The Technicalities of Understanding VET

Vocational Education & Training is study that offers you the opportunity to learn specific and practical job skills that will help you:

• Join the workforce for the first time
• Re-enter the workforce after a break
• Develop, update and improve your skills in your chosen field
• Have up-to-date skills so you can easily move into a different career.

VET is not just for traditional trades. It covers many occupations and industries including accounting, retail, hospitality, technology and the arts. The training you receive is nationally recognised and of high quality. The VET sector is based on strong partnerships between governments, training organisations and industry bodies. Governments provide funding, develop policies, and provide regulation and quality assurance of the sector. Industry and employer groups contribute to training policies and priorities, and the development of qualifications to deliver skills to the workforce. Australia’s VET sector is flexible, with multiple pathways to and from Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications. VET can be undertaken in schools, in the workplace, and in registered training organisations. Modes of delivery include full-time, part-time, online education, distance education, apprenticeships, traineeships and through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

Your course is made up of multiple Units of Competency. These are the components of the Training Package that have been selected to make up your qualification. IAH  has two ways of incorporating these Units of Competency into your qualification:

Stand alone

This means each module in your course represents a single Unit of Competency. When you have completed a module, you will be deemed Competent for the corresponding Unit of Competency.

Clustered

This means that a Unit of Competency may be linked to multiple modules or to an activity later in the course. Clustering is usually used in courses with Structured Workplace Learning & Assessment.

Regardless of how the Units of Competence are developed in your course, you will progress through your course one module at a time.

Note: This is just a technical explanation that you do not need to do anything about. All you must do is complete one module at a time in the order they are presented in the platform. If you do, you will complete all the required Units of Competency and will gain your qualification at the end!

The course assessment is designed to allow students to express their own understanding of the relevant theory and its application to counselling issues. In order to be marked as “Competent” on a piece of assessment, a student must be able to demonstrate their own understanding of the topic by presenting the assessment in their own words and incorporating their own ideas.

Copying sentences and blocks of text directly from readings, textbooks, or other documents does not demonstrate a student’s own understanding of the topic. Such practices will be regarded as plagiarism unless the source is appropriately acknowledged.

Copying the work of another student and collaborating with another student during the completion of assessment also does not demonstrate a student’s own understanding of the topic. Students are not to submit assessment that is the same as another student’s (past or present) or has been developed in collaboration with another student. Such occurrences will be regarded as copying.

Students who are unable to appropriately demonstrate their own understanding of a topic will be marked “Not Yet Competent” and will be required to re-submit the assessment. The Institute may also investigate the matter further which may include a review of all Study Guides or assessments submitted by the student or students.

Students will be notified in writing of the outcome of any review and, if plagiarism or copying is evident, will be required to re-submit assessments or Study Guides. A repeat occurrence of plagiarism or copying may lead to the student’s enrolment in the course being cancelled. All instances of plagiarism or copying will be resolved to the Institute’s satisfaction.

Accessing Agencies and Organisations

Students can source their own suitable agency, however, the Institute is able to assist with this process and will provide contact details of any organisations previously utilised for work placement to the student. The Institute needs to provide approval of the organisation as suitable for the student’s placement prior to the placement being undertaken and provides information to the agency on what is required to be demonstrated during the student’s placement.

Responsibilities of the Student during the Work Placement

When undertaking the work placement, students are expected to:

• Abide by all workplace policies and procedures
• Be present for the working hours agreed to prior to commencing the placement or as approved by the organisation subsequent to the placement beginning
• Conduct themselves in a safe, ethical and professional manner at all times
• Maintain confidentiality at all times
• Only perform duties in accordance with the directions provided by the organisation’s placement supervisor or other appropriate staff member
• advise the placement supervisor or Institute staff member if difficulty occurs during the placement
• Where appropriate, comply with undergoing a Criminal History Check, the ‘Working with Children Check’, and/or any other specific requirements of the workplace.

Responsibilities of the Community Agency during the Work Placement

The community agency is to provide a suitable and safe working environment which will allow the student to actively participate in the workplace to the level required in order to successfully complete assessment requirements for the work placement. The community agency is to provide a suitably qualified staff member who is responsible for supervising the student in the workplace and liaising with the Institute. The Institute will supply a copy of the Certificate of Currency for Voluntary Workers Accident Cover to the community agency. Students undertaking work placements are covered under this Policy. All of these requirements will be advised and disclosed to the community agency by the Institute prior to the work placement occurring.

Dispute Resolution

If a problem arises for a student or the community agency during the work placement, the following process should be followed:

1. A meeting (face to face, or over the phone for placements occurring outside of the branch’s local area) occurs between the student, the organisation’s Agency Supervisor and the Institute’s representative. The objective of the meeting is to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome for all parties. Students can email their local Student Support Centre for further information on this process.
2. In the event of the dispute continuing or a satisfactory outcome not occurring, the matter is to be referred to the Training Manager (coordinator@aipc.net.au) for the appropriate action to take in order to resolve the situation with all parties.
3. If the grievance continues, the following options are available to students:
   • The student can submit a complaint to the Institute’s Chief Executive Officer (Locked Bag 15, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 or sandra@aipc.net.au) or the Resolution Institute as per the Complaints Policy, the Anti-Discrimination Commission or Australian Human Rights Commission, or
   • An alternative agency workplace may need to be arranged for the placement.