EDUCATION EDUCATION
TAFE teachers and industry representatives gathered at Holmesglen TAFE in Melbourne last December for the national validation meeting
Package Chair of the National Turf Education Working Group, Bruce Davies, provides an update on the current state of turf education, including the proposed changes to the Sports Turf Management training package.
changes
T
raining in Sports Turf Management is undergoing a review with the training package that has been in place for the past four years being updated. Draft qualifications and units of competency have been submitted to the Department of Education and Training for endorsement by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee. This endorsement is currently underway and is due to be completed by the time this edition of Australian Turfgrass Management Journal is printed. The update to the training package has brought in some minor changes to the structure of the turf qualifications as shown in the table below. Important changes to the structure of the qualifications are: l Certificate II: The same number of electives remain with the unit ‘Participate in environmentally sustainable work practices’ being replaced by ‘Assist with soil or growing media sampling and testing” as a core unit. l Certificate III (Trade): An increase from 15 to 16 units, bringing turf into line with other horticultural sectors. This is a good thing as it gives the educational providers the ability to offer a broader learning experience. The increase in the number of electives could potentially
negate the value of 16 units.
Unscrupulous
education providers could potentially make the five electives all irrigation, thus narrowing the learning experience. The unit to drop out as a core is ‘Apply environmentally sustainable work practices’. l Certificate IV: A move from seven to eight electives as the unit ‘Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability’ becomes an elective. l Diploma: Little to no change. Looking over the qualifications generally, there has been a worrying trend to remove the environmental units from the core (compulsory) units. This means that potentially turf students could move through all levels of training (Cert II to Diploma) without any exposure to a unit which specifically concentrates on the environment. Hopefully this lack of emphasis on the environment does not come back to bite the industry in the future through an environmental mishap. This is another point turf managers should be talking to their education providers about. It is good to see that all of the units of competency have been written in a new simpler format. There is a greater emphasis on the importance of ‘evidence’ in the assessment requirements. This evidence is broken into performance evidence and knowledge evidence. This has further highlighted the importance of the ‘workplace – on the job’ component of training at all levels. Education providers will be relying more than ever on the strong relationships they have with local
TABLE 1. 2016 TRAINING PACKAGE CHANGES Qualification Certificate II Certificate III (Trade) Certificate IV Diploma 62
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 18.2
Old package 15 units incl. 5 15 units incl. 3 12 units incl. 7 10 units incl. 6
electives electives electives electives
New proposed package 15 units incl. 5 electives 16 units incl. 5 electives 12 units incl. 8 electives 10 units incl. 6 electives