Recognition of Current Competencies (RCC)

Many employees are already competent, and there is no need to waste time and money training them to do what they already know how to do. Recognition of current competencies means that TRACMIN can come to your site and assess your employees as competent.

If you are currently working in industry, and want to get recognition for the skills you already have, TRACMIN can help. We will work with you and your employer to determine the right qualification for you, and to assess your competency. With your employer's support, we can assess you on-site and on-the-job to minimise disruption to you and your work.

Recognition of Prior Learning

RPL is the acknowledgment of skills and knowledge obtained through:

• formal training or study including courses at school, college, adult education and training programs at work
• work experience including paid and volunteer work
• life experience including skills attained through leisure pursuits such as musical, mechanical or linguistic abilities.

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.

What is competency?

In vocational education and training, people are considered to be competent when they are able to apply their knowledge and skills to successfully complete work activities in a range of situations and environments, to the standard of performance expected in the workplace. Both on the job and off the job training and assessment aim to make sure that the individual participating in the training and assessment has the competence to undertake their work role to the standard expected in the relevant workplace.

How do we know someone is competent?

We know whether someone is competent after completing a competency based assessment. Just as a learner-driver must demonstrate they can drive a car by actually taking the examiner for a drive, so too must other learners demonstrate that they are competent by undergoing an assessment process. Assessment may involve a practical demonstration of skills, some form of written assessment, such as a test or preparation of a report, or a presentation or interview.

An individual can be assessed during their training, at the end of their training, or without even undertaking any training (for example if they believe they are already competent). Those being assessed are often called candidates. The method and timing of assessment will vary depending upon the assessor, the candidate and the competency being assessed.

What standards are candidates assessed against?

In order to assess whether a candidate is competent, they are judged against established standards (often called benchmarks). These standards have been developed by industry and are called competency standards. Competency standards may also be referred to as units of competency.

Competency standards are documents that define the competencies required for effective performance in the workplace in specific industries. Competency standards include the essential information needed to assess a candidate.

Some enterprises have developed specific competency standards for their business.

What is Competency Based Assessment?

In order to gain a formal qualification (eg a Certificate II or a Diploma), individuals have to be competent in a specified group of competency standards. Information on the qualifications and relevant competency standards are all outlined in industry based Training Packages. Training Packages consist of competency standards, information on qualifications and assessment guidelines to assist trainers and assessors.

Competency based assessment is the process of collecting evidence and making judgements on whether competence has been achieved. This confirms that an individual can perform to the standard expected in the workplace as expressed in the relevant endorsed industry/enterprise competency standards (or outcomes of accredited courses if there are no competency standards for an industry).

What sort of evidence is collected?

As noted above, assessment involves collecting evidence. This evidence may be direct evidence (such as observation of workplace performance), indirect evidence (such as formal testing) or supplementary evidence (such as references from employers). This evidence is used by an assessor to make a judgement about whether the candidate is competent. It is the responsibility of the assessor to determine what and how much evidence is required to make the assessment judgement. Training Packages provide guidance on the types of evidence required, and further advice may be gained through moderation and industry consultation.

What training do assessors have?

Assessors need to be objective and independent and make reasonable, informed judgements based on the quality and sufficiency of the evidence collected. All assessors must have demonstrated their own competence in the particular competency standards being assessed and in the following three units of competency from the Training Package in Assessment and Workplace Training:

• Plan Assessment 
• Conduct Assessment
• Review Assessment

What if I am already competent?

If you think you are already competent in a particular competency standard or group of standards, you can undertake a form of competency based assessment called Skills Recognition (often known as Recognition of Prior Learning, Recognition of Current Competencies or Credit Transfer).

Skills Recognition is the term used to describe a number of assessment processes that formally recognise the competencies an individual has acquired through formal or informal learning, work experience and/or life experience. The principles and processes involved in competency based assessments are also involved in skills recognition processes.

What will I get after the assessment?

After you have been assessed, you will either be deemed ‘competent’ or ‘not yet competent’. If you are competent, you will be issued with either a Statement of Attainment listing the units of competency you are competent in or a full qualification. If you are deemed not yet competent, you will be given feedback on you performance. You have the opportunity to appeal their results and be reassessed.

Please contact us at manager@tracmin.com.au for more information.