Recognition of Prior Learning

RPL

Field of Nodes is not a Registered Training Organisation (RTO)

What is RPL

What is this RPL that you may have heard being thrown around? Whether you have heard the acronym from friends, institutes, online or some other means, it is often not explained. I am here to try and explain the process.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Suppose you have worked in an industry, say hospitality, for around 2+ years, you have gained invaluable experience, you have progressed in a specific path, then you would have prior learning. This prior learning is going to be used as a claim. The claim is that your experience and knowledge is sufficient to be applied as evidence towards you being awarded a qualification in the hospitality training package.

Getting Recognition

There are 5000+ registered training organisations in Australia. Each one of these organisations has been vetted and approved to award official qualifications, that are recognised Australia wide, with some specific exceptions where licenses are involved. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of regulated qualifications and not all RTOs are approved to issue all of them. This is a matter of having qualifications on scope. This means that the RTO has applied to ASQA (Australian Skilling and Quality Authority) for their registration to be adjusted. In order for you to get recognition of your prior learning, then you must broadly do the following steps in order.

  1. Determine the qualification you are most qualified for.

  2. Search training.gov.au for that qualification.

  3. Find a suitable RTO to assess your evidence (This is found on the training website in step two).

  4. Either apply to RTO directly or utilise an agent, in this case Field of Nodes is here to assist you.

  5. Complete your forms as issued by the RTO.

  6. Submit forms and evidence to the RTO.

  7. Pay invoice for certificate in full, this will be done once the college has assessed your application and evidence and has determined initially that you satisfy the requirements of the RPL program. It is possible that upon closer observation, there may be a need for some additional training, to close the gap of your current knowledge and that which is required. In these instances an additional cost will be determined on a case by case basis.

  8. Be issued the qualification. Since there are so many RTOs, there are bound to be varying degrees of operational procedures, based on the RTO that you are using.

Post recognition

You have done it! You have just applied your experience and knowledge and turned them into a tangible artifact. You can now use this official certificate in your chosen industry and pursue you career to a more fulfilling degree. Interestingly, if you have obtained a diploma level or higher, you can usually use this toward admission into university. Now this does not mean that you will get into a university and have a semester of credit applied to you transcript, that is a special situation that only applies if the RTO has an agreement with a university. These arrangements are in place, however, you need to ensure you check this prior to enrolling in a course. It does mean, that when a university asks what level education you have, a qualification can be used as your highest level and this can count towards admission.

Skill Assessment

Are you a non-native, non-citizen, non-permanent resident of Australia? Are you interested in pursuing a work visa? Then there is a chance that you will need to have your skills assessed by an approved authority. This can be a daunting and stressful process. There are generally two ways that your skills will be assessed.

  1. You will have to demonstrate the skills under some form of test conditions.

  2. You will use your Australian VET qualification as proof of your skills

    1. Now if you do not have one of these, then see the heading above and contact Field of Nodes for a free assessment of your current skill set.

Once this phase is completed you will be interviewed on your skill set. Field of Nodes offers training in this regard and can assist you in feeling confident with your skills.

TIPS

  1. There are so many work visa options, so please ensure you thoroughly research your options and ensure that if you choose a registered migration agent, that they are in good standing with the government.

  2. Ensure that if you are you already in possession of a qualification, that the units of competency are inline with the requirements of the skilling authority conducting your skills assessment.

    1. Example: You have a certificate IV in Commercial Cookery, but not a certificate III in Commercial Cookery. This is OK as the Certificate III is not a prerequisite to the Certificate IV, but the skilling authority will usually want to see that you are competent in the Certificate III units as well as the Certificate IV.

The mechanics of the RPL process

Part One:

  1. A an applicant claims to have experience sufficient, valid, authentic, reliable and relevant to be equivalent to a desired AQF qualification.

  2. The applicant applies to a given registered training organisation (RTO).

  3. The applicant supplies documents backing up their claim for RPL, referred to as evidence.

This part can take as long as it takes, as it is dependent on the applicant.

Part Two:

  1. The RTO received the applicants forms and evidence.

  2. The evidence is collated to be mapped.

  3. Mapping is the practice of aligning the raw evidence of the applicant and finding the correlated correspondence between it and the makeup of the qualification.

  4. Each qualification is composed of:

    1. Units of competency, which are composed of:

      1. Elements, which are composed of:

        1. Performance criteria.

        2. The performance criteria are the smallest bits of map-able content. Any one qualification will have hundreds of performance criterion. It is crucial that there exists a mapping from the applicants evidence to each and every performance criteria at least once over.

This part can take anywhere from a week to several months. The variability is dependent on the following factors.

  1. Complexity of the client

    1. Whether they are domestic or on a visa

  2. The qualification sought after

  3. The quality and quantity of evidence supplied.

  4. The particular methodologies of the RTO when assessing for a RPL based delivered qualification.

Part Three

The following compose the third and final part to the mechanics of the RPL process:

  1. The evidence has been mapped.

  2. The qualification has been paid for.

  3. The qualification has been sent in PDF, printed and posted directly to the applicant.

That is the process in a schematic view.


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