Australia’s Training and Education (TAE) Training Package plays a critical role in developing the capability of our trainers and assessors and ensuring compliance with relevant standards and regulations. The Certificate IV TAE40122 in Training and Assessment itself is not designed to cover pedagogy or the theory of teaching and learning in detail. While it provides a foundation in training and assessment, ongoing industry feedback suggests there may be opportunities for additional resources or training around teaching and workplace delivery requirements.
VET trainers in Australia are experts in competency-based, industry-focused training, and therefore their role is underscored by the need to maintain ‘industry currency’ for practical, job-ready skills and assessment (Table 1). They typically work:
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in RTOs
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part-time
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casually, or,
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hold other employment (e.g., in their industry).1
The defining feature of VET trainers and assessors, compared to other teachers/trainers, is that they are required to maintain industry currency, in addition to other qualification requirements (Table 1).
Under the Standards for RTOs, individuals delivering nationally recognised training and assessment must hold a relevant training and assessment credential, such as the TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its equivalent.2 In addition, they must hold vocational competencies at least to the level of the training product being delivered and assessed, and demonstrate current industry skills directly relevant to that training and assessment. These requirements were set out in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 and, from 1 July 2025, are prescribed in the Credential Policy.
Table 1: Differences across education and teaching
Adapted from: AITSL, “One Teaching Profession: Teacher Registration in Australia,” 2018; and, Erica Smith, “The oversight of VET teacher-education in Australia,” Journal of Vocational Education & Training 78, no. 2 (2026): 267-290.
The Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE) was first introduced in 1998 to standardise the preparation of vocational trainers across Australia and has since undergone several revisions, from BSZ98 through TAA04, TAE10, TAE16 and the current TAE40122. Notably, the Credential Policy, which took effect alongside the revised RTO regulatory framework on 1 July 2025, streamlined entry and retention for experienced trainers. Under the Credential Policy, holders of the superseded TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment may continue to deliver training and assessment without completing upgrade units, provided they maintain current vocational competency and industry skills. Previously, under the Standards for RTOs 2015, TAE40110 holders were required to complete additional assessment and language, literacy and numeracy units, or upgrade to a later qualification, to remain compliant. The change reflects a shift from prescribed credential currency towards an outcomes-based regulatory approach.3 The intent of the change was to ease critical shortages in the VET workforce by removing a compliance barrier that was pushing experienced trainers out of the sector, retaining industry expertise in training roles at a time when demand for trainers is projected to grow strongly.
Currently, VET trainers working outside the education and training industry4 account for approximately 0.2% of the mining workforce and 0.3% of the automotive workforce (Figure 1). Employment of VET trainers is projected to grow by 9% between 2025 and 2030, and by 19.2% by 2035.5
Female participation in TAE qualifications remained consistently high between 2015 and 2024, accounting for over 50% of enrolments, with a slight decline in 2019 to around 46% (Figure 2). First Nation enrolments have also increased by 1.3% since 2015.
Figure 1: Number of VET trainers, 2021
Source: ABS, “Census 2021”, 2022. Note: VET trainers are classified under ANZSCO occupation code 242211 – Vocational Education Teacher (Australia) / Polytechnic Teacher (New Zealand); The Education and Training industry (23,949) has been excluded from this chart to improve the visibility and comparability of the remaining industries.
Figure 2: Female and First Nation enrolments in TAE qualifications, 2015 - 2024
Source: NCVER VOCSTATS, “TVA program enrolments 2015-2024”, 2025.
Gap in the current TAE delivery model
Stakeholders have raised the following concerns with the TAE Certificate IV, particularly in the mining and automotive contexts:
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TAE qualifications do not adequately develop the practical instructional capabilities required for the resources and infrastructure workforce, such as breaking tasks into teachable steps, structured demonstration, supervised practice, and corrective feedback, which are the core of on-the-job instruction in trade and operational settings. These competencies can have strong alignment with industry and site requirements. For example, TAEs in the Mining industry delivering training at a mine site will require working knowledge of situational awareness, mine-site hazards, and site-specific hazard mitigation protocols.
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The qualification contains little content on how adults learn. Foundational concepts such as adult learning principles, learner motivation and barriers, questioning techniques, and checking for understanding are what frontline trainers apply daily, yet they receive limited coverage relative to compliance and assessment administration.
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Safety-integrated instruction is not addressed as a distinct capability. In high-risk mining and automotive environments, trainers must exercise duty of care while teaching, identify hazards introduced by the training activity itself, and intervene to stop unsafe learner behaviour; the TAE does not treat these as instructional skills.
In the absence of a product delivering teaching and learning theory and other aspects as described above, enterprises are developing non-accredited in-house workplace trainer programs covering instructional fundamentals (training role and responsibilities, adult learning, preparation and delivery of on-the-job instruction, communication, feedback, progress monitoring, and safety in training). The emergence of these programs signals unmet demand for a nationally recognised entry-level training product. Although this does not mean the TAE Certificate IV should be replaced or even overhauled, it indicates a training gap for trainers and assessors working in the mining and automotive industries, particularly in instruction and training on, among other things, adult learning, classroom management, and conflict resolution.
Conclusion
It is important to critically examine the extent to which formal pedagogical learning should be embedded in TAE qualifications, given the practical demands of VET trainer roles.6 The level of pedagogical preparation bears directly on effectiveness, retention, and attraction. Trainers who enter the classroom with minimal grounding in how adults learn are less equipped to manage diverse learner cohorts, language, literacy and numeracy needs, and learner engagement, which affects the quality and consistency of training outcomes. The same gap contributes to attrition: new trainers who feel underprepared for the teaching demands of the role, as distinct from its technical content, are more likely to leave in their early years, compounding existing workforce shortages. And the comparatively low professional recognition of the VET teaching role (Table 1) weakens its attractiveness to experienced industry practitioners, for whom a move into training can represent a step down in status and pay. Such a recalibration of requirements could strengthen the pedagogical skills, professional identity, and teaching effectiveness of Australia's VET workforce, aligning with sector needs.
To address the identified gaps, three directions warrant exploration.
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First, a nationally recognised entry-level skill set for workplace trainers, covering the cross-industry instructional fundamentals identified by stakeholders: adult learning principles, preparation and delivery of on-the-job instruction, feedback, classroom management, and conflict resolution. This would provide a structured pathway toward the Certificate IV and a recognised alternative to the emerging non-accredited in-house programs.
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Second, building on that foundation, sector-specific skill sets for the mining and automotive industries addressing the elements of the trainer role that are genuinely industry-specific: instructing safely in high-risk, equipment-intensive environments, including exercising duty of care while teaching, identifying hazards introduced by the training activity itself, applying site hazard-mitigation protocols, and intervening in unsafe learner behaviour. These skill sets would contextualise the instructional fundamentals to the tasks, settings, and safety obligations in which mining and automotive trainers regularly work.
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Third, establishing structured mentoring programs that pair new trainers and assessors with experienced TAE-qualified professionals, supporting the transfer of industry expertise, strengthening assessment capability, and promoting ongoing professional development.
The preliminary findings above are recommendations for further investigation. We welcome feedback on these recommendations.
1 Erica Smith, “The oversight of VET teacher-education in Australia,” Journal of Vocational Education & Training 78, no. 2 (2026): 267-290.
2 AUSMASA, “Workforce Insights Report”, 2026
3 Accelier, “Can I still Train and Assess at an RTO with TAE40110?”, 2025.
4 VET teaching and training is often undertaken alongside other employment, and Census data classify individuals according to their main job. Consequently, some trainers and assessors may be classified under their primary trade or profession rather than as VET teachers, meaning these proportions may understate the presence of VET practitioners within industry workforces; JSA, “VET Workforce Study”, October 2024.
5 JSA, “Employment Projections”, 23 January 2026.
6 Victorian Skills Authority, “Action 9: Build the VET Workforce”, 9 December 2025.
About the author
Dr Aneeq Khan
Dr Aneeq Khan is Senior Manager, Workforce Planning and Policy at AUSMASA, overseeing our research, workforce planning, and policy functions. Dr Khan is an experienced research leader who has managed quantitative and qualitative research projects across industry, academia, and for government.