CBT and aviation
As someone recently out of industry and now currently involved in the trainign sector I would like to add my two cents regarding CBT and apprentices:
Firstly, the "new system" is not new at all, the one organisation touting a 1 year theory based course does nto in fact produce CBT results, any review of thier statement will reveal that they provide "eligability for assessment" in the required CBT units and not competency.
Since the entire CBT system is premised on assessment being more important than delivery (you can be assessed as competent without attending a course - as in recognition of prior skill) this course amount to nothing toward an apprenticeship.
CPT does not require a 75% pass mark, in fact graded passess are NOT acceptable under the Australian VET sector rules. Only competence (100%) in the individual task skills required in each unit is acceptable under VET rules despite what some providers have gotten away with.
This was often justified under "the employers only want license outcomes" etc. However the license now requires skills as well as knowledge.
Those justifications aside I agree that the TAFE sector has largly lost touch with the requirements of industry. Within the organisation I am working with we have been workign to re-introduce practical skills training into the VET program and produce apprentices who are of more value.
This inlcudes having them complete multiple practical tasks (not just lockwiring and filing) but actually completing a 100hourly.
I can suggest to those employers who do not appreciate the current focus on knowledge to the detriment of skills to contatc thier TAFE, followed by Manufacturing Skills Australia and lastly the TAFE regulator in thier state. Ultimately CBT is driven by industry demand and will only respond to industry feedback.