RTOs and TTAs Work Together to Apply Industry Skills and Knowledge Into Teaching Practice
Last updated 27/10/26
Employer Apply
In the apply stage RTOs assist TTAs to reflect on, apply and demonstrate industry currency.
This also makes it easier for RTOs and TTAs to meet compliance requirements.
Employers do not have any tools or checklists in this stage.
On this page you will find a summary of the tasks that RTOs and TTAs complete in the apply stage.
The Toolkits Support Shared Responsibility and Collaboration
TTAs need support from RTOs and employers to update their industry skills and knowledge and set VET students up for success.
In the prepare stage, RTOs and employers have access to related tools and checklists. The checklists include recommended tasks to support collaboration between RTOs, employers and TTAs.
Note: Priya, Matt and Mei-Lin's fictional roles, responsibilities and included examples are not exhaustive. Roles, responsibilities and actual tasks may look different in practice.
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TTA
Priya
- Engage in reflection, application and demonstration of up-to-date industry skills and knowledge
RTO
Matt
- Guide industry currency reflection, application and demonstration
Frequently Asked Questions
How will RTOs partner with our organisation to enable industry currency?
The RTO toolkit includes tools and checklists to help RTOs complete key tasks to support industry currency.
These include:
These include:
- Build strong partnerships with employers, including tangible value employers will receive
- Identify and coordinate feasible opportunities for TTAs to update industry skills and knowledge
- Share TTAs relevant employee information to support work, health and safety
- Share a measurement approach to help employers confirm TTAs participation in industry currency opportunities and engage in reflective discussion with TTAs if relevant
Employers will share responsibility for some of these tasks, such as, identifying and coordinating industry currency opportunities.
The prepare stage includes tools for both employers and RTOs to build a shared understanding of partnership goals, roles and responsibilities, ways of working, and mutual benefit. This stage sets the foundation for the partnership and clarifies how each partner will support industry currency.
The prepare stage includes tools for both employers and RTOs to build a shared understanding of partnership goals, roles and responsibilities, ways of working, and mutual benefit. This stage sets the foundation for the partnership and clarifies how each partner will support industry currency.
How will the toolkits help RTOs and TTAs enhance quality of teaching?
There are four ways the toolkit helps your RTO meet compliance requirements:
- Strong partnerships with industry employers make it easier to access industry currency opportunities and gain insight into key industry changes from an employer perspective.
- The currency activity schedule supports RTOs and employers to plan and coordinate industry currency opportunities for multiple TTAs over a 12‑month period.
- The reflection and measurement plan helps RTOs tailor and standardise how TTAs record, reflect on and apply industry currency throughout the year, based on organisational requirements.
- The RTO and TTA toolkits include guidance on when different industry currency opportunities are most effective to support decision-making.
Why is collaboration important to help TTAs maintain industry currency?
TTAs may find it difficult to build relationships with senior stakeholders and decision-makers within industry employers to access industry currency opportunities.
Organisation-level partnerships between employers and RTOs ensure the right stakeholders are involved and can support collaboration. These partnerships also help employers and RTOs work together to resolve organisational challenges.
For example, an employer and an RTO may implement a brief 30-minute induction for TTAs to mitigate work health and safety risks.
Organisation-level partnerships between employers and RTOs ensure the right stakeholders are involved and can support collaboration. These partnerships also help employers and RTOs work together to resolve organisational challenges.
For example, an employer and an RTO may implement a brief 30-minute induction for TTAs to mitigate work health and safety risks.
We already have a partnership with an employer, do we need the toolkit?
Every organisation is different. To choose the industry currency activities you can support, you should consider the services you deliver, staff availability, client expectations and service delivery protocols that protect staff and client safety. The employer toolkit will help you assess the likelihood and potential impact of different risks. This will help your organisation identify and coordinate industry currency opportunities that are within the level of risk your organisation is willing to accept.
For example, your organisation may be comfortable inviting TTAs to join your staff for an upcoming training session held onsite or virtually.
For example, your organisation may be comfortable inviting TTAs to join your staff for an upcoming training session held onsite or virtually.
Will the toolkit help us manage service delivery protocols, that limit industry currency opportunities?
In many industries, such as child and health care, service delivery protocols, such as Child Safety Standards provide crucial and fundamental protection for staff and clients. TTAs can effectively update their industry skills and knowledge within the limitations placed by service delivery protocols.
There are lots of different industry currency opportunities that are meaningful for TTAs to participate in. This includes opportunities that TTAs can participate in virtually. The employer toolkit will help you identify cost-efficient and feasible industry currency opportunities TTAs can access based on your work environment.
There are lots of different industry currency opportunities that are meaningful for TTAs to participate in. This includes opportunities that TTAs can participate in virtually. The employer toolkit will help you identify cost-efficient and feasible industry currency opportunities TTAs can access based on your work environment.
We already partner with RTOs for student placements, do we need the toolkit?
Yes. There are important differences between what students need to achieve during a placement, in comparison to TTAs. It’s also important for TTAs to have opportunities to primarily focus on updating their industry skills and knowledge. Trying to do this while observing student placement can be less effective and meaningful for TTAs.
Additional resources is always a good thing. Across the three stages of the toolkit (prepare, engage and apply) there are tools and checklists with recommended tasks, that will support your approach and may highlight alternative options or ways of doing things.
The toolkit is not a process you must follow from start to finish. It’s designed to enhance and build on your existing processes and industry relationships. You can choose which tools you will use and tailor these to best meet what your organisation needs.
For example, the tools designed to set partnership foundations may be useful to revisit how partners will work together to support industry currency and gain tangible benefit from the partnership.
Additional resources is always a good thing. Across the three stages of the toolkit (prepare, engage and apply) there are tools and checklists with recommended tasks, that will support your approach and may highlight alternative options or ways of doing things.
The toolkit is not a process you must follow from start to finish. It’s designed to enhance and build on your existing processes and industry relationships. You can choose which tools you will use and tailor these to best meet what your organisation needs.
For example, the tools designed to set partnership foundations may be useful to revisit how partners will work together to support industry currency and gain tangible benefit from the partnership.
We are located in a regional, rural or remote area, how can we support industry currency?
There are lots of different types of industry currency activities that can be meaningful for TTAs to participate in. Some activities can be effectively delivered through virtual meetings and workshops, such as attending an online Community of Practice. The employer toolkit will help you work out what types of industry currency activities your organisation could feasibly offer.
Will the toolkit help us partner with more than one RTO, if we want to?
Yes. You can choose and tailor the tools that best suit your organisations’ work environment and requirements. This includes using the tools to partner with more than one RTO to offer industry currency opportunities.
How often should we use the tools and checklists? Do we need to use all of them?
Use the tools and checklist as often as you need.
The toolkit is not a process you must follow from start to finish. It’s designed to enhance and build on your existing processes and industry relationships. You can choose which tools you will use and tailor these to best meet what your organisation needs.
The toolkit is not a process you must follow from start to finish. It’s designed to enhance and build on your existing processes and industry relationships. You can choose which tools you will use and tailor these to best meet what your organisation needs.
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Share your experience of using the industry currency toolkits.
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