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Skills Recognition

 

GOTAFE  offers  Skills Recognition as part of all  course enrolments and as a stand alone process. Skills recognition  assists  people gain recognition for skills they already have.

Skills Recognition is valuable, cost and time effective for both an employer and candidate.

For further information on how you can have your skills assessed through Skills Recognition, or if you’re an employer with questions about how you can use Skills Recognition for your staff, please contact the GOTAFE Customer Service Centre on 1300 GOTAFE (1300 468 233) or email an enquiry to getrecognised@gotafe.vic.edu.au

 

About Skills Recognition

Credit Transfer

"Credit Transfer assesses the initial course or subject that an individual is using to claim access to or the award of credit in a destination course. The assessment determines the extent to which the candidate's initial course or subject is equivalent to the required learning outcomes, competency outcomes or standards in a qualification. This may include Credit Transfer based on formal learning that is outside the AQF". (AQTF 2007)

Recognition of Prior Learning

"Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is an assessment process that assesses an individual’s non formal and informal learning to determine the extent to which that individual has achieved the required learning outcomes, competency outcomes, or standards for entry to, and/or partial or total completion of, a qualification". (AQTF 2007)

RPL acknowledges skills and knowledge obtained through:

  • Work experience including paid and volunteer work
  • Life experience including skills attained through leisure pursuits such as musical, mechanical or linguistic abilities

GOTAFE offers you the opportunity to convert these skills and knowledge into a full or part qualification.

Employers are looking for people with the right skills and knowledge for the job they are offering.  Having a qualification (or part of one) is a great way to tell an employer, what you have to offer.

The process of matching your individual skills and knowledge (often gained over many years of work) with a Nationally Recognised qualification is called Skills Recognition or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

 

Benefits for Candidates

Candidates need to provide a GOTAFE assessor with evidence of prior learning if they wish to have their skills recognised under Skills Recognition. There are many benefits to the candidate in undertaking the Skills Recognition process.

The benefits to you are:

  • Provides you with a full or part qualification
  • Can avoid duplication of training
  • Can save you time and money
  • Students can complete a course early
  • Study loads reduced
  • Study costs reduced
  • Advance quicker to a higher level qualification

RPL suits people who have industry relevant experience that includes: 

  • Paid or unpaid work experience
  • Life experience
  • Community work experience
  • Work skills or knowledge

Credit Transfer suits people who have formal training that might be relevant to a new qualification they want to gain.

 

Benefits for Employers 

Do you have employees that have skills and knowledge but no qualifications? Do they need the paper to prove it?

Skills Recognition is designed for employees who have skills and knowledge in a vocational area that might enable them to gain a full or partial qualification. It recognises formal and non-formal prior learning.

Skills Recognition has the potential to recognise skills and knowledge already acquired. Positive Skills Recognition outcomes mean that qualified workers are available more rapidly than if training is required. 

Skills Recognition can:

  • reduce unnecessary training by RTOs
  • increase the pool of skilled workers with qualifications to meet industry needs
  • assist in addressing skill shortages
  • provide greater equity for the outcomes of training pathways
  • compare more favourably in international comparisons

Evidence

Examples of evidence you may want to consider using include:

  • brief  resume/curriculum vitae
  • position descriptions
  • work samples
  • practical demonstrations in the workplace
  • assessment interviews
  • references and support from your supervisors or others in your community/ previous employers
  • previous qualifications, certificates/ results of assessments
  • details of in-house courses, workshops. Seminars, orientation or induction sessions
  • videos and/or photos of work examples,  performance reviews
  • diaries/task sheets/ job sheets/ log books 

 

The Process

At GOTAFE there are 4 stages through the Skills Recognition process.

They are:

  • Stage 1: Briefing
  • Stage 2: Check point
  • Stage 3: Feeedback and evidence gathering
  • Stage 4: Final evaluation and feedback

The four stages are made up of the following:

  • Briefing and meetings
  • Self assessment
  • Collection and sorting of evidence
  • Confirmation of current competence
  • Weighing up of evidence
  • Recognition decision
  • Feedback and evaluation
  • Review of process and opportunity for appeal

What is Evidence?

There are many forms of evidence that you can provide to assist in receiving Skills Recognition.

These may include:

Historical evidence

  • Past qualification and short courses
  • Past work experience and examples of past work
  • References, testimonials from past supervisors, trainers, managers, customers and clients and past work reports.

Recent Evidence

  • Recent qualifications and short courses
  • Recent work experience, work records, records of workplace training and examples of past work
  • Recent references, testimonials from current supervisors, trainers, managers, customers and clients
  • Job description
  • Employer recommendations
  • Examples of work products
  • Observation of current performance
  • Confirmation of relevant unpaid or voluntary experience

Importance of current competence

It is important to remain current for many qualification requirements. Current competency is important because:

  • Prior learning often contributes to current competence but its effect may decline over time
  • Competence is like water in a leaky bucket – unless it is replenished by appropriate experience or further learning, the level gradually drops
  • Current competence is often double-checked by observing people in real or simulated work

Decisions in Skills Recognition outcomes

The assessor will look at the evidence available.
The assessor will judge the extent to which the evidence indicates that you are currently competent for the standards concerned.

The assessor may do further checks of current competence by:

  • Asking you questions about what you know and understand
  • Observing you doing real or simulated work tasks
  • Getting further evidence of you current work

The assessor will make a decision on whether you meet all of the competency requirements of the unit or if you require further training.

Feedback and evaluation

  • The assessor will discuss with you the results of the Skills Recognition decision.
  • The assessor will show you your options and the benefits of each
  • Your assessor will help you move along a pathway to achieve your ambitions
  • Your assessor will explain what you can do if you wish to appeal and outcome  

 

Case Study

Adam has been working in the Hospitality industry for several years as a cook. Both he and his employer would like Adam to have some recognition of the skills he has gained and demonstrates.

Adam and the employer have talked to a teacher from the hospitality teaching area and discussed how Adams skills can be recognised.

After discussion with the teacher, Adam and the employer have identified the certificate level and course that is most suitable for Adam to apply for Skills Recognition in.

Adam attended an interview with a Skills Recognition assessor and on the Skills Recognition kit they detailed the units Adam was applying for, the methods of assessment and the types of evidence that was suitable.

Adam enrolled in a Skills Recognition session and pays the required fee.

In Adam’s case the evidence to be gathered was:

  1. Self-assessment of skills to be provided by Adam. This was based on the criteria of the units applied for.
  2. Employer recommendation this letter/form detailed the responsibilities, tasks and duties Adam had been doing and the attitudes towards these.
  3. References from past employers
  4. Portfolio of workplace products where Adam was involved in the planning or creation such as menus, function plans, rosters, budgets and photos of items prepared by Adam
  5. Workplace observation by the assessor.
  6. Recorded interview with Adam by the assessor.
  7. Adam was happy that he could provide all the evidence required.

Adam completed the enrolment process. He then gathered the evidence as planned. Adam attended two more interviews to finalise the evidence requirements.

The assessor considered all the evidence and made a judgement that the evidence provided demonstrated that Adam had achieved competency in the units applied for.
A certificate was issued to Adam.

 

 

Last modified by Sonja King 02-Apr-2012