Information for supervising registered training organisations
Duties of the supervising registered training organisation in relation to training plans
What happens to the training plan when a supervising registered training organisation is replaced?
What happens when an apprentice or trainee fails to make reasonable progress?
Providing a training record
Ensuring an employers suitability to employ an apprentice or trainee
Providing induction information for employers, apprentices and trainees
Replacing the supervising registered training organisation
Cancelled apprentices and trainees undertaking further college training
Download a copy of Apprenticeships and traineeships - Information for supervising registered training organisations [PDF 272kb]
Duties of the supervising registered training organisation in relation to training plans
The parties to a training plan are the employer, the apprentice or trainee, and the supervising registered training organisation. The supervising registered training organisation must be a party to the training plan even though it may not be delivering any training to the apprentice or trainee under the plan.
A training plan must exist for each apprentice or trainee. The supervising registered training organisation must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the training plan is negotiated and signed during the probationary period of the apprenticeship or traineeship.
The supervising registered training organisation must provide all parties with a copy of the training plan within seven days of signature.
The training plan outlines the type of training the apprentice or trainee needs to undertake, and when and where that training will be conducted. The training plan also describes:
- the training to be delivered by both the supervising registered training organisation and the employer
- an agreed assessment strategy
- the maximum period of training
- the qualification or statement of attainment to be issued on completion.
The training plan should include the milestones for progression towards achievement of each competency, together with any special needs, such as language and literacy assistance.
The supervising registered training organisation must advise both the employer and the apprentice or trainee on the most appropriate training to meet the individual apprentice's or trainee's learning needs and the work environment.
When developing the training plan, all parties should bear in mind that the assessment schedule should allow sufficient time for the apprentice or trainee to achieve each competency. The training plan should also provide for the possibility that the apprentice or trainee may fail to achieve competence on the first attempt, and will therefore require further tuition, training, and reassessment before the date for achieving competence as stated in the training plan.
The parties to the training plan should be guided by the supervising registered training organisation in planning the assessment schedule.
The supervising registered training organisation must ensure that all training required to be delivered under the training plan is actually delivered to the apprentice or trainee.
Where a supervising registered training organisation receives signed notice from the employer of the ending of an apprenticeship or traineeship, the training plan for the apprentice or trainee ends on the same day the apprenticeship or traineeship ends.
What happens to the training plan when a supervising registered training organisation is replaced
Where a supervising registered training organisation is replaced, the existing training plan ends on the replacement day. The new training organisation must negotiate a new training plan with the employer and the apprentice or trainee. This should occur within 14 days of the replacement date.
What happens when an apprentice or trainee fails to make reasonable progress
The supervising registered training organisation is responsible for ensuring that the training required to be delivered under the apprentice's or trainee's training plan is delivered to the apprentice or trainee (Section 93 of the Vocational Education, Training and Employment Act 2000).
A supervising registered training organisation is not required to notify the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts when an apprentice or trainee fails to achieve competence as scheduled in their training plan.
If an apprentice or trainee fails to achieve a particular competence by the date scheduled, the supervising registered training organisation must work with the employer and the apprentice or trainee to negotiate a strategy to assist the apprentice or trainee to continue to successful completion of the apprenticeship or traineeship. The strategy could involve, for example, extra tuition and assessment, broader workplace experience, or rescheduling the timetable for achieving particular competencies to align them with a time when workplace experience in those competencies will be available. The parties will need to review the training plan and amend it if necessary.
If the agreed strategy proves unsuccessful and the employer decides the apprentice or trainee is failing to make reasonable progress in the apprenticeship or traineeship overall, or if the training cannot be completed within the nominal term of the training contract, the supervising registered training organisation should advise the employer to notify the department of this event in writing within 14 days (Section 82 of the Act). The department will then take appropriate action.
Should the supervising registered training organisation's efforts to manage the situation be unsuccessful, they may contact the department for advice and assistance.
For more detailed information, refer to:
- Failure to make reasonable progress in an apprenticeship or traineeship
- Minimum requirements for training plans
Providing a training record
To prove competency in a particular skill, apprentices and trainees need to provide evidence to satisfy the employer or workplace assessor and the supervising registered training organisation that their claim of competency is valid.
To assist in tracking progress, the training provider must provide apprentices and trainees with a training record within 14 days of the training plan being signed. This training record should be based on the agreed contents of the training plan and may be in any format that the training provider considers appropriate, eg hard copy; computer disc.
Where training is to be delivered by the supervising registered training organisation, that organisation should require the apprentice or trainee to produce the training record to update the particulars of the training completed (this should be done at reasonable intervals of not more than 3 months). Where the training record is produced, the training organisation must keep the record complete, accurate and up-to-date.
Ensuring an employer's suitability to employ an apprentice or trainee
The supervising registered training organisation must ensure that the employer is able to provide - or arrange to provide - the appropriate facilities, range of work and supervision, and the opportunity to practise and demonstrate competency in the skills identified in the training plan.
Where an employer is unable to provide these, the supervising registered training organisation should discuss a range of alternative options.
The supervising registered training organisation should complete, sign and retain an Employer resource assessment form [PDF 113kb] in relation to the employer's ability to meet these requirements. The completed form may assist the training organisation to verify they have carried out the required resource assessment, should the Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts conduct an audit.
Induction information for employers, apprentices and trainees
The supervising registered training organisation is required to provide, or arrange to provide, the employer and apprentice or trainee with induction information when they sign-up for the apprenticeship or traineeship.
This induction information must include:
- the rights and responsibilities of all parties to the apprenticeship or traineeship
- the supervising registered training organisation's grievance procedures and avenues to appeal the assessment
- training costs - including training delivery costs, tuition fees, student services fees, and any other student fees
- advice on the conditions of eligibility for travel and accommodation subsidies.
For further information on induction requirements, refer to the following induction guides:
- Induction information (for mainstream apprenticeships and traineeships) [PDF 124kb]
- Induction information (for school-based apprenticeships and traineeships) [PDF 130kb]
- The responsibilities of supervising registered training organisations
- Travel and accommodation subsidies available to apprentices and trainees attending college
- Fact sheets on a range of apprenticeship and traineeship issues
Replacing the supervising registered training organisation
The parties to a training contract may agree to change their supervising registered training organisation during the apprenticeship or traineeship.
Where this occurs, the employer must advise the replaced supervising registered training organisation in writing, stating the day on which the replacement becomes effective. This notice should be given to the supervising registered training organisation at least 14 days before the replacement becomes effective.
On or before the effective date of replacement, the replaced supervising registered training organisation is required to provide the apprentice or trainee with a statement of attainment, stating the training completed under the training plan up to the replacement date.
The existing training plan ends on the replacement day. The new training organisation must negotiate a new training plan with the employer and the apprentice or trainee. This should occur within 14 days of the replacement date.
For more information on replacing a training provider, read the fact sheet: Replacement of a supervising registered training organisation
Cancelled apprentices and trainees undertaking further college training
Apprentices and trainees whose training contracts are cancelled may be eligible to receive financial support to attend a registered training organisation to assist them to re-enter a training contract.
The Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts will pay for the training if the training provider has a departmental contract to provide training for the apprenticeship or traineeship qualification. However, certain criteria must be met.
For more information on funding assistance available to cancelled apprentices and trainees, read the fact sheet: Funding assistance for apprentices and trainees whose training contracts are cancelled.
For more detailed information on a variety of issues, see our Apprenticeship and traineeship links for supervising registered training organisations page.
Contact Apprenticeships info 1800 210 210 or Training Queensland 1300 369 935
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