Preparing for RPL Assessment

To have your skills formally recognised in the Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, Skills Assessors must make sure you have a sufficient level skills and knowledge required to meet the expected industry standards. This means you will be involved in a comprehensive Assessment process that covers the content of all Units of Competency for the Qualification you are seeking.

Although this process is structured around detailed Training Packages, many aspects of the process are relatively informal and the RPL provides great flexibility. This is highlighted by the fact that it is a self paced process.  You will have a three (3) month time frame to submit your evidence.

You can submit your evidence at anytime during the RPL process as we will provide you with a secure filesharing link so you can upload evidence. The system we use ensures that when you send evidence in electronic format, it is full encrypted and cannot be accessed by any other third party.

There is also a great amount of flexibility in the form of evidence that you can provide to prove your competency. Assessment for RPL is a process of reviewing the evidence you provide and matching your skills, knowledge and experience against the Elements and Performance Criteria in the specific Units of Competency for the Qualification.  This process is commonly known as "skills mapping".

RPL Assessment will take place in a variety of ways, including your requirement to undertake ‘Self Assessment”. This provides a valuable opportunity for reviewing and analysing your career experience, as well as gathering together documentation and evidence of your skills and knowledge for submission.

• Be prepared to talk about your job roles and work history which will be recorded by Assessor as a Competency Conversation. This will take place throughout the RPL process, right from the initial stages of making an enquiry. All discussion can have relevance and show your experience and knowledge to be submitted as final evidence.

• Review your Resume / CV for submission and list all your duties and responsibilities for all jobs. Be sure to list any volunteer or unpaid work, internships, etc as they also show you have gained experience.

• Contracts of Employment are essential as they validate your current position of employment against details listed in your resume.  Ask your employer for a copy if you don’t have one.

• Position Description detailing your duties and responsibilities in your job will be valid evidence to match with your Contract of Employment. If you don’t currently have one, this is a chance to work with your employer to develop a Position Description that is relevant to the job that you are performing.

• Performance Reviews or Appraisals are valid evidence that shows how effectively you have performed in your job role. If you don’t have a copy of your most recent review check if it available from your Manager or HR department.

• Consider the people within your business / company or any colleagues that you have within the industry that are willing to provide you with a reference. Be sure to contact them and explain the RPL process so that they can be ready to provide you with written references, or so they can be prepared for contact later to provide you testimonials or verbal reference checks.

• Discuss the RPL process with your Employers and Managers. Your workplace is likely to be highly supportive of your efforts to gain Qualifications and might be willing to provide all the information that you need. Be sure to advise your employer that work based documentation might be required for submission as evidence. Be sure to clarify any issues in relation to Intellectual Property Rights, Confidentiality, Trademarks, etc. If required, business Managers can contact your Assessor to obtain further clarification of the RPL process if required.

• Think about the people you work with that can confirm your experience and skill level. Think about current or recent Managers or Supervisors who you have worked with in the past 3 years – this is the realistic time frame for valid references. You may also have community group contacts or even clients themselves who can verify your skills and experience. References don’t have to only be from your current Employer or Managers.

• Gather together copies of any Qualification Certificates and Academic Transcripts that you have for any training you have completed previously. This can be formal or informal training you have undertaken both on and off the job. If you have participated in work based training you might be able to obtain a record from your employer that you can submit as evidence.

• If you think that you have other relevant evidence or methods you can use to verify your experience and be sure to discuss with your Assessor to clarify if it will be valid to submit. You could be surprised by the diverse forms of evidence you can submit, so don’t be afraid to make suggestions.