When choosing a training provider, the recommendation is to probe the credentials of organisations and verify that educators are up to standard, writes Gavin Dennett.
When choosing household solar solutions, the advice is always to do your research and go with respected installers with distinguished credentials. Unfortunately, like many industries, there are unscrupulous operators who can give the sector a bad name.
The same can be said for solar and storage registered training organisations (RTO). Most are reputable operators intent on honouring the best interests of their students and the industry at large. However, speak to some of the biggest names in the solar and storage training industry and there is frustration at an undercurrent in some quarters of unprincipled practices that threaten to undermine the good work being done by the majority.
Australian TAFEs and RTOs play a critical role in upskilling the workforce, and trainers who deliver the curriculums are charged with providing the most up-to-date skills and information to students. The abilities of trainers to deliver courses is specified as a condition of registration and is governed by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), the national regulator for Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector.
According to ASQA, “it is important RTOs know they are responsible for confirming trainers, and assessors have the required workplace skills and experience to confidently and competently train students, as required in the ‘Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015’”.
“Solar and battery trainers need to have recent, direct and ongoing industry experience in what they are teaching — not just talking about it or reading from a book,” says Steve Kostoff, CEO at Solar Training Centre in Adelaide, South Australia.
“For the solar industry, that means they have recently installed solar and battery systems, actually install them frequently and will likely install them next week, too.
“However, I argue that some solar trainers in the sector don’t do this and are therefore in breach of the RTO regulations as directed by ASQA. Some poorly qualified trainers are actually training the workforce — much to the detriment of individual students, their companies and consumers — often enticing students with cut-price courses to capture their enrolments.
“This presents issues with teaching safety and compliance, let alone the actual curriculum.”
Bill Gammon, training coordinator at SkillBuild, in Albury, NSW, believes one of the biggest issues facing RTOs is educators who aren’t out in the field doing solar and battery installations.
“My pet hate is anyone delivering any sort of training at a vocational level who isn’t working in industry,” he tells EcoGeneration. “There are aspects of the industry where people who are teaching or running RTOs are not experienced in being out there doing installs.
“The Clean Energy Regulator has upped its game and is making examples of people who are doing dodgy things, which is very good. Some people complete their courses and are doing their installs wrong.”
The onus for upholding the highest calibre of standards also lies with employers to entrust their electrical staff to put into practice what they have learnt in training.
“As trainers, we can do everything right in the courses, but if they leave and decide not to do the right thing, or are overruled by more senior colleagues [in the field] there is nothing we can do about it,” says Gammon.
“Richard Branson once said, ‘Employ people who are better than you,’ but some people would never do that. My view with apprentices is I want them to be better than me.”
Kostoff says he often fields calls from students who wish to transfer to his RTO due to dissatisfaction at training standards elsewhere. His advice to anyone seeking further education in solar and storage is to undertake thorough research.
“Simply asking the trainer when he or she installed their last system, or how many did they do in the past week, month or year, and when is their next one, is a good start,” he says.
“The trainers at Solar Training Centre must have the following credentials: be a qualified electrician; have the current solar, battery and off-grid qualifications; be a registered teacher; run their own solar business, and when they are not teaching, they are installing solar, and vice-versa.
“We take great pride in upskilling the renewables sector at the highest level with the most valid and relevant training. Our industry depends on training compliance, and is judged accordingly.”