"Use your existing skills to fast-track your qualification "

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

What is RPL?

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is the recognition given for the knowledge and skills that you have acquired through work experience, education, training and life experiences. The RPL process involves matching your knowledge and skills to the learning outcomes of nationally recognised qualifications to determine whether you should be given credit for specific units.

Can I apply for RPL?

If you already have skills in a particular field that you think may be relevant to the qualification you are going to participate in, then you can apply for an RPL assessment. Dedicated Training acknowledges that relevant knowledge and skills can be acquired through a variety of means, not just though formal education and training. These include:

• Work experience (either in Australia or overseas)
• Life experiences (must be able to demonstrate relevance to qualification)
• Education (including training and qualifications attained in Australia or overseas)

The RPL Process

Essentially RPL involves providing evidence to establish that your current knowledge and skills match particular units from the qualification in which you are enrolled. Collecting evidence to establish your claim for RPL is the most important part in the whole process. If you think you may qualify for RPL for one or more units, you can do one of the following:

Once Dedicated Training has received your RPL application, the evidence and information you have provided for each unit, will be assessed by qualified RPL assessors.

You may be contacted during the assessment process by the RPL assessor and be asked to provide further information, or to clarify details about the evidence your have supplied.

What are the benefits of RPL?

Because RPL provided formal recognition for your existing knowledge and skills, you don’t have to spend time re-learning what you already know, or demonstrate skills you can already perform. The benefits for you are:

APPLYING FOR RPL...

How do I apply for RPL?

To work out if your current knowledge and skill are relevant and could be recognised as credit towards the course you are enrolled in, you need to:

a) Assemble a portfolio of all information relevant to and of the units in the course

b) Once you have determined whether your knowledge and skill match any of the units you need to consider the evidence you are able to collect to verify by that you have achieved the learning outcome for the relevant modules. (learning outcomes are statements that outline what a person can do at the completion of a unit)

Supplying evidence for RPL

When supplying the evidence for RPL, a number of issues need to be taken into consideration. Your evidence must be:

Valid: the evidence must directly relate to the unit of competency and assessment criteria.
Authentic: Evidence must be valid as being your work.
Current: the evidence must indicate that your are currently able to use the skill and knowledge identified
Adequate: Enough evidence must be provided to ensure that you are competent in the area of which you are seeking recognition

Types of evidence that would suffice could be:

In all cases, Dedicated Training must be satisfied that the documents demonstrate your competence.

When applying for RPL

Dedicated Training requires that you provide sufficient evidence to prove competency in the entire learning outcome of any unit. Prior to submitting your evidence, consider the following:

Documentation: Please do not send in the originals, as we cannot guarantee they will be returned or be safe from damage.

Proof: When supplying copies of certificates, a Justice of the Peace (JP) must sign and verify them. Letters that are not supplied on company letterheads are used to support evidence must also be verified by a Justice of the Peace (JP) to certify that the signatory is also the author of the letter.

Change of Name: If the name on the certificate supplied and the name on our system differ, you will need to submit documentation to justify the name change. This must be verified by a Justice of the Peace (JP) to certify that the copy id a true copy of the original.

Types of Evidence: as mentioned earlier, there are three forms of evidence that can be used to demonstrate competence. These include formal qualification, work experience and life experience.

Formal qualifications

When supplying a formal qualification from an Registered Training Organisation (RTO), you must supply a copy of the certificate and a transcript or Statement Of Attainment for the competencies achieved with National Unit Codes’ Listed.

When supplying formal qualifications for a learning institution that is NOT a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) or does not have a transcript with the National Unit Codes’ listed, you must supply the learning outcomes for each subject for which you are seeking RPL. This is to enable Dedicated Training to make a comparison of the learning outcomes.

Work/Life Experience

When assessing evidence for work and /or life experience, Dedicated Training must ensure the knowledge and /or skills described in the evidence matches the learning outcomes for the subject for which you are applying for.

How much RPL can I apply for?

This depends on your qualifications, skills, work and life experience. You could apply for RPL for the whole course.

 

 

If you wish to proceed with the RPL process for your qualification then please send us an email or give us a call on (07) 4030 1111 to arrange a time to meet with or talk to a qualified RPL assessor.