Sucking Seed….

This article has been a long time in the making, as I wanted to provide something positive, so here is my VET perspective.

Warning: bad joke incoming.

What do great VET trainers and assessors, and birds have in common? They all want to succeed—suck seed.

But what does succeed mean? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as:

• achieve the desired aim or result, or
• take over a throne, office, or other position from.

For this article, I am using the first definition.

One of the pleasures of being a TAE trainer and assessor—particularly a TAE50122 Diploma of Vocational Education and Training RPL assessor—is the opportunity to speak with many outstanding VET trainers and assessors each year. Without exception, none of them began their working lives as VET trainers and assessors. Like me, most did not even know this career path existed until they found themselves in it. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and industries, and each brings a different story and perspective.

So, what does success look like for these VET trainers and assessors? Of course, they want their students to be job-ready—or ready for further study. But success goes well beyond that. It also includes developing foundation skills, building confidence, learning to work with others, providing student support, offering coaching and mentoring, creating structure, and fostering a safe place to learn. The list goes on. I have heard many great responses to this question about what success is, but in this article, I want to focus on one area in particular: VET student support.

The 2025 Standards for RTOs has strengthened the requirements for VET student support, with Outcome Standard 2.3 being a good example:

Outcome Standard 2.3

(1) VET students have access to support services, trainers and assessors and other staff to support their progress throughout the training product.

Performance Indicators

(2) An NVR registered training organisation demonstrates:

(a) how it determines the training support services to be provided to each VET student and how it makes these training support services available to each VET student;

(b) VET students have access to trainers, assessors and other staff who are responsible for supporting the VET student;

(c) VET students are informed by the organisation about how and when they can access trainers, assessors and other staff who are responsible for supporting the VET student; and

(d) queries from VET students are responded to in a timely manner

Examples of VET Student Support

The following real examples show how VET trainers and assessors support their students in practice.

Each example is from a different VET trainer and assessor and are drawn from responses to TAE50122 RPL pre-interview questions about student support.

1. I identified that several learners had limited digital literacy, particularly when using Microsoft Teams and submitting assessments online. In response, I provided step-by-step guidance, brief demonstrations from the student view, and extra practice time in class. This helped them build confidence, improve their organisational skills, and participate more effectively in course activities.
2. An employer enrolled a learner in my program at short notice without first completing an LLN indicator. It quickly became clear in class that the student could not read or write, including writing their own name on the test paper. However, they listened carefully, followed the lessons well, and contributed confidently to class discussions. To support completion of some skills assessment tasks and preparation for the practical assessment, I recommended an app, which uses a device’s camera to scan printed text and read it aloud using text-to-speech.
3. A VET student with social-emotional needs required support to manage their emotions and develop healthy coping strategies in the learning environment. In class, I allowed them to use fidget tools, such as colouring materials, while listening. This helped them stay focused and engaged, and the strategy was integrated into learning activities by asking them to highlight key points during lessons.
4. Another VET student needed a timetable adjustment after unforeseen circumstances required them to return overseas. I changed the timetable so the student could attend the A class on Mondays and Tuesdays instead of their usual Wednesday and Thursday sessions. This allowed them to continue covering all required content and complete both the coursework and practical assessment to a satisfactory standard.
5. Yet another VET student spoke English as an additional language and had identified auditory processing needs, so they needed more time to process new information. To support this learner, I provided PowerPoint presentations in PDF format and recorded selected online lectures so they could preview the material at home in their own time. These adjustments gave the VET student more time to process new content and helped them complete set tasks in a timely manner.

It is this passion for VET and their students’ success that gets me smiling and looking forward to the professional conversations we have.

A Final Encouragement

To all VET trainers and assessors: keep building your students’ confidence, capability, and success. And, in the spirit of the opening joke, keep taking flight and enjoy sucking plenty of seed.

Article written by David Murrary

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