Work placement in Human Services
Work placement is a significant feature of the NSW model of VET delivered to secondary students, connecting courses to the workplace. It underpins the quality and industry recognition of course outcomes. Find what you need to know about this requirement.
Overview
Work placement is a mandatory Higher School Certificate (HSC) requirement within the Human Services Curriculum Framework. The CHC and HLT Training Packages also specify requirements for work placement for some qualifications and units of competency. Minimum work placement hours assigned to HSC courses in this Framework reflect the industry-determined requirements according to the qualification being undertaken (refer to table below).
Learning in the workplace will enable students to:
- progress towards the achievement of industry competencies
- develop appropriate attitudes towards work
- learn a range of behaviours appropriate to the industry
- practise and apply skills acquired in the classroom or workshop
- develop additional skills and knowledge.
Requirements
Work placement is to be undertaken in an appropriate community services or health work environment.
Students must complete the following work placement for Human Services Curriculum Framework courses:
| Qualification entered | Human Services 240-hour course | Human Services 360-hour course | Human Services Specialisation Study 60-hour course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing or Disability) | 120 hours | 120 hours | no additional hours required |
| Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance | 120 hours | n/a | no additional hours required |
| Certificate III in Health Services Assistance | 80 hours | n/a | no additional hours required |
| Certificate III in Health Services Assistance (Assisting in nursing work in acute care) | 80 hours | 80 hours | no additional hours required |
Students should be at least 16 years old to undertake the work placement for this Framework as they would be in a work environment with vulnerable people and duty of care requires a substantial level of maturity. Any variation of this requirement must be with the explicit approval of the school, registered training organisation (RTO) and host employer.
Students undertaking these courses as part of a school-based traineeship will meet the mandatory work placement hour requirements through the on-the-job training component of the traineeship.
Non-completion of work placement is grounds for withholding the HSC course. Schools are advised to follow the procedure for issuing ‘N’ determinations as outlined in the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Assessment Certification Examination (ACE) Rule 4.2.
Work placement in the community services and health industries
Students undertaking courses within Human Services may be required to:
- undergo occupational assessment, screening and vaccination (www.health.nsw.gov.au)
- apply for a Working with Children Check (www.ocg.nsw.gov.au)
- undertake a National Police Check (www.police.nsw.gov.au).
Work placement and part-time work
Recognition of prior learning (RPL) may be granted for mandatory work placement requirements. Students’ outside employment (that is, not under the auspices of the school) may be recognised towards the requirement for work placement in a VET course (ACE Rule 14.4.2).
Where RPL has been granted, RTOs need to be aware that the assessment conditions for some units of competency require skills to be demonstrated in a relevant workplace.
Work placement implementation
The scheduling of work placement should reflect student readiness and complement off-the-job learning programs.
Teachers should use their professional judgement in the selection of relevant work placements in related industry areas and the mix of industry-specific and more general workplace experience undertaken by each student.
The CHC Community Services and HLT Health Training Packages include implementation guides, providing advice on requirements and work placements appropriate for assessment in the industry.
RTOs and industry partners should collaborate to ensure that the placements are good learning and assessment experiences for students.
Principles underpinning work placement in the HSC
NESA has formally endorsed the following principles relating to work placement in HSC VET courses.
Industry curriculum frameworks have been developed to provide students with the opportunity to gain credit towards the NSW HSC and credit towards national vocational qualifications under the Australian Qualifications Framework.
Industry curriculum frameworks are derived from national Training Packages. Courses within the frameworks specify the range of industry-developed units of competency from the relevant Training Packages that have been identified as suitable for the purposes of the HSC. VET courses in industry curriculum frameworks are aligned to national vocational qualifications.
Although not all Training Packages mandate work placement, it is a mandatory HSC requirement of courses within the frameworks. Hours have been assigned to the work placement requirement for each course.
The following principles should be read in conjunction with any school system or sector documentation relating to work placement.
Work placement must have a clearly articulated and documented purpose. The structure of the work-based learning experience needs to be planned and developmental.
A range and number of purposes are possible, including, for example:
- learning about a particular industry, workplace culture and career opportunities
- practising skills learnt off the job
- developing new skills
- improving work-related skills
- developing skills including employability skills such as teamwork, using technology and problem-solving
- achieving entry-level competencies
- achieving workplace performance of particular competency standards
- assessing in a realistic environment or allowing for holistic assessment
- providing opportunities to build skills in a developmental manner from the simple to the complex
- providing opportunities for the learner to reflect on the workplace learning experience in the context of individual current knowledge and understanding
- encouraging students to undertake further education and training.
The scheduling of the work placement should reflect student readiness and should complement off-the-job learning programs.
The scheduling of the work placement should take account of:
- whether or not students are workplace-ready in terms of the competencies they will need to develop and demonstrate in the workplace
- how the timing of the work placement links to overall course planning
- the degree of flexibility available at both the workplace and the school
- how the alignment of both on and off-the-job competencies can be best achieved.
An individual work placement program focusing on a developmental approach should be negotiated with the workplace supervisor or employer. This approach should focus on students moving from simple to more complex tasks. Dependence on supervision should reduce over time as students move towards greater independence in the workplace. The ultimate goal of a work placement should be competence and autonomy in the range of tasks required for the job being undertaken.
Work placement should be relevant to the VET courses being undertaken.
The ‘real’ tasks being undertaken in the workplace should complement the tasks and learning being undertaken by the students in their VET courses. Work placement may also provide students with the opportunity of having learning outcomes and units of competency assessed in the workplace by accredited trainers and assessors.
Work placement can provide opportunities for work-based assessment.
Not all industry curriculum frameworks specify that it is mandatory for competencies to be assessed in the workplace. Assessment events should relate to overall course planning and the purpose of the work placement. In a competency-based course, assessment of competencies is criterion-referenced. This means that a participant’s performance is judged against a prescribed standard, not against the performance of other participants.
The purpose of assessment is to judge competence on the basis of performance against the performance criteria set out under each element of competency. A participant is judged either competent or not yet competent.
Competency-based assessment is based on the requirements of the workplace. Competence incorporates all aspects of work performance, including problem-solving and the capacity to apply skills and knowledge in both familiar and new situations. Assessment of competence involves the assessment of skills and knowledge combined.
Assessors should adopt an integrated or holistic approach to assessment. This means that a number of elements of competency or even several units of competency are assessed together. This method of assessment is encouraged in line with the concept of competence as the integration of a wide range of skills, knowledge and attitudes.