Fast Track Program

Did you know that the skills and knowledge you already have through informal learning may count towards a nationally recognised qualification or statement of attainment. This is known as skills recognition or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

To have your skills recognised you need to get a formal assessment. At academy³, an assessor can consider your evidence of:

paid or unpaid work in Australia or overseas
on-the-job training
other qualifications from Australia or overseas
community or voluntary work
hobbies, sport and leisure activities

If your skills can be “recognised” (ie mapped to unit and course criteria), you may be able to shorten the length of time for your studies. In some cases, you may get 100 per cent recognition of your qualification, meaning you would not have to study at all.

Is this you?

You have lots of skills and experience from jobs, courses and/or community work, but you don’t have the ‘piece of paper’ to prove it.
You want a qualification to help you get a promotion.
You want to change jobs or careers but you’re worried about how to prove your skills are valuable.
You work in a trade, but you need a formal qualification to help you get on.
You gained most of your skills and work experience when you were living overseas, and need an Australian qualification for work, study or migration purposes

If so, skills recognition could put you on the fast track. You could get a vocational qualification, or part of a qualification, without having to study what you already know.

What is the Fast Track?

Traditionally, you study for a qualification from beginning to end, regardless of whether you already know part of the material in the course.

At academy³ our fast track process of skills recognition shortens your study by acknowledging the skills you already have. So, if you have experience in the area your qualification covers, you are a likely candidate for skills recognition.

Experience counts

If you have already worked in the area you want to study, either paid or as a volunteer, the skills you’ve developed are probably very valuable. You may have done other studies that include similar subject matter, here or overseas. Even some of your hobbies and interests might include relevant skills.

To be recognised, you need to prove you are already competent in that study area. If you have just left school, don’t do part-time work or have many interests, you may not be a candidate for skills recognition. If you are an older person with a wide range of successful work and study experiences, you are probably a very strong candidate.

Benefits and Costs

If your skills are recognised before you start training, you don’t have to be trained in things you already know. That makes study faster, cheaper and a lot more interesting.

Gaining a qualification by skills recognition should cost less because you’re not paying to learn things you are already competent in.

The rule of thumb is that the more skills and experience you can demonstrate with evidence upfront, the quicker it will take you to gain your qualification and the cheaper it will be.

Your role in the recognition process

In traditional training, the trainer teaches and you study to pass assessments. With skills recognition, the responsibility is on you to find out what competencies are required and prove whether you have them. The teacher assesses you and then teaches only what you need to fill in the gaps in your skills and knowledge.

Although skills recognition saves you a lot of study time, you need to put a fair amount of work into your application.

A successful skills recognition applicant advises “It saved me months of study but it took me several days to gather all the material and present it to my assessor. I had to think pretty hard about what skills I had and how they related to the qualification.”

Prefer to refresh your learning?

Skills recognition is not for everyone. Some people love to learn and don’t mind refreshing existing skills. But if you don’t want to revise your skills, because you have difficulty getting to classes or just don’t have the time, fast-tracking through skills recognition is worthwhile for you.

What qualification level should you aim for?

Vocational qualifications have different levels. Your previous experience may qualify you for skills recognition at one level of the course you choose but not at another.

Don’t worry if you’re not sure what qualification level you should apply for. At academy³ we can help you work out which level is most relevant to your existing skills.

Here is an explanation of some of the qualification levels we offer. The more advanced levels are at the top of the list:

Qualification	Description
Diploma	At this level, people are likely to be managers who plan, initiate new approaches and apply judgement in managing themselves and others. They apply their knowledge and skills with substantial depth in some areas.
Certificate IV	Certificate IV level may apply to people who are supervisors or have advanced trade skills. They have a broad range of skills, can evaluate and plan, and can provide some management and guidance to others.
Certificate III	People working at this level perform a defined range of skilled operations, using discretion and judgement. They can select, adapt and transfer their skills to different situations. Certificate III is the minimum level trade qualification.
Certificate II	At this level people perform a range of functions, involving known routines and procedures with some complex or non-routine activities. This is typically an entry level qualification for people entering an industry or returning to study.

Cost

You might be wondering ‘How much will it cost, and how long will it take?’

The answers vary depending on a number of factors. For example:

What level of skills and experience do you have and therefore what gaps do you have?
What kind of qualification do you want to get?
How much evidence have you already collected?
What kind of assessment will you need?

Once you have submitted you portfolio of evidence, it should take us no more than one-three weeks to complete the assessment process.

Because each circumstance is unique, we can only give you a formal quote after you have had a chat with one of our friendly assessors. In most circumstances, though, you pay nothing until the assessment process is complete.

At that time, we will let you know what units or courses we are able to recognise. Only then do you actually enrol and pay the significantly discounted unit or course fee.

Gathering evidence

Once you have chosen your qualification, your academy³ assessor will be able to help you decide on the best evidence, but you need to be proactive in putting it together.

This can take some time to organise. You need to show your assessor you already have the skills and knowledge to meet Australian industry standards.

Are you competent?

National standards define the competencies required for effective performance of tasks in the workplace. Each unit of competency describes a specific work activity, the conditions under which it is conducted and the evidence that may be gathered in order to determine whether the activity is being performed in a competent manner.

To decide whether you are competent in something, start by asking yourself these kinds of questions:

What tasks have I done at work or in community activities?
How recently did I do them and would I still remember how?
What training have I done that might be relevant, including informal on-the-job training?
How can I prove I can do these things?

Types of evidence

Evidence can take many forms including:

samples, photographs or videos of your work
a practical ‘on the job’ assessment
answers to questions in an interview with your assessor
a simulation of a work activity
letters of validation from your employers
performance management reports
copies of documents you have completed at work
certificates
any other evidence that is valid, sufficient, authentic and current

You need to work out which types of evidence best demonstrate your competence.

Portfolio of evidence

Your portfolio gives evidence of your skills and knowledge based on the requirements of the qualification you are seeking. It can include documents like:

course certificates from Australia or overseas
references
your CV or resumé
examples of work you have done
photographic or video evidence of work you have done
payslips

Your portfolio should include whatever it takes to prove your skills to someone who hasn’t met you before and who understands your industry. Your evidence does not have to be paper based. A video or demonstration can sometimes be more effective. Think about the best ways to present your portfolio so that it is easy for an assessor to understand.

Preparing the portfolio

Ask yourself these questions:

What evidence do I already have, such as work records, certificates or samples of work?
What evidence can I collect, such as testimonials?
What evidence could my assessor gather through observation or questioning?

Checking your evidence

Make sure your evidence shows your knowledge and skills are:

authentic
valid
reliable
current
sufficient

Dos and Don’ts

Here are some tips to help with compiling your recognition application:

Dos	Don’ts
Do show reasons why you believe you are competent. (e.g. I have been working as a team leader for two years. I believe I am competent because I work to deadlines, I have a strong record on working safely and I manage rostered hours to budget. Evidence of this is contained in my manager’s report, which is Item 1 in my portfolio.)	Don’t assume you’re competent simply because you have been doing the job for a long time. (e.g. I have been working as team leader for two years. My tasks include following plans, preparing rosters, and supervising staff.)
Do use examples to show you are competent. (e.g. Before I begin a training session I always make sure computer wires are taped to the floor. When training begins, I let people know where the fire exits are and advise people to drink water during the day.)	Don’t just say you are competent without giving examples. (e.g. I am very aware of OH&S issues and try to keep the workplace safe at all times.)
Do get external support for your examples. Wherever possible, back up your claims by reports from witnesses or supervisors, or maybe even prizes, awards, qualifications or newspaper items.	Don’t rely on your own word only to prove your competence. It is the weakest form of evidence.
Do explain the results or outcomes of your competent performance. (e.g. Thanks to my re-organisation of the kitchen, chefs can get on with cooking and waiters with serving, without confusion. As a result we have reduced waiting time for meals by 10 per cent in the last three weeks. Evidence of this is in my employer’s reference, which is Item 2 in my portfolio, and also in a testimonial from a regular customer, which is Item 3 in my portfolio. I also include photos showing the kitchen set-up before and after I arranged it.)	Don’t just say what you did, without explaining the results you got. (e.g. Thanks to my re-organisation of the kitchen, tension has been reduced.)

Being assessed

Academy³ has trained assessors who can assess your skills for all of our courses.

Before you start

Check how much support your assessor can give you. You should feel comfortable asking them questions and discussing any difficulties.
Find out how long the RTO will take to process your application. About three weeks should be reasonable from when you make your application.
Give yourself plenty of time to prepare your application. It could take to a few weeks to organise.
Check in advance about any fees for skills recognition. Some RTOs may charge the usual enrolment fee for the subject or qualification you are seeking recognition for.

The process

The first step for assessment is to apply for skills recognition and provide any physical evidence you’ve collected. Sometimes, the assessor needs more evidence to make their decision. This might be because:

the evidence you provided, though strong, did not relate clearly to the units of competency you applied for
you did not give enough evidence of your skills
the evidence was not current – you need to show not only that you once had these skills but that you still do
some of the evidence you provided was inconsistent

The assessor will give you an opportunity to provide more information or demonstrate your skills and will clearly explain what kind of evidence is needed.

The interview

After receiving and evaluating your portfolio of evidence, you will be required to undertake an interview with your assessor. This can be conducted in person (usually in your workplace, where additional evidence may be at your fingertips), on the telephone, or over a web connection (such as Skype).

The interview will usually take around 20-30 minutes for each unit you are being assessed on; however, multiple units with overlapping competencies may be assessed quicker than this.

We may also want to verify some of your competencies through an interview with your direct supervisor or line manager.

These interviews are recorded and added to the body of evidence you have already provided.

Confidentiality

During the course of assessment, it may be necessary for you to disclose commercially sensitive information to us. For example, in order for us to assess your ability to manage operations to budget, you might need to show us an actual profit and loss statement and discuss how you use it to control costs.

Rest assured that we have no interest in revealing this information to other parties. Although we are required to keep these records for audit purposes, they are securely archived and stored.

Please feel free to discuss your options in this regard if your employer is reluctant to part with information that is necessary to the recognition process.

I beg to differ…

If you think anything about the assessment process was unfair, you can appeal it. That means you can request a review of the decision or the process used to make the decision. See our complaints and appeals policy for more information.

Frequently asked questions

My evidence is too old

The best kind of evidence is timely evidence – evidence that reflects skills and experience that you have used recently. If there have been significant changes to legislation or common practise in your area of expertise you may need to update your skills before getting assessed.

I can’t find subject details for a previous course

You might be having trouble finding out the subject details of a course you studied in the past. This is especially common if you studied a while ago or in another country. The first thing to consider here is whether it is worth trying to track this information down at all. In many cases it will not be.

If you studied 10 years ago for example, your coursework may no longer be relevant because of the time gap, technology changes, or changes to legislation governing your industry. Areas such as Accounting, Occupational Health and Safety, and Computer Technology have all changed significantly in the past six or seven years due to changes in legislation or technological developments.

Your more recent work experience, applying what you learnt from that study, will be a much better way of demonstrating you can meet the current standards needed for a competency.

It feels like the process is undermining my skills and my experience in the workplace

Occasionally some people who go through the skills recognition process say they feel they are being asked to prove they can do their jobs. This can feel bad, especially when they have been working in the same industry for many years.

It is important to remember that skills recognition is not a judgement of your level of ability, nor is it designed to demean or belittle your work experience. Instead, skills recognition should provide a measuring stick that can be applied to all people who work in skilled areas. The more work experience you have, the more confident you can be that your skills and experience may match a qualification.

For some people, the documentation of aspects of their working life can be a very rewarding experience.

I can’t find the evidence I need

If you can’t find written documentation to support your claim towards a qualification you can use other means of evidence, for example, a demonstration, taxation records, newsletters, photos or video (to name just a few). How you chose to demonstrate your skills is not as important as the skills themselves.

I have lost touch with my old work

What happens if the company you used to work for no longer exists, or for various reasons you no longer have contact with people from your old job? Can you still collect evidence about that job?

Yes, you can. The reason for this is that evidence you have created yourself or can demonstrate yourself is the most valuable kind of evidence. While assessors can use references as a guide, primary evidence that is directly created by you, is the best kind of evidence.

You may have work documents at home you can submit or perhaps you can demonstrate your skills in your new workplace or in a demonstration workshop.

I am worried you are collecting the wrong kind of evidence

One common trap that people who are seeking skills recognition fall into is collecting too much information, or more specifically too much of the wrong kind of information. The best way to overcome this is to select the qualification you are aiming for first, identify the core units and which elective units you want to do and address your evidence very specifically and systematically to those units. That way you only collect the right kind of evidence, the kind of evidence that will allow you to meet your goals quickly and correctly.

I don’t know where to start

Working out what skills you have, what qualification you should work towards and what evidence you can collect to support your application can be a bit daunting at first. Once you have a good understanding of the process however, you will be in a better position to make skills recognition work for you. It is worth taking some time browsing through this site to get a broad picture of how the process can work for you.

How much recognition can I get?

If you have the evidence to show that you can demonstrate the skills and knowledge needed, the minimum recognition is one unit of competence and the maximum is a full qualification.

When should I apply for recognition?

Although you can apply for recognition at any time, it is best to do it at enrolment time or as soon as possible afterwards.

How long will the process take?

We try to complete the process as quickly as possible. How soon we can make a decision on your claim depends partly on how well you have prepared your evidence. Every application is unique and will have different time frames, but about three weeks is probably a reasonable time to expect a decision after you have lodged your application.

Will recognition change my status as a student for other purposes?

If you have some income support, or hold a temporary visa and are granted recognition, it may mean that you do not need to attend for the full tuition time per week. This may affect the conditions of your income payments or visa. You need to check the implications of this with your income provider.

Source: http://www.skillsrecognition.nsw.gov.au/

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