ASQA | Spotlight On trainers and assessors, Chapter 1

Educational qualifications

Chapter 1 aims to help RTOs recruit qualified trainers and assessors.

When recruiting new trainers and assessors, consider the requirements of the 2025 Standards, to assure your RTO that your students are receiving training and assessment from those who understand how to best deliver vocational education.

Confirming credentials of a trainer or assessor

The Standards require trainers and assessors to hold certain credentials dependent on the role they have, and the training products they deliver, in the RTO.

To see the credentials your employees need to hold, refer to the Credential Policy.

Requirements for a higher level qualification in adult education

The Standards allow RTOs to employ a trainer and assessor who has an alternative diploma or higher level qualification in adult education or vocational education and training rather than hold the specified training products from the TAE training package. However, how do you as an RTO determine whether your trainer and assessor’s alternative qualification is suitable?

A suitable qualification has:

✔	a diploma or higher level result
✔	a focus on adult education - units or subjects completed within the qualification need to demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to train adults
✔	a transcript or record of results that shows their training and focus.

Examples of suitable adult education qualifications

While a suitable qualification does not need to have the words ‘adult education’ in the title, the transcript or record of results needs to show that focus. Some qualifications which are most likely suitable training and assessment credentials are:

Associate Degree of Vocational Education and Training
Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education
Graduate Diploma in Adult and Vocational Education and Training
Graduate Diploma of Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy
Master of Education degree with an adult education focus
Flight or Simulator Instructor
Army Recruit Instructor

Verification practices

Your RTO can decide how to manage recruitment practices, to ensure a focus on quality and ongoing compliance. However, you should be confident that the systems you implement consistently demonstrate that any decision made resulted in a valid outcome.

Verification of credentials is a critical part of any recruitment process, to assure your RTO that only qualified trainers and assessors are employed, and to manage risk and drive quality. When verifying credentials, as well as sighting transcripts provided by applicants, you could consider approaches such as:

contacting the institution from which the qualification was earned
checking the transcript has been confirmed as a true and valid copy
conducting referee checks to confirm experience in delivering adult education programs.

The verification process is especially important when a candidate presents a qualification obtained overseas. Your RTO needs to be satisfied that any credential meets all compliance needs, and the systems you implement to validate any testamur needs to allow you to confidently demonstrate how the focus of the qualification was at an AQF diploma or higher level in educating adults.

Record keeping

Employment records for trainers and assessors should be kept in a way that is appropriate to your operations.

They should:

clearly show how the trainer and assessor was determined as appropriately qualified
include copies of relevant transcripts, academic records or other documentation retained on an employee’s file
be supported by your organisation’s recruitment policies, including verification processes.

More Spotlight On

ASQA | Spotlight On trainers and assessors, Chapter 2