TAE Case Study: Developing Taronga’s Next Generation of Workplace Trainers

When Taronga needed to build the training capability of an exceptional team highly experienced senior Zoo Keepers from Taronga Zoo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Accellier was delighted to be part of the journey.

Taronga operates its own Registered Training Organisation (RTO), drawing on the extraordinary experience that already exists within its workforce. Rather than relying solely on dedicated training staff, highly experienced keepers become trainers themselves, passing on their skills, knowledge and professional standards to others across the organisation.

Our role was to help this group become confident and capable educators, and gain their TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

A program designed around the workplace

The program was designed specifically for Taronga and the realities of its working environment.

It began with an intensive face-to-face component, followed by weekly online sessions that allowed participants to continue developing their skills and completing assessments while remaining engaged in their operational roles.

We used a range of flexible learning approaches throughout the program, adapting activities, evidence gathering and support to suit the candidates and their working environments.

Importantly, participants were able to demonstrate their teaching skills in authentic workplace settings. Rather than manufacturing artificial training scenarios, we could see them doing what workplace trainers actually need to do: teaching real people, in real environments, using genuine workplace activities.

For our trainer, those environments also came with what may be some of the best training-room views in Australia, along with a few unforgettable behind-the-scenes zoo experiences along the way.

More than a 100% completion rate

All participants successfully completed the program.

We are enormously proud of the 100% completion rate, but mere completion was never the only objective.

The real outcome was a group of highly skilled and experienced zoo professionals who had developed the confidence and capability to become excellent trainers in their own right. These are now a crew of qualified people who can establish meaningful learning objectives, engage their learners and help others develop genuine workplace capability.

Perhaps the most memorable part of the program was the group itself.

There was an extraordinary sense of camaraderie throughout the course. The enthusiasm, humour, generosity and genuine enjoyment of learning together were palpable. Participants supported one another, shared their experience openly and brought an energy to every session that made the program an absolute pleasure to deliver.

This was definitely one of those training programs that stays with you.

For Accellier, it was a privilege to work with such an experienced, enthusiastic and committed group and to help Taronga continue developing training capability from within its own extraordinary workforce.