Pieter Van Ellewee – Training And HR Manager For Rampar Trading

Skills Development and Facilitation

I am Pieter van Ellewee a Training and HR Manager for Rampar Trading. I have started with the company in November 2013 and one of my main roles in my Portfolio is Skills Development which include to be a Facilitator. I underwent the following unit standard courses in 2012 before I joined the company namely 115753 Conduct outcomes-based assessment, in 2015 115759 Conduct moderation of outcomes-based assessment, 2017 I did 115755 Design and develop outcomes-based assessments. My total years of experience in the Skills Development field is almost 9 years. I registered as an assessor and moderator at the WR Seta and at ETDP Seta.  I was tasked in 2014 by Management of Rampar Trading to conduct various Training programs for Rampar Trading staff which were for Area Managers, Store Managers and Sales Assistant Staff.

My Assessor and Moderator path started when I had to rollout training programs where I had to conduct and design assessments for these training modules as well as moderate for training courses as well

My role as an assessor included the following:

• Plan for the assessment.
• Prepare the candidate for the assessment.
• Conduct the assessment according to established assessment principles and decide whether the candidate is competent or not yet competent.
• Collect evidence of the candidate’s performance.
• Evaluate and judge the evidence.
• Record the assessment decision.
• Provide feedback to the candidate.
• Complete all documentation and forward to the ETQA.
• Regularly review the assessment process and implement changes as and when required.
• Comply with all moderation and ETQA requirements.

I as an assessor is responsible for judging the competence of a learner in meeting required standards. With my registration as an assessor at the WR Seta and ETDP Seta it will indicate that I measure all my training programs against the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) standards and qualifications. 

In 2017 we decided to roll out the following course to our managers as a succession planning training namely US114895 Define the core concepts of the wholesale and retail environment. I look at the requirements of the Unit standard which is

• This unit standard is intended for new entrants into the wholesale and retail sector. Persons credited with this unit standard will be able to describe the different market segments, customer profiles and buying habits applicable to the industry.
• They will also be able to identify the target market of the organisation, in which they work.
• These persons will also be able to identify the different functional departments in an outlet and their main functions in respect of the flow of stock/cash through the business.
• They will also be able to explain the environment in which business operates in respect to applicable legislation and shrinkage and losses

I designed and develop the material for the course as well as the assessment criteria etc further I rolled out the program and facilitated this to 32 Managers across South Africa and Botswana

During the design and develop of the program I had to determine what my assessment is going to consist out of

My guide is a guiding instrument in the process of facilitation and learning as well as in the assessment of competence against the unit standard. Please note:

• Judgement on competence or not yet competent will be based on the unit standard on which the course is based.
• Competence will be judged against all the specific outcomes, assessment criteria, range statements and critical cross-field outcomes.
• A series of quality indicators are used. Their purpose will be explicitly defined.

My assessment strategy that I utilised is

Integration of unit standards requires that activities for assessment are designed to incorporate all the similar aspects relating to the unit standards. The unit standards that have similar outcomes and criteria have been woven into the assessment activities so that evidence requirements are found in the context of the learner’s actual job. The assessment activities are designed in such a fashion that the learner can perform the daily tasks within the normal context of his job and demonstrate competence against many outcomes or criteria simultaneously.

Assessor and Moderator Background

This guide and relevant instruments have been developed in such a way that an assessor need not be present for the entire assessment. The learner collects the evidence required for the assessment from the workplace by completing the workplace assignments and is then guided through the portfolio building process during mentoring sessions. Where required the assessor will observe the learner in the workplace against the specific practical assessment activities.  Any embedded knowledge requirements will be assessed in class or in the form of an assignment or case study. The purpose of the assessment design is to allow the learner to apply the skills acquired during training in the workplace and produce workplace evidence for their portfolio. The assessor will act mostly as a mentor and will assist the development of the portfolio during these mentoring sessions.

Below are the assessment and evidence requirements for the assessment process.

• The assessment is in the form of workplace assignments, workplace documentation, written assignments, knowledge tests and practical demonstrations.
• The assignments have been designed in such a way to allow the assessor to identify all the evidence requirements for the outcomes of the unit standards in the assignments
• You are required to follow the instructions of the assessment activities as carefully as possible
• You are NOT to leave out any steps of the assessment instructions under any circumstances.
• If you leave out any of the steps, or do not follow all the instructions closely, it could result in there not being sufficient evidence to declare you competent.
• As the specific outcomes of the various unit standards integrated into the assessment are intricately linked to one another, omitting a step in the project could result in a lack of competence across many unit standards
• You are to complete each instruction in detail as these are intricately linked to the specific outcomes of the unit’s standards
• Where the assignment requires individual work, it is vital that you adhere to this strictly as it influences the authenticity of the evidence you are submitting.
• Where group work is required you need to provide evidence of having worked in a group as well as a declaration of exactly what your contribution to the group was.
• The assessor will assess your evidence submissions according to the assessment criteria of the relevant unit standards
• If you have any questions regarding the assessments, please contact your facilitator or assessor directly
• Remember to provide only the evidence required. Do not overload your POE with unnecessary details that have no relevance to the assessments.
• If you are unsure as to what evidence is required, discuss the matter with your assessor / facilitator 

My plan of Assessment was in the form of this 

Prepare the candidate for the assessment.

We prepare all our candidates during this process for assessment. They all did the two practical assessments and the written questionnaire. All Candidates was declared competent and received certificates

Conduct the assessment according to established assessment principles and decide whether the candidate is competent or not yet competent.

This was followed during the assessment process

Collect evidence of the candidate’s performance.

This was followed during the assessment process

Evaluate and judge the evidence.

Me as assessor went through all Portfolios of Evidence of all candidates and assessed them all – Theses assessments was send to a moderator which is responsible for ensuring that the principles of quality assurance are applied and maintained during the assessment, and that the learning outcomes are achieved.

Record the assessment decision.

I record all my assessment decisions in the Portfolios

Provide feedback to the candidate.

I provided feedback to all my candidates and they all were satisfied with the feedback – no appeals were made against my judgements

I made sure that I completed my process by submitting it to the SETA and give the necessary feedback to the stakeholders

When looking at the assessment there is various advantages that can be listed. Some of them are:

• Learner gets to engage during the assessment
• Assessments was never in placed before I joined the company
• Learners appreciated to be prepared for assessment
• Policies, Procedures and Processes in place that guide assessment
• Efficient Assessment Guides
• There is clear structure with reporting on assessment including the review, processes and conduct 

Weaknesses:

• Assessment is seen as timely and Costly
• Some of these policies is very new and is not tried and tested
• Not fully up to speed of all the adjustments
• Hard work 

Opportunities:

• Assessment connect and build relationship
• Our Department get better at reporting
• It gives us the opportunity to test and adjust on assessment
• It allowed me to look at my lessons and published it
• Gain output competency
• Workplace Skills Profile is more achievable 

Threats:

• Time is seen as a threat
• Continual adjustment as per business requirement, legislation, shifts in industry
• Cost involved with support e.g. external moderator
• Not having capacity of setup
• Timeous process to do reports

I managed to learn about the identification and solving of the problems that might affect the productivity and output of the Rampar through contingencies planning, providing measures for the identified solutions during the process of the assessment, and dealing with the candidate in manner to fulfil their needs and requirements. I learnt how to be a meaningful person in a team through working with the learner and candidates. This was also made possible through the involving with the role players and other stakeholders connected with the organization. I also learnt about how to manage and organize oneself through planning, preparing, conducting, and recording the assessments and decisions taken during the assessments. I was also made familiar with the analysing, collecting, evaluating, and organizing the assessments for the elimination of the drawbacks those might affect the productivity of the organization. I learnt about the better communication methods and indulging science and technology for the deployment of an effective and efficient work within the Rampar. I also get to know about the demonstration process and how to demonstrate “the world as a set of related systems” through acknowledging the assessments impact on both the candidate and the organization. I also learnt how to be culturally sensitive through providing the feedbacks sensitively including appreciation to the age, sexuality, gender, and race in every community and working in a multi-cultural environment. These enhancements are applicable in making me an upgrade person for the efficient and effective working within the organization and thus, deliver possible profit to the Rampar. 

Conclusions:

The training was successful, and all learners are equipped, and the outcomes was successfully achieved, and the assessment process was efficient and all the learners was declared competent