Now, that we know what RTO training materials are, let us delve further into learning what these resources include:
Types of RTO training resources
- Learning RTO Materials: – Learning RTO materials include everything including textbooks, workbooks, pdfs, manuals, study guides, instructional manuals and other journals that help learners to understand the concepts within the curriculum, easily and effectively. These learning resources provide learners with the necessary knowledge that assists them in learning the application of the concepts in the real world.
- Digital Learning Resources: – As mentioned earlier, technology plays an integral role in the development of the educational ecosystem. Thus, the importance of digital learning resources cannot be overlooked. Unlike learning resources, digital resources include interactive assets such as – e-books, online modules, multimedia presentations, video illustrations and webinars that allow flexible access, anytime, anywhere.
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- Virtual Training Labs: – Virtual training labs are one of the fastest-growing RTO resources in the RTO space. Virtual training labs offer simulated ecosystems that foster learning with an enhanced experience. These types of RTO resources hands-on-experience and help learners understand mistakes without real-life consequences, giving them a better view of their competitive skills.
- Industry-specific training materials: – Industry-specific training materials include case studies and workplace simulations to help learners get acquainted with the skills required to succeed in their choice of desired profession.
- Assessment Resources: – Assessment tools or resources are essential for learners to understand their capability, calibre, and application of competencies, thereby providing them with a sense of understanding about their own preparedness. Assessment tools include online and offline exams, assignments, quizzes, and other practical exercises to evaluate the learner’s ability to apply learned concepts in real-life.
By means of these training resources, RTOs ensure that learners get immediate and easy access to proven-quality learning material – designed by high-graded professionals to deliver industry-standard compliant skillsets. The training resources not only work to upskill the students but also help them gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
How RTOs has changed curriculum and its impact.
Now, coming to the how RTO learning has changed the routine curriculum and whether it is done for the best!
The Australian Skills Quality Authority or ASQA states that RTO training resources have enhanced learning experiences for students compared to traditional learning methodologies. To illustrate this, let’s consider a scenario.
Let XYZ RTO be an RTO which specialises in delivering training on automotive mechanics.
Since, XYZ is an RTO it is mandatory for it to develop an experiential learning ecosystem within and outside the lecture-based approach, to provide its students with a greater, deeper knowledge on the subject. To make this happen, XYZ RTO implements an online learning platform that provides students with interactive modules, and demonstrations, and allows them to take assessments at regular intervals. To make it more personalised, the RTO allows students to access the RTO materials at anytime, anywhere, providing flexibility to incline towards students’ interest and comfort. If the same was restricted to a lecture-based classroom benched discussion, it would have turned to a time-constrained one-way interaction, and above all – students might just not be as comfortable learning under restrictions as they would be in a free learning environment, which was provided by quality training by RTO. This narrates that RTO Training materials have matured over time to evolve as a personalised solution for students to learn at their own pace and yet be in competition with others, giving them a sense of identity.
Continuing with the same scenario as above, let’s explore more ways how RTOs make better use of training resources to drive students to achieve their full potential. XYZ – the RTO with their online platform aims to learn more about the students at every stage, which is why the RTO has embedded assessment tests after every lesson. In this way, RTO has their eyes open and knows which students need more attention and which topics need more efficiency from his side. In this case, while the students are learning, the educator or the programmer also becomes a part of the learning environment wherein the RTO strives to make better amendments to his platform in order to keep students in a comfortable zone. But let’s turn this upside down and consider the training happening in a traditional classroom. In this case, the classroom turns into a simulation, but it cannot function as a stronger training resource since students know the classroom very well and can excel during the simulations. Also, traditional training resources have a uniform structure, meaning the assessment is based on a broader perspective rather than an individualistic approach.
How do RTO training resources bring innovation to the educational module?
With everyday advancements, learners need to have a grasp of the latest technology to not feel left out from the competition. It is for this purpose that RTO resources are developed and utilises training resources that are specific to the ICT training disciplines. Coming to ICT, what does it mean? And why has it become so important for students to get familiar with ICT resources and tools? ICT or Information and Computer Technology is a broad field that defines the use of technology for processing information, communication, and data management. The growing reliance on technology has made it mandatory for students to get accustomed to the complexities of software applications and the functionalities of the internet, thus, facilitating an experiential consumption of technical knowledge. RTOs play an important role in providing learners with the necessary knowledge, skills, and compliant learning resources to pursue careers in the dynamic and evolving ICT industry.
The sudden accreditation to online learning has provided a wider opportunity for RTOs to penetrate their training methodology into traditional classroom teaching. With the introduction of innovative approaches that adheres to the dynamic needs of the time, RTOs have made a significant impact on traditional classroom teaching methodologies. By means of offering flexible learning to accommodate the ever-changing needs of learner resources, RTOs focus on delivering industry-relevant training which provides workplace scenarios that align perfectly with the current job market demands, thus armouring the learners with skills and knowledge that are required to further succeed in their chosen career. By promoting the inclusion of compliant learning resources, the learning materials and the assessment resources designed by RTOs adhere to the regulatory standards and requirements, designed to meet particular outcomes, ensuring that the learner gets high-quality, compliance guaranteed valued qualifications in the industry.
The learning material included with RTO institutes plays a crucial role in impacting vocational education and upgrading students’ skills and calibre on a significant level. By incorporating industry-specific knowledge and skills into training resources, RTOs help build a bridge between education and employment, thus making sure that VET graduates are equipped with the mandatory competencies to succeed in their chosen field. RTO works to develop learner resources and assessment kits to enhance the overall learning experience. These resources are carefully developed to provide clear and structured content to facilitate active learning and skill development at a personality level.
The new-way learning with RTO training resources
RTO learning resources support the recognition of prior learning (RPL) process, by allowing individuals to receive credit for skills and knowledge acquired through prior education, work experience, or informal learning. RTOs design RPL assessment kits and learner resources that enable assessors to evaluate and validate learners’ existing competencies, streamlining the process of gaining formal qualifications and reducing duplication of learning effort, ensuring the relevance and accuracy of VET programs, and making graduates job ready.
RTO training packages, developed by industry experts in collaboration with the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC), are nationally recognized sets of competency standards and assessment guidelines. These packages outline the skills, knowledge, and performance criteria required to work in specific industries or occupations in Australia. RTO training packages provide a framework for designing and delivering vocational education and training (VET) programs by Registered Training Organizations (RTOs). RTOs utilise training packages as a foundation for designing and delivering VET programs. RTOs develop their training and assessment kits, quality resources, and learning strategies based on the units of competency and performance criteria outlined in the training packages. The use of nationally endorsed training packages promotes consistency and portability of qualifications, allowing learners to have their skills and knowledge recognized across different industry sectors and geographies within Australia. Training packages are grouped into levels, such as Certificate I, II, III, IV, Diploma, Advanced Diploma, and more, which offer a structured progression pathway for learners, for them to advance their skills and knowledge within a specific industry.
By involving industry experts in the development of training packages, RTOs make sure that the content for learning remains up-to-date and relevant. Moreover, the competency-based approach provided by RTO resources shifts the focus from theoretical knowledge to practical skills, promoting active learning and skill development. This instils confidence in learners, employers, and regulatory bodies that the training provided by RTOs adheres to established benchmarks, promoting transparency, accountability, and credibility in the VET sector. Unlike traditional learners’ resources, RTO resources facilitate lifelong learning, enabling individuals to up-skill or transition into distinct roles or industries.
By learning through RTO resources, learners can get trained in purchase training, service training, support training, management training and hospitality training.
While traditional resources of learning provide students with practical assignments and projects, they do not necessarily mean to master the subject. RTO materials, on the other hand, place students in a realistic simulation, assisting them to find themselves and identify their strengths and weaknesses. RTO learning materials are designed in a way that can be utilised by the learner as a self-developed learner resource, to emerge him/herself as one of the best professionals in the industry. In a traditional method of teaching and learning, the educator is responsible for the student’s intellectual predicament, whereas, in RTO learning, the power is balanced between the learner and the educator, giving them equal rights over one another in the form of real-time feedback, reporting, and complaints registration. RTOs are governed by the Australian Skills Quality Authority or ASQA, which works towards maintaining the quality and integrity of vocational education and training in Australia.
Disclaimer:
The information presented on the VET Resources blog is for general guidance only. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee the completeness or timeliness of the information. VET Resources is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Always consult a professional for advice tailored to your circumstances.
