Every now and then, a graduating student writes a review that we believe really captures what we try to do.  Instead of them ending up hidden among the others, we will share them with you, and try to explain why we think they are so appropriate.

Dean Massolini: What did he say?

Q. What worked for you?

I really liked the way the course was delivered through such a user-friendly interface (use of MS Word documents with links to relevant reference material on the Wiki pages). I have done a Diploma of Management online before through another RTO and the user-interface was nothing like the one offered by Fortress.
The support from the trainers was exceptional and the logical layout of the course was fantastic. I made a few phone calls to trainers to get help on certain assignments that I needed clarification on and they were always there when I needed them.

Q. What didn’t work for you?

Some of the assignments were pretty daunting at first glance but after discussing these with the trainers and breaking them apart into smaller, more manageable chunks, I was able to get my head around them all and they began to fall into place.

Q. What advice would you give to others considering studying this course in this way?

If you have no previous experience in this field like myself before starting this course, do not be put off by the assignments. Everything in this course was brand new to me and at times I got frustrated with not being able to get my head around the assignments. However, perseverance and a chat with the trainers will put you on the right path.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like to include?

Great customer / trainer support by Fortress and a great price for such a course. I priced this course with various other RTOs here in Perth and was quoted anywhere between $1800 – $2500. At $600 from Fortress the rest of them didn’t even come close. The ladies and gents at Fortress have definitely set the benchmark for other RTOs. Special thanks to Bryan and Sarah who put up with all my phone calls and questions!

Why did this particular testimonial comment get our attention?

Dean, like many of our students, was completely new to the world of Vocational Education and Training – it was alien; he found it frustrating and daunting; he persevered; he asked for help; he succeeded.

What I mean by “he succeeded” isn’t that he merely completed the course and received a nice Certificate to put in his resume.  What I mean is – Dean enrolled in the course as a complete ‘newbie’ to VET, but he finished the course confident, knowledgeable and skilled in entering the VET world as an effective Trainer and Assessor. This is his success.

Entering a course with no idea of what’s beyond the Enrolment Form can feel like being thrown into a stormy ocean upside down.. at night.  It’s an awful feeling and one that we want to minimise as much as we can. This is why Fortress Learning deliberately developed the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment as an integrated program.  Instead of viewing the qualification as a sequence of unrelated Units to tick off, we view it holistically.  We do it this way so that ‘VET Virgins’, like Dean, can experience the big picture of what it is to be a Trainer in the VET context. So you want to be a Trainer? OK, if you’re going to train, you’ve got to plan for it… Then you need to actually train people – what’s the best way to do this? Off you go… Now – crunch time: how are you going to know that your students are competent? What types of assessments are best suited for these students…?

We’ve taken the process of being a  VET Trainer and Assessor and condensed it into a micro (sorry I have to use this word) “journey”.

Dean was open and willing to traverse this unknown journey. It was tough and often baffling. He allowed us to guide him at these times. And he got to the end…

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