Latest Articles
Why Student Support Matters
As a student, the support you get from an online course provider can be the difference between passing or failing the course you signed up for. Good support can spur a smooth, enjoyable educational experience, whereas poor support can make for a frustrating experience where you’re left fending for yourself. Without answers to questions and resolutions to potential problems, completing a course can ultimately become a challenge.
What's More Powerful Than Reputation, Price And Support In Generating Referrals? The Fortress Learning Experience
Generating referrals is helped by reputation, price and support but ultimately there is something even more powerful that will boost referrals. We worked it out by asking our students... See what they told us!
What Teachers Might Learn From Sales People
Since surveys in most of the Western world consistently rank used car salespeople as among the least trusted of all professions, it is little wonder some people extend that reputation to all salespeople. Trainers, on the other hand, are held in high esteem. So what could a trainer possibly learn from a profession so low in the public trust?
What Document Was That?
Have you ever noticed how much of your work as a trainer is tied up in paperwork? It seems like that old saying about “the job isn’t finished till the paperwork is done” was made up for trainers. Everything we do must be documented before, during the training and after the fact.
The Ten Painful Truths About The Certificate IV TAE
To be brutally frank, the Certificate IV TAE may well be Australia’s most resented qualification. For many people, it is something that they would rather have done than something that they want to do. For many people, it is something that they have to do to satisfy someone else’s requirements rather than something that they want to do to satisfy their own requirements.
Taking Longer to Get Assessments Done Sooner
It may seem like a time-saver to skim read assessment instructions and quickly jot down some words that seem to match but you might miss key instruction words. Yes, pesky words like “list, explain, describe, reflect…” Assessors are clued into instruction words like that and it is often glaringly obvious when a student has not responded in kind.
Give Me a Little Feedback
Feedback is one of the greatest quality tools ever invented. Think about it a moment; who knows better whether you are meeting the customer’s quality expectations than the customer themselves. So, their feedback is essentially a quality control report, telling you how well you are meeting the only quality specification that matters… that of the customer.
Encourage Learner Participation
Any trainer who’s been in the business for a while can tell which learners are going to do well on their assessment and which ones are going to struggle. The winners all follow a similar pattern, while the losers follow a much different pattern. A lot of the difference between the two is how much they participate in the learning process.
Didn’t Get Marked as Satisfactory the First Time? It’s Not the End of the World.
Sometimes at Fortress Learning, our students get an assessment submission marked as Not Yet Satisfactory. This can cause disappointment, anxiety, sadness, and even anger! The reality is, being marked as Not Yet Satisfactory is not the end of the world. It just means you get to have another shot at fulfilling the requirements of the task.
Dear Future Student
When we begin, we will put together a bit of a plan, and that will give us direction. But as we get started, we might decide to change it along the way. Like a walk in the woods, sometimes it is easier to go around a log than over it, and sometimes it’s actually easier to build a raft than swim across a river. We will do that together.
Characteristics Of A Good Teacher - What Students See
What are the important characteristics students look for in a good teacher? In most academic and industrial educational settings, the question is interesting but not particularly relevant since students rarely have the opportunity to select their own instructors.
Building a Question-Friendly Environment As A Trainer
Trial lawyers are often told never to ask a question to which they don't already know the answer. That might be true in the courtroom, but in the classroom, that mentality is one of many things teachers and trainers do to discourage a question-friendly environment. Intellectually, we all know the ability to ask questions is a critical learning component. Practically, creating an atmosphere that encourages refraining from questioning and answering does not take much.
Accountability: It's A Two Way Street
Here is the definition for “accountability” in the Business dictionary: “The obligation of an individual or organisation to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner.”Here at Fortress, we pride ourselves on being accountable. However, the thing about accountability is it takes two.Below are a few scenarios we deal with from time to time, which demonstrate how we are accountable to our students, and how our students are accountable to us.
What are you looking for?
The new qualification TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training & Assessment was a very challenging course. I have been in the VET sector for almost 30 years and have gone through many of the qualification upgrades. This new one was no "give me". The assistance I got from the FL team was amazing. I was supported every step of the way. A fantastic learning and development experience. Thank you
Roger Crowhurst
Thanks to Jane for her support all the way. I definitely had trouble interpreting academic speak as I am from a trade background. With Jane's help I found it easier to understand and ultimately got through.
Stephen Armao
Fortress learning provided quality service, resources and training, from the enrolment process with Jonathon who had exceptional Customer service skills to the Trainer Deb Thomas who held my hand through the upgrade process. I am very happy to have selected and committed to Fortress learning and would highly recommend anyone considering to upgrade their qualifications or begin their training to go with their training organisation. Thanks again Deb for your time, knowledge and skills.
Caterina
From the very first phone call, Fortress Learning had fantastic communication and straightforward processes. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing to go through the RPL and credit transfer process. They made the whole process so simple and stress free. Emails were normally responded to on the same day, and the giant portfolio I submitted was reviewed and marked within the week. Thank you to Jon, Odeza, Emma and everyone else involved.
Alison L
I’m not a person who takes to technology and computers easily, I never gained an education through high school. Thanks to Deb and the team at Fortress, I was able to get my qualification to start my dream job, training and assessing apprentices. I would like to thank everyone at Fortress for helping and guiding me along the way, I will be forever grateful!
Adam D
I had a great experience doing my TAE through Fortress. Very clear tasks with videos to give guidance and instructions on the tasks. Trainers very responsive and willing to help! Marking done within 4 days. Thank you very much!
Susanna C
Fortress made my RPL really easy. Advised me exactly what I needed to provide as evidence to reach my desired outcome. Quick assessment of my skills and experience to finalise my upgrade. Thanks Fortress team.
Steve D
Quality TAE RPL assessment is difficult. That's why lesser RTOs avoid it. I tried to negotiate a realistic RPL pathway with two other well-known TAE providers before settling on Fortress. I'm an experienced TAE assessor myself; I was impressed by their commitment to rigorously observing the standards while being flexible enough to capture genuine evidence. I was not only impressed with the service they provided me, I am confident that any colleague or potential employee of mine that is certified through Fortress genuinely has met the standards (and not just benefitted from the "tick and flick" approach of some providers). I have no association with Fortress but I would recommend them to any TAE professional seeking to upgrade their qualifications.
Sean Kelly
I recently completed my Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in Training and Assessment Education (TAE) through Fortress Learning, and I couldn't be happier with the experience. From start to finish, the process was seamless and well-organized. The support team was incredibly responsive and helpful, guiding me through each step with patience and clarity. The assessors at Fortress Learning are highly knowledgeable and provided valuable feedback that was both constructive and encouraging. Their expertise in the TAE field is evident, and their dedication to helping students succeed is truly commendable. What stood out the most was their tailored approach to my RPL application. They recognized my prior experience and skills, ensuring that the assessment process was relevant and fair. The resources provided were comprehensive and greatly aided in my understanding of the requirements. Overall, Fortress Learning has exceeded my expectations with its professional and supportive approach. I highly recommend their RPL services to anyone seeking to advance their TAE qualifications. Thank you, Fortress Learning, for an outstanding educational experience!
Brendan
The TAE workload was boulderous and daunting, but trainer Deb Thomas assisted me throughout. Her explanations untangled jargon and simplified arduous assessment tasks. Her incredible support enabled me to complete the TAE. THANK YOU!!! Although I primarily teach in a degree course, areas covered such as "reasonable adjustment" will assist with my Higher Ed work. I recommend Fortress to anyone contemplating a TAE: the service was both excellent and comprehensive.
Robyn
This course has made me a better Trainer and Assessor in many ways. The research project was intense, but very rewarding, I intend to implement many of the strategies I have learned throughout the course. The training staff at Fortress were fantastic and very supportive all the way, they did not hesitate to help me when it was needed. Many thanks to Fortress, especially Jane MacIntosh.
Nick Congiusta
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