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So - you've been on a block course - half of the unit standards you already have because you got them at a pre-trade, or else you are in a transition group and have already done them. What happens to you when the class are being assessed for that unit standard? Do you get sent to do some self directed learning in the library? Are you extended - i.e. are you able to commence work perhaps on unit standards from the next block course? Do you just do it again for the hell of it? Who are the losers here? If you have a unit standard, it can't be gained again. You've paid to sit it once either via a student loan at pre-trade (unless you paid outright and didn't need a student loan - you've still paid) and then either you or your employer (or both) have paid for it again in your apprenticeship fees. Something is not right here - in fact several things are not right here. Someone is double dipping - and time is being wasted. What are the ITO doing about this? Do they realise how rife this example is? Anyone who has done a pre-trade throughout the country will be encountering this. Employers would rather the apprentice was back at work learning on the job than sitting repeating a unit standard, or worse still being sent to the library to undertake self directed learning. At worse in the early block courses this could equate to 50% or more of the block course time depending on what pre-trade was gained. I am appalled at the waste of time, and worse still the waste of the trainees precious money and the employers precious money. Apprentices - you must tell your employer if this is happening to you - and you also need to be questioning the ITO about the morality of it and what they are doing with the money they are saving on unit standards. I would be really interested to hear your experiences. Are pre-trades of any value? If so what? Did they help you get an apprenticeship? Where they worth the money? How much did they cost? How long did they last?
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My Concern with the whole current setup is that we pay a huge amount of money in fees every year for what the ITO states is to pay for block courses, my next question would be what is my portion of the goverment funding they receive paying for? It would be great if someone could shed some light on this?
Also other industries recieve a huge amount more for a lot less fees. My friend in the Motor inustry gets 80hrs of off job learning, all his books, all his assessments, Plus his visits every quarter and additional support from his advisor when required. for a fee of around $800 a year.
Has anyone done a comparrioson between industrys to plainly see where we are being ripped off?