We're diving into the world of mapping units of competency to assessment instruments and learning plans. Why is this mapping so crucial, you ask? Well, think of it as the GPS of the training world—it ensures everyone stays on the right path to mastering new skills. Let’s explore how this process works and why it’s the secret ingredient to effective training success!

For many people competency mapping is a confusing process because they don't really understand its purpose and how helpful it really is. Competency mapping is a process that's all about recording how and where the content of a unit of competency has been covered in the training and or the assessment. 

A person cannot be deemed competent against a unit of competency unless all the criteria have been satisfactory demonstrated. Competency mapping offers a straightforward way to plan and ensure that everything is covered in the assessment process. 

This includes:

• Performance Criteria
• Foundation Skills
• Performance Evidence
• Knowledge Evidence 

The competency map is usually presented as a simple table that lists all the assessable criteria as well as the assessment instruments that will be used to assess them. There are two assessment instruments used to assess the criteria, for example, questions and direct observation.

The next step in the mapping process involves linking each assessable criteria to the specific assessment instrument that will evaluate it.  The mapping also identifies that the same four observable tasks are addressing the performance evidence as identified from the assessment requirements document. These tasks are not additional; instead, they must be included when assessing the performance criteria to ensure a comprehensive evaluation. 

The competency map also identifies:

• the specific questions that will be used to assess the knowledge evidence (this is listed in the questions instrument column). 
• where the foundation skills have been included in the assessment tasks.

It is also a visual resource to check that all the assessable criteria have been linked to an assessment method. Based on this mapping document the assessment instruments can now be confidently developed, knowing that all criteria will be assessed. 

Competency mapping is also crucial in designing and structuring your training content. Similar to the assessment competency map, the training competency map lists the criteria of the unit being delivered. However, this time, the competency map specifies when each piece of content will be covered during the course delivery.

As you can see here the competency map identifies which criteria will be delivered to the learners in each of the sessions. The training competency map can be used to ensure that everything has been delivered and that there are no gaps in the training. This document can then be used to help develop the learning program schedule. 

If a career as a trainer in Vocational Education is something you're interested in, why not reach out to one of our Course Advisors to see just how you can get started.