The client
A consortium of four Tertiary Education Institutions comprising Southern Institute of Technology (SIT), Weltec, Northtec and Wintec.

The challenge
The consortium came together to redevelop all of the Automotive Apprenticeship Level 3 and 4 qualifications. The credentials for the motor industry apprenticeship scheme had been rewritten involving 17 new qualifications. This meant new material needed to be developed under a new integrated framework, and divided into modules to better aid the teaching process. The Consortium engaged Synapsys to assist this process.

A diverse group of writers needed to work together to achieve a common, but differently viewed goal. There was a need for an independent third party to pull together the common themes, create a common look and feel, develop common working methods and styles of writing, bring together assessment methods, and provide project management structure to support the project manager.

The solution
To address the major challenge of writer and multiple institute collaboration, Synapsys provided the following tools and structure for the project team:

• Templates and writing guides to maintain consistency
• Assessment expertise
• Design of the review process
• Writers’ training workshops
• Educational design review of all materials – including addition of literacy activities
• Ongoing consultancy support for the project team
• Project management backup
• Cloud based systems (SharePoint DMS) for the management of the production of all documents
• Consultancy and support for moderation and assessment issues
• Editing services for all materials
• Visual design services for all materials
• Design strategies for integrating the unit standards.

The benefit
The ultimate beneficiaries are the learners, completing across New Zealand a coherent on-job training experience that draws on the expertise of tutors from around the country. They have access to modern, well-designed distance learning materials, suited to their literacy level. The materials are focused on the Unit Standard outcomes but maintain a structure that reduces unnecessary repetition and are strongly linked to normal work place practices.

The consortium gained a team of well-trained and effective writers of distance learning material, capable of creating a large number of training packages with consistent look and feel, instructional design and assessment methodology. The consortium also has a way of organising, storing, reviewing and updating learning materials that can be accessed nationally.

The reference
Alan Peck – Executive Dean, Wellington Institute of Technology
"Over the last five years, Synapsys has provided a range of services to the Consortium of four technical institutes. The focus of this relationship has been the re-development of the Consortium’s distance learning material used to support Automotive Distance Learning apprentice schemes. This support has included technical assistance, educational design, the writing of material, and assisting in quality and peer review. From our perspective, Synapsys has provided more support for us than would normally be expected, from a purely commercial perspective. Their approach has been a shared passion for what we are seeking to achieve. The Synapsys team are very easy to work with, and act with the interests of our market segment, the apprentice, in mind. Our relationship with Synapsys is an important part of our product improvement system."