Recognition of Current Competencies
Skills recognition
Skills recognition is the acknowledgment by a training provider that a learner has gained an appropriate level of skills and knowledge that would have otherwise been developed through formal training.
These skills and knowledge may have been gained through some form of study, through a training provider or by self-tuition, work or life experience.
As a result, the learners may gain:
* a nationally recognised qualification without attending a training program
* formal recognition of their skills, increasing the chance of career progression.
Training providers generally apply skills recognition in two ways:
* Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
* Credit transfer.
Recognition of prior learning (RPL)
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.
RPL recognises both current and prior knowledge and experience and measures it against the course in which students are enrolled. The individual may not need to complete all of a training program if he or she already possesses some of the competencies taught in the program.
RPL has many benefits:
* students can finish their courses earlier
* study loads and costs are reduced
* the student can take on additional study leading to a second qualification
* by identifying an individual's current competencies, RPL can effectively target training requirements.
The student needs to provide the training provider with evidence of their prior learning if they wish to have their knowledge and skills recognised under RPL.
Training providers take previous experience and study into account whether it was achieved in Australia or abroad.
Training providers can also grant RPL to apprentices and trainees as part of their training plans. Before an apprenticeship or traineeship is reduced however, the employer, apprentice or trainee and the registered training organisation must agree to a variation of the training contract or agreement.
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 client'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.
Where to get more information
Your preferred training provider will:
* provide you with information about skills recognition
* conduct skills assessments in relation to the courses they deliver.