Support TTAs to Translate Industry Skills and Knowledge Into Teaching Practice
Last updated 27/10/26
Prepare tools for RTOs
Engage tools for RTOs
Apply tools for RTOs
RTO Apply
The apply checklist helps RTOs assist TTAs to reflect on, apply and demonstrate industry currency.
This also makes it easier for RTOs to meet compliance requirements.
On this Page,
You Will Find:
The Apply Checklist Includes Recommended Tasks That You Can Track Independently or With TTAs
The recommended tasks will help your RTO:
- Work with employers to schedule industry currency opportunities
1. Guide industry currency reflection, application and demonstration
- Use regular check in meetings with TTAs to provide ongoing support
- After each industry currency opportunity encourage TTAs to:
- complete provided reflection questions
- work out how they will apply what they have learnt
- capture evidence to demonstrate industry skills and knowledge gained
- Work with employers to confirm participation
- Collate relevant volume and capacity indicators to demonstrate organisational compliance with RTO standards
Use the measurement approach tool filled out in the engage stage.
If you have not yet used this tool, click below to download and tailor the tool.
Define measurement approachIndustry Currency Matters
Industry currency refers to the industry skills and knowledge that enable workers to deliver high-quality outcomes. In practical terms, it includes:
- a current working knowledge of practices, sector reforms, legal and regulatory standards
- understanding of industry changes impact operating environments and service delivery
- understanding of changing client expectations and needs
Industry currency helps TTAs build students’ knowledge and capabilities beyond step-by-step skills or processes.
Industry currency helps TTAs build students’ knowledge and capabilities beyond step-by-step skills or processes.
Industry currency helps employers hire job-ready graduates and supports workers to succeed from day one with the right level of guidance.
As the year progresses, Matt continues to check in individually with TTAs. In these meetings they discuss the industry skills and knowledge gained and how TTAs have shared these with their students and colleagues.
If TTAs haven’t had time or were unsure how to complete their measurement approach template, Matt uses the check ins to help them fill this out.
Over time, TTAs have shared feedback on the most useful and time-effective ways they have applied industry currency. For example, TTAs have used regular team meetings to share a brief reflection on recently completed opportunities, before discussing as a group.
Matt uses this feedback to update the measurement approach.
Here are a Few Real-life Examples of How You Might Use the Apply Checklist
These examples are not exhaustive and may look different in practice, based on your organisation’s work environment.
Industry Currency Empowers Students
TTAs with industry currency deliver engaging training that prepares students for their vocation.
Industry currency helps students think critically, use sound judgement and apply skills in practice.
Tell me more →There are many effective ways to extend industry skills and knowledge
This includes opportunities such as volunteering, temporary or supervised shifts and scheduled community engagements with clients.
This includes active participation in industry advisory groups, scheduled discussions with leaders or subject matter experts and collaborating with employers on a relevant project.
This includes completing an training course hosted by employers or attending professional development courses or conferences.
This includes actively participating in new or existing industry or sector communities of practice and planned discussions with internal colleagues.
Industry Currency Empowers Students
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.
Tell me more →
- Guide industry currency reflection, application and demonstration
- Engage in reflection, application and demonstration of up-to-date industry skills and knowledge
Frequently Asked Questions
How will industry employers partner with our RTO to enable industry currency?
These include:
- Build strong partnerships with RTOs
- Share high-level insight into key industry changes from an employer perspective
- Identify and coordinate feasible opportunities for TTAs to update industry skills and knowledge
- Enable their staff and clients to support industry currency opportunities
- Confirm participation in industry currency opportunities
- Engage in reflective discussion with TTAs, where relevant
The prepare stage includes tools for both RTOs and employers 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.
Why is collaboration important to help TTAs maintain industry currency?
Organisation-level partnerships between RTOs and industry employers ensure the right stakeholders are involved and can support collaboration. These partnerships also help RTOs and employers work together to resolve organisational challenges.
For example, an RTO and an employer may implement a brief 30-minute induction for TTAs to mitigate work health and safety risks.
How will the toolkit help our RTO meet compliance requirements?
- Strong partnerships with industry employers make it easier to access industry currency opportunities and gain insight into recent industry changes from an employer perspective.
- The industry currency schedule supports RTOs and employers to plan and coordinate industry currency opportunities for multiple TTAs over a 12‑month period.
- The measurement approach 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.
We already have a partnership with an employer, do we need the toolkit?
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.
Will the toolkit help us partner with more than one employer, if that would support our TTAs?
For example, RTOs that specialise in a particular industry or sector might use the toolkit to focus on building a strong partnership with a single employer. RTOs that deliver training across multiple industries and sectors might use the toolkit to partner with multiple employers to make sure their TTAs can access relevant currency opportunities.
How will the toolkit help us work with employers to minimise health and safety risks?
- Use the currency selection tool to identify the industry currency opportunities that best meet TTAs needs. Discuss possible opportunities with employer partners to finalise opportunities based on what is feasible for employers and relevant for TTAs.
- Use the employer information sheet to collate and share relevant information with employers before TTAs undertake industry currency opportunities.
- Use the measurement plan to help employers supervise or confirm TTAs participation and completion of industry currency opportunities and engage in reflective discussion with TTAs, where relevant.
How often should we use the tools and checklists? Do we need to use all of them?
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.
How will the toolkit help us support industry currency across different campuses and training packages?
For example, RTOs with multiple campuses may need to collaborate with relevant stakeholders from each campus to make sure planned opportunities are fit for purpose.
We Would Love Tour Feedback
Share your experience of using the industry currency toolkits.
research@humanability.com.au