Definition

The learner is already employed, with skills acquisition and training occurring in their workplace.

The learner undertakes in-house learning to complete training towards a Level 3–7 (non-degree) credential that is delivered by their employer.

The employer and the employee (the learner) have a training agreement in place as part of the employee’s employment agreement.

The employer is required to:

• develop or contract the delivery of an in-house training programme to deliver training specific to the employer’s needs
• work with provider(s) to map these to a specific qualification or credential for which the provider has NZQA accreditation and approval
• work with provider(s) to agree a contract for assessment and verification services
• deliver all training
• provide all training and assessment material (which may include procuring these from the provider)
• be responsible for learning support and pastoral care in accordance with employment law.

The provider is funded to:

• map the employer’s training programme to an NZQA-approved credential, skill standard or qualification
• oversee the development and execution of all assessment quality assurance activities*
• award the credential to the learner upon completion of their learning.

* Assessment activities include verification and moderation and can include purchasing and using assessment resources from an external source.

More guidance

This mode applies to a limited set of circumstances. An example is where large workplaces (usually national or multi-national companies) with their own learning and assessment collection methodologies partner with a provider to have these mapped and recognised against outcomes in national qualifications.

The TEC will not fund any workplace training that is primarily linked to statutory health and safety requirements, as that is an employer’s responsibility to their employees. We also do not fund Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which relates to matching qualification outcomes to previously acquired skills and knowledge.

We expect providers to:

• carry out a detailed review of the workplace learning and evidence collection programme against New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) components, and
• “maintain” this mapping in line with any Workforce Development Council (WDC) or NZQA reviews of relevant national standards or qualifications.

The learner must complete the employer’s learning programme to be awarded a qualification. If the learner changes employment mid-learning, the provider must report all completed unit standards to NZQA for inclusion in the learner’s NZ Record of Achievement.

This mode does not offer top-ups of funding under the Learner component.

Providers must be able to meet all the workplace’s requirements for volume of learners and geographical spread. If an employer’s training content does not meet all the learning outcomes within the provider’s approved programme for the relevant qualification, we do not expect the provider to cover gaps in learning under the assessment and verification mode.

Example

Provider E partners with a national restaurant chain that uses its own structured learning and evidence collection systems.

The provider has mapped these workplace outcomes against the qualification outcomes for the appropriate programmes and documented these for future quality assurance purposes. The provider offers “light touch” support, such as tracking their progress through internal learning and evidence collection steps, and reporting the results to NZQA and awarding learners the correct credential.