Review - Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

General Teaching Council) as appropriate qualifications for provision with the exception of SVQs.
These assessors and verifiers are required to hold the assessor and verifier units, the occupational
standards of ENTO.
Front-end processes—accreditation
The accreditation processes of educational programs in the various nations was not a focus for this
research report, however for a number of nations it is the cornerstone to their quality assurance
processes or is intrinsically linked with registration processes. Following is a brief overview of
information gleaned during the research.
For Australia training programs are nationally recognised in two ways:
• training package endorsement processes 43
• course accreditation processes.
The training package development and endorsement process is a national approach to qualification
recognition whereas the course accreditation process (for qualification not addressed by the training
package approach) is managed by the states and territories. For course accreditation, the roles and
responsibilities, the process and quality assurance of the program documentation is managed under
the AQTF 2007. The relevant documents include:
• AQTF 2007 Standards for state and territory course accrediting bodies
• AQTF 2007 Standards for accredited courses
• AQTF 2007 User's guide to standards for accredited courses
• AQTF 2007 Template for course documentation for accreditation.
In New Zealand, training organisations wishing to receive government funding or enrol international
students in a course must have that course quality assured, resulting in approval of the course and
accreditation to deliver that course. Criteria have been developed and apply to all training
organisations for all types of courses. In addition, the resulting qualifications must also meet the
qualification definition for the particular qualification type, for example certificate or diploma, as part
of the register. Information about the process and documentation requirements can be found at
www.nzqa.govt.nz/for-providers/aaa/applications/courses/index.html.
In addition, NQF accreditation certifies education organisations to assess NQF units or achievement
standards and award credits for them. An appropriate combination of credits can result in the award of
a national qualification. NQF accreditation is carried out by reference to generic and industry specific
criteria set out in an accreditation and moderation action plan. Information about the process and
documentation requirements can be found at www.nzqa.govt.nz/forproviders/aaa/applications/nqf/index.html.
In Singapore, in a process not dissimilar to training package development, the WDA collaborates with
key industry players to develop the relevant qualification titles and progression pathways based on
industry and occupational needs. For each industry, an industry skills and training council is set up to
drive the development and validation of skills standards, assessment strategies and training
curriculum. Each council is represented by key industry partners, including employers, industry
associations, training organisations and unions. These councils draw up:
• an industry competency map, which captures the type of skills needed in the industry. They
are classified into employability skills, occupational skills and knowledge, and industry skills
and knowledge
43 A training package is a set of nationally endorsed standards and qualifications used to recognise and assess
the skills and knowledge people need to perform effectively in the workplace. Training packages are developed
by industry through national industry skills councils or by enterprises to meet the identified training needs of
specific industries or industry sectors.
Comparisons of international quality assurance in vocational education and training Page 36 of 115