YOUR INDUSTRY
WORKPLACE ASSESSORS: MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE TO TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Supplied
Training someone while they are working can sometimes be tricky to juggle for a business, and that is why a workplace assessor is such a key part of success. They oversee the formal marking process and provide mentoring, either within their own workplace or independently. They are a vital part of maintaining the quality of Primary Industry Training Organisation (ITO) qualifications and programmes. A workplace assessor could be an experienced supervisor or manager who works in an organisation that has trainees, or they could work independently for many businesses. They are registered with the Primary ITO to assess employees in the workplace. There are massive benefits for a workplace having its own assessors. It means that: • The trainee can be assessed without having to stop working or travel somewhere. • The assessor intimately understands the workplace and often knows the trainee. • The assessment costs are often reduced for the organisation. • It’s easier to adjust assessment practices to suit the workplace situation and the trainee. However, if you are a small business, independent workplace assessors play a vital role. All trainees need some form of assessment in order to complete their programmes. Because the assessor plays such an important role in the learner experience, there are some processes in place to ensure that learners, employers and assessors are getting a consistent quality of experience. In addition to being registered as workplace assessors with the Primary ITO, assessors are expected to have a minimum level of professional training (Unit Standard 4098 for workplace and affiliate assessors). The Primary ITO Quality team also regularly review the workplace assessors’ professional practice, and assessors are expected to participate in ongoing continuing professional development workshops offered by Primary ITO. 44 NZGROWER : NOVEMBER 2021
Primary ITO sector manager, Adam Fleck, notes “workplace assessors play such a critical role in supporting learners to achieve. We have over 700 workplace assessors throughout the country who take their assessing role really seriously and do a great job at it.” Workplace assessors have a lot of responsibility – they’re Heather Feetham required to make the final decision regarding a learner’s competency, and they have the authority to register the assessment results with Primary ITO, who report those to NZQA (the New Zealand Qualifications Authority). After registering results, all workplace assessors have to hold the evidence of their judgement for a minimum period of two years. Heather Feetham, 2021 Pukekohe Young Grower of the Year winner, is a production manager at T&G Fresh and has been a workplace assessor for around four months. “Currently I have three trainees that I work alongside. It’s great as working towards a qualification gives our staff the opportunity for professional development, and provides greater personal satisfaction within their role. The assessing also doesn’t take too long each week. It took a while to get my head around the actual bookwork and to organise the flow of the learning but it’s been really worth it.” “…it has also been great professional development for myself as it adds depth to my training knowledge and abilities plus adds value back to the business by having staff that are welltrained and assessed at a high level.”
How does assessment work alongside trainees? 1 Assessment and learning are linked.
When assessment happens during learning, it is usually informal such as when a supervisor gives a trainee feedback on how they are getting on with a particular aspect of their work.
