About this Course

The WSQ Specialist Diploma in Advanced Facilitation (SDAF) is a competency-based specialist diploma programme. It provides course participants with the skills and knowledge needed to design and facilitate learning and development to enable sustained and positive change.

SDAF builds on the foundational Adult Educator competencies covered in the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA 5th Version) and enables practitioners to hone their capabilities through a more differentiated and learner-centric mode of delivery which integrates online and classroom learning.

The programme is also intended to expand the professional value proposition of Adult Educator by giving them exposure and practice in facilitation for different contexts. In particular, it focuses on facilitation that increases likelihood of sustained positive change by addressing mindsets (including assumptions, values and beliefs) that may inhibit or support application of learning.

Although it is a Specialist Diploma in facilitation, it does not only cover vertical competencies (i.e. facilitation skills and knowledge), but also horizontal competencies, specifically, professional branding to help practitioners articulate their value proposition in the digital age and enhance their employability prospects.

This programme seeks to enhance learners’ ability to use technology in training and it will require learners to engage with learning technology throughout the course. Learners are expected to bring their own laptops, tablets or mobile devices for training. All learning resources will be made available in the D2L learning management system for learners to download. No hardcopy notes will be provided.

Who will benefit from the programme?

SDAF is relevant for those who design and conduct WSQ and non-WSQ training, as well as facilitation interventions for organisations.

In particular, it is recommended for practicing Adult Educators who want to:

• Deepen and expand their capabilities to design and deliver learning facilitation1 using a blended learning2 approach
  
• Deploy process facilitation3 to enable sustained learning and change
  
• Develop and refine professional branding in a digital age to enhance employability.

1 Learning facilitation refers to facilitation that typically has pre-determined learning outcomes or performance standards that individual learners should demonstrate (e.g. WSQ training).

2 To keep the learning more focussed, blended learning as defined in SDAF is scoped as the integration of classroom and e-learning. It does not explicitly cover other learning modes such as coaching and on-the-job training (OJT).

3 Process facilitation refers to facilitation that is intended to guide groups to achieve outcomes scoped in consultation with stakeholders (e.g. strategic planning, problem-solving). There may or may not be specific learning outcomes accruing to individual participants.

Programme Aims

In addition to possessing basic training competencies, SDAF graduates will be able to:

• Design and facilitate blended learning experiences that integrate classroom and online activities to enable effective and engaging learning experiences
  
• Design and deliver facilitated sessions as a Senior Adult Educator, leading professional development activities for organisational learning and capability building; it is expected that SDAF graduates have the requisite skills to facilitate mindset shifts as a critical step to realise the full potential of training interventions
  
• Establish and refine their professional branding in the digital space to enhance value proposition and professional recognition.
  

Overall, SDAF graduates will possess deeper and broader facilitation skillsets that will enhance their professional credentials and enable them to distinguish themselves in the increasingly competitive CET sector.

Features of The Program:

• Dedicated module to professional branding
  
• Flipped classroom model
  
• Strengths-based coaching to optimise individual performance
  
• Integrated and authentic assessment
  

Entry Requirement:

SDAF applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Completed any version of WSQ Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA), or WSQ Diploma in Adult and Continuing Education (DACE) or an equivalent qualification
  
• Is an experienced and active Adult Educator who has accumulated at least 350h of relevant training experience in the last 3 years. The type of training conducted should be targeted at professionals, managers, and executives
  
• Learners must secure a Practicum Host Organization (PHO) before they enrol in the programme. This PHO must allow the learner to conduct a scoping session to design and deliver a facilitated session that achieves stakeholder objectives1
  
• Possess effective verbal and written communication skills in English (possess workplace literacy skills at the proficiency level equivalent to level 6 stated in the Employability Skills WSQ framework)
  
• Possess good working knowledge about technology and reasonable mastery of information and communication technology (ICT) skills to participate in independent e-learning.
  

The following documents will need to be submitted alongside the application:

• Completed and signed Letter of Consent by the organisation hosting your practicum i.e. Practicum Host Organisation (PHO)
  
• Photocopy of NRIC
  
• Documentary evidence of Level 6 literacy skills in the WSQ Employability Skills System (ESS), or minimum Grade B4 in GCE ‘O’ Level English
  
• CV (with details of training experience in the last 3 years and 2 character referees).
  

 1 The PHO should be of a sizeable scale to accommodate the SDAF practicum requirements. As a guideline, there should be at least 1-2 stakeholders whom the SDAF learner can engage to scope the deliverables of the facilitation. The facilitation should also involve at least 5 participants (not including the facilitator).

Mode of Training: 

Learners will attend face-to-face classroom training for the designated hours for each module, supplemented by e-learning where appropriate. Throughout the programme, learners will:

• Undertake directed e-learning prior or post classroom training to optimise learning
  
• Engage in peer learning and a wide range of facilitated activities to deepen their application of knowledge
  
• Engage with digital tools to augment delivery of learning
  
• Receive one-on-one coaching from module facilitators for more targeted learning support
  
• Receive and share feedback on their learning and application of skills during facilitated activities.

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