Next Steps
What can I do after the Level 3 AET course?
I’ve completed the Level 3 Award in Education and Training and now …’What can I do next?’
The answer could be you start running training courses at work or for yourself on a self employed basis or continue onto the next level and increase your teaching skills and knowledge by completing the two higher levels;
Certificate in Education and Training
Diploma in Education and Training
As you’ve taken the AET course (Level 3 Award in Education and Training), you’re not alone in wondering what to do next. Your priority should be building your skills and investing time and effort in your own development, the more effort you put in now the better the results will be.
Here are some ideas to help you get started.
1. Update your knowledge of what you are teaching. It’s only natural to think that we know everything we need to about the topics we are teaching, but if you’ve got your AET and want to start teaching regularly it’s easy to start getting out of date and behind with what’s happening in your industry. The best ways to overcome this include getting out and making an effort to talk to people in your sector, either informally by just calling and having a chat or by getting out to trade conferences and events. By doing this you’ll also make connections with people and you never know when that might come in useful.
2. Do the Level 4 CET course (Certificate in Education and Training). You’ll have to be teaching/training already to do this as part of the course involves being monitored teaching real candidates. It’s the next course up from AET, and it certainly involves hard work as the course requirements go into more depth than with the Level 3 AET. But despite the effort involved it’s a great way to improve you. teaching skills and knowledge and end up with the qualification as proof.
3. If you find the Level 4 CET a bit daunting then seriously consider taking a Level 3 Assessor course (Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement or CAVA Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement) which builds on your existing knowledge of assessing which you covered on the AET. Once you build up your own candidates you’ll find getting through this qualification straightforward. You’ll cover in-depth the different types and methods of assessment, how to best carry these out and what the current best-practice is in this area. Remember that a lot of awarding organisations are making it compulsory for anybody delivering their qualifications to have the Level 3 Assessor course (which replaced the old A1 and D32 qualifications). Just getting this course under your belt will open doors for you in the education and training field.
4. Expand the range of courses you can teach – even if you do this in baby steps it’s great to grow your own personal repertoire of courses/topics/subjects you can teach. There are all sorts of ways to do this but a good start is to go and observe another course, offer to sit in and help the trainer. This will not only give you a chance to observe somebody else’s teaching style but you’ll pick up how things are done and get an insight into how you could start. And don’t be shy, most teachers or trainers will be very happy for you to help them out. If you are interested Women Talk are always on the lookout for great trainers!