Recognition Prior to Learning certification was put in place to help students with skills already. With the certificate, those enrolling for further studies or any training can significantly reduce the time they take to attain their qualification. In some cases, those with the certificate may be awarded course qualifications without even being required to go through the study programs at all. So, in summation, RPL Australia is all about the skills and technical know-how one has attained after years of practice, volunteering, working and life experiences.
Examples of RPL qualification
- After years of working as an office clerk without any prior training and in the process getting to learn all it’s required of them in that line of work, one could apply for an RPL to be awarded a certificate in B. A (Business Administration).
- Ditto to farmers with years of experience working on the farm. If they applied for RPL, they could qualify to be awarded a certificate in agriculture or mechanics or have the number of years they’re required to study to qualify in the field cut considerably.Volunteers also benefit from RPL certification. If a person has been working as a volunteer in their teens, they could be awarded a certificate in youth work from any educational facility, but
- only after they’d have acquired an RPL certificate in that line of work.
It’s good to note that RPL certification applies to both volunteers and paid workers.
How Skills are Assessed
For one to qualify for an RPL certificate that they can present to any educational facility in Australia to have their course time reduced, the person will first have to get their skills assessed by an RPL assessor:
Here are some ways skills get assessed
- The person may be asked by an assigned RPL assessor to perform a certain task or job.
- The person may be asked a series of questions about a certain job and how it’s done. They may also be required to explain in detail about how the job is done.
- Some RPL assessors may demand that the person submits a sample of their work, with some requesting for portfolios so that they can go through them and assess the quality of work.
- For some courses, an RPL assessor may visit the candidates workplace and observe them as they work. Candidates may also be required to provide their work appraisals, job descriptions, and references.
So who qualifies for an RPL certification in Australia?
Simple, any Australian Citizen with skills in any given trade area, but doesn’t have the certificate to serve as proof. All the person is required to do if they feel like they have the required skill set in any given area but lack the certificate to show is contact a registered training facility and apply for an RPL assessment.