What Is RPL?
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) allows recognition of your relevant existing skills as a credit towards subjects in the course that you wish to study.
By documenting your relevant experience, our assessors will be able to assess your application and perhaps allow a credit transfer to towards completion of a module or units of your course.
In cases where an applicant can supply documented evidence that aligns with the full requirements of the unit or qualification applied for, your Qualification can be issued without further assessment.
If the documented evidence supplied only partially aligns with the requirements of the unit or qualification, then we will advise you of the shortfall and develop a training plan to cover the missing components required to obtain that unit / qualification. You may then choose to study the relevant units of the course with us, or elsewhere. This is referred to as Gap Training.
It is important to bear in mind that RPL does not exempt you from assessment. RPL is assessment. The evidence that you present is an assessment of your current skills and knowledge applied against the assessment requirements of the course. You will be given the opportunity to display competency in all of the aspects of the Qualification that you are seeking; both 'academic' skills (subjects such as Risk management, OH&S and activity planning) and practical activity skills.
How Does The RPL Process Work?
To gain an overview of the RPL process please read through the following guidelines based on those from Asset Training Australia (with whom we partner for delivery of Nationally Approved Courses) to enable your RPL assessment to have every chance of success.
The RPL process normally follows five (5) steps:
1. RPL APPLICATION. You can call or email to discuss your RPL application, or just fill in the RPL application form and post it to us at PO Box 138, Morningside Q 4170. It is a good idea to call and discuss your application to clarify requirements and have a conversation to define your required skills sets and to discuss the level of qualification that you require.
2. ASSESSOR INTERVIEW – After review of initial assessment evidence, the assessor will contact you to discuss the application in more detail and provide assistance in understanding the evidence required. You will be provided with assessment criteria for the competency units that you are required to be assessed in to enable you to more accurately address the performance requirements.
3. EVIDENCE GATHERING & ASSESSMENT – On receipt of the assesment criteria, you are required to provide documentary evidence of your skills and experience. This needs to be sufficient to prove that you have the skills and that those skills are current. Examples of evidence could include certificates from previous courses, current / recently expired accreditations or licenses, documented work history including position descriptions, supervisor reports, samples of work and any other relevant documentation.
The more thorough information you provide; the easier it will be for us to assess your competence.
After you have provided specific evidence against the competency units, the assessor will review and assess the documentation you have provided. This will also involve a verification process. We will advise you if we determine that we require additional evidence, before determining any requirements for Gap training or Assessment.
4. GAP TRAINING/ ASSESSMENT – There are sometimes 'gaps' in the RPL evidence that do not meet the training package requirements. In this instance we can provide you with an assessment / training plan and costing to fill in the gaps.
If gap training or assessment is required, you have the choice to accept assessment in the modules that you have demonstrated competency in and receive a Statement of Attainment or you may
gain the required skills by self study or with another institution
enroll in the relevant modules with other students
request personal bridging training to make up for the shortfall in your skills
In any case, you will be presented with options for training with us to complete your Qualification in full.
5. FINAL ADMINISTRATION & QUALIFICATION ISSUE – Once you have provided adequate evidence for Qualification and/or completed gap training and assessment then you will be issued your qualification. The final administration tasks usually require the assessor and applicant to complete and sign off final course paperwork.
RPL and Outdoor Recreation
The Outdoor Recreation qualification framework is complex as each Qualification is able to be customised to include the activity and general specialisations that you personally require; chosen from those that we are able to assess.
To enable your RPL at a suitable level it is necessary to align your desired outcome with your current level of skill. To this end, RPL for Outdoor Recreation includes a separate step from the usual process as described above. We call this an INITIAL application. The following section 'How to apply for RPL' describes this process;
How to apply for RPL
Call me to discuss your current qualifications and what Qualification you should apply for RPL in. If it appears that an RPL application may be applicable then you can make an initial* application.
Your initial application involves submitting**;
1. A completed RPL registration form
2. Payment of $1250.00 usually by direct transfer – this is your application fee***
3. A summary of your relevant experience
4. Copies of Certificates that you hold that are relevant to your application
5. Evidence of your secondary, tertiary or trade qualifications
6. A brief overview of your Outdoor Recreation experience
You can download an Application for Recognition of Prior Learning and on receipt of your documentation I will complete your initial assessment.
NOTES:
* The initial application simply allows us to get a better understanding of your requirements. After your assessor has read your initial application, you will be required to provide further evidence against the competency units that you require assessment in, this is called EVIDENCE ASSESSMENT. Your assessor will provide assessment criteria for you to use to provide your further evidence against.
** RPL applications MUST be posted. Please post to PO Box 138, Morningside Q 4170.
*** Your application fee will cover the cost of guiding you through your RPL assessment and processing your initial application. The good news is that if you can substantiate your capability and currency against the required units without the requirement for formal assessment or training, you will receive your certificate at no additional cost.
Please read the rest of this information page as it will describe the full RPL process in detail. If you have any questions regarding your application please call me on 0413 or send me an email
Some final notes about RPL Assessment
The more thorough your application; the easier it will be for us to assess it. It is a bit like applying for a job; our assessors will need to know about your past experience, qualifications gained and your employment history. You may want to discuss your application with me first; that way I can give you some guidance as to what areas you will need to address.
Due to the high practical content of activity and field skills you may need to be assessed by practical demonstration. This is normally conducted by personal attendance with an assessor or ‘on course’ with Outdoor Leader students who are studying the relevant activities. Where personal attendance is NOT possible, it is acceptable that you provide a video tape of yourself completing the performance tasks required for assessment. In these practical skills though, your evidence must be substantive to enable Qualification without direct assessment.
In all cases you may talk to us about your RPL application to assist you in assembling evidence. Modules that you decide NOT to RPL can be done by completion of the appropriate workshops (usually people prefer to refresh subjects which require currency such as higher level practical skills, rescue and first aid).
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