This is your fully self-directed, self-paced, all-online Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40122) option. It’s only perfect if you can focus and motivate yourself, generally don't need help learning, are really comfortable using computers and can confidently navigate MS Office, upload files, send emails, and everything else online. If you can't, this is not the course for you. Download the brochure for all of the details.
Assessments marked within 1-8 business days
A flexible study arrangement
Fast response times
This course can be challenging and many of you are doing it because you “have to”, we get it, so we have gone to great lengths to make the learning material as engaging as possible, we also monitor your progress and reach out if we see you’ve stalled so we can support you to keep going. We are there every step of the way!
The option that's best for you depends on multiple factors, so use the following flow chart to help you determine which option you should look at. If in doubt, our Course Advisors are experts at working this out with you.
Regardless of your choice you'll need to speak to them to book in for your upgrade course option.
While numerous RTOs offer the TAE, the course material, assessment guides (if they provide them) and support can vastly differ! Honestly, the best way to work out if an RTO is talking the talk but not walking the walk, is to read their reviews on independent platforms like Trustpilot, and see what others say about their experience with them.
We know you can definitely pay less money for your training elsewhere, but cheap doesn't mean easy-to-understand learning material, the support you need that will actually get you to the finish line or a quality training that will give you the skills and confidence to step into the role when you're done.
We all wish that the saying "you get what you pay for" wasn't real, but there's a reason why we all still say it!
According to the NCVER in their Australian vocational education and training statistics VET student outcomes report for 2022, the national average statistic for students who said that they "experienced improved employment status after completing their VET training", was 65%.
Compare this to the students who did their training with Fortress Learning, and a whopping 83.3% of our students said that they received an improved employment status after completing their studies. That's an increase of over 27% compared to the National Average!
Just like the previous Certificate IV in Training & Assessment qualifications, the latest TAE40122 also requires people enrolling in the course to be able to: demonstrate vocational competency in their proposed teaching and assessing area. Vocational competency is defined as broad industry knowledge and experience, and may include, but is not limited to, holding a relevant unit of competency or qualification.
What this means is that you need to come into the Cert IV with some kind of work history and experience in the industry you plan to be a trainer in. If you’ve spent years in your profession and plan to be a trainer for new people coming in, great! But if you’ve been long time unemployed or just out of school with no work experience in any particular industry that you can teach from, you can’t learn to be a trainer at this time.
You'll be asked about your qualifications and experience in your Enrolment Interview.
The Australian Qualification Framework provides guidelines to the learning outcomes for each AQF level and qualification type. The level of difficulty of a Certificate IV should be aligned with the requirements of the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level 4 (out of 10 levels).
Regarding difficulty, we want to be transparent with you and let you know that the Certificate IV TAE is one of the more extensive courses you will complete as there is a lot of terminology and new knowledge and skills that you will learn.
If you are already in a training role (even informally training workplace colleagues etc) then you will certainly be able to bring your existing skills and knowledge to the course, which will ensure that navigating the world of VET is a little less daunting.
The common thread is that the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment is time-consuming.
We have written a blog about the Then Painful Truths about the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. You may want to read it here:
https://www.fortresslearning.edu.au/the-ten-painful-truths-about-the-cert-iv-tae/
Experience tells us that most people usually take about 10 to 12 months to complete the fully self-paced course with the right support, which is why we’ve created 3 different support package options (which we’ll talk about shortly). If you have the capacity to take 3 full days off, you can access our Zoom clusters where you do a lot of the work together with a trainer and others in a virtual classroom (Note: it's 3 full days per cluster for clusters 1 and 2, 4 days for cluster 3 and 2 days for cluster 4), but you can finish it in 4 months or less if you can take the time out.
Most people are working full-time and juggling families, pets, holidays and other things that can make life complicated; if you can take a few nights each week to work on your course and then an extra few hours on the weekend you will graduate within the 12 month enrolment period. And if life throws you a curveball or 2, we have options to extend if you need (additional fees apply).
Our quick response times also help to reduce the total time it can take, making 10 months an achievable time frame; after all, getting your assessment marking done in less than 4 days (or 8 if you choose the Standard Support Package) makes it a lot quicker than if it took the 20 – 25 business days many other RTO’s take.
At the end of the day, the speed is largely determined by you. How many hours you dedicate to your study, if you choose to do it all self-paced or jump into 1 or more Zoom cluster classes, and how quickly you can get unstuck by accessing support when you need it most will ultimately determine how long it takes you.
However you choose to do it, we'll be walking right beside you every step of the way to support you getting there. You just need to reach out if you ever need anything!
We want to make sure that you are the right fit for us and that we’re the right fit for you. Here are a few things for you to consider:
But before we take any student on, we have to make sure the course is actually suitable for them and for us to be their trainers. Which is why we do an Enrolment Interview which includes a Suitability Assessment.
Find out more about the enrolment interview further down.
This package is only for people who are able to focus and motivate themselves for the most part, who are really comfortable with doing anything online, naturally have good study habits and generally did alright when learning at school or doing any other course.
These people are typically able complete their online study with the videos and written instructions alone, needing very little to no additional help from trainers.
For this reason, this package doesn’t include any direct trainer support calls, other than via the fortnightly trainer evening support block. This is where you book into one of the 10 minute slots. It’s 1-on-1 and great for quick questions if you need it.
But if you choose this package and find yourself needing a little more help than that, don’t worry, you can pay-as-you-go for access to a trainer so you’ll always be able to access any support you need, and it’s also highly cost effective! (Trainer support rates are included in the table further down.)
The Units of Competency we offer in our entry-level program are “clustered” together (you’ll learn about clustering), so you don’t end up doing repeats of the learning and assessments that can happen if you learn them one by one (as it used to be done).
Here is how we’ve put them together:
If you currently work in an RTO, you can use a large amount of resources from your workplace if they will allow you access (ask us about the list of what you'll need in your enrolment interview), if you don't work in an RTO, we will provide everything you need, however, the following will need to be provided by you regardless of which option you need to use:
The people you choose may be family, friends and/or colleagues. You just need to record the training session and be able to upload the recording to us via your Learner Portal (you have unlimited tech support if you need help doing this part).
Note: If using family/ friends, they must be 16+ years old to be considered one of your learners.
This entry-level program superseded the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116. It is designed for any person who wants to become a trainer and assessor but who currently:
If you are transitioning to becoming a trainer for the first time and want to share your existing skills and knowledge with others entering your industry, this is the perfect program for you.
This entry-level program has 12 “units of competency”, and during the course, you’ll learn the foundational skills required to work within the VET sector as trainers and assessors. By the time you graduate, you’ll be able to confidently design, deliver and assess accredited training, conduct face-to-face and online assessments, and participate in validation activities.
While you may not know exactly what that means, we promise you will by the time you finish.
Note: If you currently (or used to) work as a Trainer and Assessor and/or have a Certificate in Training and Assessment that is no longer valid, our RPL and Credit Transfer course pathway may be better suited for you. If you think this is you, speak to our Course Advisors to see if you qualify to use this significantly easier pathway.
You’re going to learn loads about what it means to work in an RTO, what it means to train AQF Qualifications, and what it means to deliver and assess “competency based” training, including (but not limited to):
Firstly, let’s get clear about the reality of face-to-face training in the way some RTO’s are offering them so you know what questions to ask when you are shopping around to find the right course fit for you…
So while doing big face to face blocks may seem like the “faster” way to do it, if you can’t take that huge amount of time off to attend the face-to-face blocks and you still need to fit in the large amount of study to cover the theory work, then a much better fit will be doing it online at your own pace (even though we help pace you so you actually get it done).
We prefer to still enjoy having a life while you study to build an even better one. Don’t you?
Since this course is delivered online, it’s essential that students are fully aware of the IT requirements before enrolling to this course is suitable and possible for you to do.
To enrol for this program, you must be able to answer YES to the following questions:
If your answer is NO to any of the above questions, please contact us on 1300 141 994 so that we can provide the best advice for your circumstance.
Once your enrolment is finalised, this is when you are set up with a login to your Learner Portal. An email is sent with everything you need to have and know to get started and inside the Learner Portal is a video introduction that will show you how to navigate around it.
Inside the learner portal you'll find all of your units listed in a logical order, with all lessons in PDF's and videos, broken down into smaller chunks with comprehensive assessment guides to make it as easy as possible to know what you need to do to complete them right the first time. And as you complete each item, they are marked as complete so you can easily see where you're up to when you next log in.
You’ll be sent to a booking page just after making your deposit payment, to book your enrolment interview and a confirmation email will be sent to you with the details of everything you need to have prepared for that interview.
The interview can be booked on the same day but there is a minimum of a 4 hour gap from applying to being able to do the enrolment interview, this is so you have time to get prepared.
HEADS UP: You will need your USI (Student Identifier) before you get to your interview.
This is done via Google Meet where you can ask any additional questions and clear up anything you’re not sure of before enrolling. This is also where we both get to make sure you have chosen the right course pathway and support package for what you really need.
During the interview we’ll conduct a "Suitability Assessment". This is a series questions that will help us determine if you can meet the technical, practical and skill requirements needed for you to be able to confidently complete this course online.
The technical requirements are things like having regular computer access as well as knowledge and confidence navigating things like email, logins and websites. The practical questions are to make sure you have access to the human and physical resources you need to complete the assessments in your course.
We will ask additional questions about your goals, your online experience and comfort level in learning online, your learning ability plus your availability to study.This is all to make sure you're in the right course and set up to succeed before enrolling formally. This gives you more confidence that you can absolutely get all the way to graduation.
If the course is found to be unsuitable for you, your deposit (including the enrolment interview fee of $150) will be fully refunded. If you don't show up for your enrolment interview or if you change your mind after the interview within the 7 day cooling off period, the enrolment fee is not refunded.
If during your Enrolment Interview we discover this course is not suitable for you, we’ll offer other alternative solutions or refund all fees paid, including the $150 deposit.
The flexibility of our online approach means that if you need to take a break from studying, we’ve got that covered too.
We offer the option to defer (pause) your studies. Whilst you are deferred, your enrolment is inactive, and we pause your enrolment duration. Then, when you are reactivated from deferment, you pick up exactly where you left off and carry on.
Here is what you need to know about deferring:
The most important thing is to contact us if your enrolment isn’t working out as you had planned, so that we can offer you the best support options as and when you need them.
We know that right now you probably “need” to do this training and you’re looking for fast and easy so it’s relatively painless for you. We get it, so we’ve spent more time on our end making it as straightforward for you as possible, and finding ways to do our part more efficiently so we’re not the bottleneck!
Don't believe what we say though, check out our reviews on Google and Trustpilot - See what others have said about learning with us!
When you will pay your deposit it includes your $150 non-refundable enrolment interview fee. This covers the cost of the behind-the-scenes work and time taken to prepare and run the interview itself because it is a cost to us. It's also not fair to others who could have booked an earlier time with us when people just don't show up.
We do the enrolment interview to make sure that the course is the right course for you, and that you have all of the resources and the time you will need to complete it successfully (baring any unexpected events that could impact it) BEFORE you actually enrol. We have saved many students money, time and frustration by having this interview and discovering that it's unlikely they will complete it successfully for some reason. We are invested in your success from the start.
If the course isn't suitable for you for whatever reason, you will be refunded the whole amount of your deposit, including your $150 enrolment interview fee. If you simply don't show up, the $150 enrolment interview fee won't be refunded should you choose not to go ahead for other reasons.
If an emergency happens and you can’t let us know you won’t be able to make it for some reason, we’re generous when it matters most so there are circumstances where this enrolment interview fee will also be refunded, but this is only on a case by case basis.
Upon Application:
After Enrolment:
Please refer to our Refund Policy here for additional information.
We offer flexible payment options for every course.
You can pay in full and upfront, but you can also pay a deposit (which includes the $150 non-refundable enrolment interview fee), and choose a fortnightly or weekly payment plan. When you select "Enrol", you will see the various packages available for your course, and once you select the package you want, you will be presented with the various payment options.
If you want to go back and see another package and their payment plan options, just hit "back".
More manageable financially
More manageable financially
No long-term financial commitment
Your 1st instalment is due after your enrolment interview but before your course can commence
Your 1st instalment is due after your enrolment interview but before your course can commence
The rest of your pay-in-full payment will be invoiced after enrolment interview
Full refund (including the $150 enrolment interview fee), if the course is deemed as not suitable for you
Full certificate upgrade
Unlimited 1:1 direct trainer support
Marked within 4 days
Regular check-ins
Refundable if your application is rejected
TOTAL COST: $X,XXX
Total cost: $X,XXX
Total cost: $X,XXX