New Way to Learn. A New Way to Teach.

Australia needs more vocational educators. Almost half of the VET workforce is over 50, while around 3,800 additional VET teachers are expected to be needed by 2034 to meet baseline demand. The challenge is not a lack of expertise. There are highly skilled people working across trades, aged care, technology and other industries who have the knowledge and experience to become educators. The challenge is getting them from industry into the classroom. Traditional pathways into vocational teaching can feel like a compliance exercise rather than preparation for the realities of teaching. For experienced industry professionals, the transition can be difficult without the right support, mentoring and preparation. AFL SportsReady saw an opportunity to approach the problem differently.

Through SportsReady Education (RTO: 22394), AFL SportsReady created TAE Plus to rethink the pathway from industry expert to vocational educator. TAE Plus combines the nationally recognised TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment with a dedicated program designed to support the personal transition into education. Rather than focusing only on the qualification, the model recognises that becoming an educator involves more than learning how to meet assessment requirements. It involves developing confidence, finding an authentic teaching voice and understanding what it means to step into a new professional identity. At the centre of this approach is Holistic Educator, an eight-module online program focused on educator identity, purpose, psychological safety, authentic voice, reflective practice and resilience. Participants also receive three one-to-one coaching sessions. The program can sit alongside the TAE40122 Certificate IV and can be completed before, during or after the qualification. This gives participants flexibility while ensuring they have the opportunity to prepare for the transition into the classroom. The philosophy is simple: healthy teachers create healthy students.

TAE Plus was designed to remove some of the barriers that can prevent experienced industry professionals from making the move into education. The Certificate IV is fully online and self-paced, with rolling enrolment rather than fixed intakes. Participants can start when they are ready and study around their existing work and commitments. The practical assessment model uses the participant's own workplace as the training environment. Participants also have access to teaching resources, activities and assessment templates, helping them move into the classroom with practical tools rather than starting from a blank page. Support is another important part of the model. Participants can access one-to-one coaching and optional weekly support sessions, backed by an experienced education and compliance team. This approach also creates greater flexibility for employers and RTOs. Rather than relying solely on the recruitment market to find qualified trainers, organisations can identify experienced people within their own workforce and support them to become educators.

TAE Plus is more than a new way to deliver a TAE qualification. It is AFL SportsReady's response to a broader workforce challenge. Every new industry initiative depends on qualified people who can train the workforce behind it. As demand grows across sectors such as aged care, disability support, technology and the trades, the need for vocational educators grows with it. TAE Plus shifts the focus from simply recruiting qualified trainers to developing educators from within industry. It also recognises that bringing more people into the profession is only part of the solution. Supporting educators to feel confident, prepared and connected to their purpose is important to retaining them. The model was also designed around the 2025 RTO Standards from the outset, rather than adapting an existing product to meet new requirements.

TAE Plus launched as a new approach to industry conversion into vocational education, with the first cohort now progressing through the program. Early feedback on Holistic Educator has been strong, with wellbeing, coaching and flexibility consistently identified as key points of difference. The program has also attracted interest from employers and RTOs looking at TAE Plus as a workforce development solution, not simply an individual qualification. It is still early to report long-term outcomes or completion data. However, the opportunity is clear. Each new vocational educator has the potential to teach and support hundreds of learners throughout their career. For AFL SportsReady, TAE Plus demonstrates what can happen when an education provider looks beyond the traditional pathway and asks what learners and the sector actually need. Rather than simply adding another qualification to the market, AFL SportsReady has redesigned the journey into vocational education — combining quality training with the confidence, support and preparation needed to make the transition successfully.

Visit www.taeplus.com.au or contact taeplus@aflsportsready.com.au for more information.