Open Polytechnic and LearningWorks collaborate to train on-job assessors
L-R: Sandra Hutton (LearningWorks Chief Executive) and Dr Caroline Seelig (Open Polytechnic Chief Executive)
Open Polytechnic and LearningWorks have teamed up to co-develop a course that will train on-job assessors through online
and blended learning.
This new collaboration between Open Polytechnic, New Zealand’s largest online distance provider, and learning design,
technologies and training specialist LearningWorks, will see both organisations working side-by-side, sharing resources
and intellectual property to design the course.
Employees from both Open Polytechnic and LearningWorks, a subsidiary of Wintec, are completing the design of the course,
which will be offered through iQualify, Open Polytechnic’s online learning platform.
LearningWorks plan to deliver the course in a blended mode, face-to-face and online, with Open Polytechnic offering the
course solely online.
The opportunity to work together came about during a meeting earlier in the year between Sandra Hutton, chief executive
of LearningWorks, and Open Polytechnic chief executive Dr Caroline Seelig.
Initial discussions highlighted the benefits the two organisations could offer on-job assessors by combining the rich
learning design and training resources available from both organisations.
“It’s exciting seeing our two organisations come together, sharing talent, processes and resources to create a high
quality product that will benefit learners across the country, especially in light of the potential reforms within the
vocational education sector,” says Dr Seelig.
“We wanted to explore opportunities to collaborate and work on the same subject matter to develop courseware that could
be used in different ways. There is a clear desire from both organisations to collaborate this way moving forward.”
LearningWorks Chief Executive Sandra Hutton says; “It’s crazy for us to do this type of work singularly. Both
organisations have capabilities that need to be nurtured in our uncertain environment. This collaboration is an
opportunity to share our knowledge and skills and showcase how easy it is to pool this expertise. At the end of the day
we are here to help learning work and enable quality learning. Working with Open Polytechnic, who share this mission,
has been the start of what we hope to be an ongoing collaboration in the future.”
The new course, Workplace Assessor, is expected to be offered by both organisations from September 2019.
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