Recognising Staff Pre-learning

Before employees embark on their new qualification, read the following to find out if their skills and experience can be converted to nationally recognised unit standards.

Recognising prior learning

There are two ways to get your past experience and skills converted to nationally recognised unit standards. The process you choose will depend on your circumstances.

We can help you decide the process that best suits you, and what you need to do to apply. We’ll also arrange an assessor for you if there is no workplace assessor available.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL is a process of awarding credit for unit standards in the National Qualifications Framework, by taking into account achievements, skills and knowledge you have gained from life, work and training.

You may be eligible for RPL regardless of where or how you achieved the skills or how long you took to achieve them.

You may have gained skills in one or more of the following ways:

the workplace
life experience
Marae activities
hobbies and talents
self-directed study
non-certificate study
formal uncertificated learning
in-service training
distance education or open learning
community-based education
overseas education, training or experience.

The RPL process establishes your current competence. You’ll need to provide evidence showing you are still competent in the area you’re being assessed for.

Recognition of Current Competency (RCC)

If you’ve been working in the industry for a number of years but have no formal qualifications, the RCC process can help you gain a national qualification that recognises your skills and knowledge.

You will be observed at work and will need to explain your work, skills and competencies in writing or in person.

How RPL and RCC work

To gain qualifications through either the RPL or RCC process, you need to be assessed on the job by a registered ATTTO assessor.

You will need to gather a portfolio of evidence to present to the assessor. The effectiveness and cost of the process will depend on the quality of the information you present.

Examples of evidence may include:

testimonials, references, referees
attestations, statutory declarations, affidavits
proof of formal academic qualifications (including course outlines or material covered)
courses, seminars, conferences attended and what you learnt
professional and community affiliations
your work record, such as job descriptions, professional development, appraisals
samples of work
membership panels, such as NZQA expert panels or advisory groups
documents that provide evidence of your learning experiences
pre-tests
certificates
observation reports
records of learning
photographs, video tapes, film clips.

Once you have gathered your portfolio, contact the assessor for an initial visit.

Cost of assessment

Costs can vary depending on the size and level of difficulty of the qualification and the amount of documentation and evidence to be assessed.

If you are employed in a tourism, travel, aviation or museum workplace you can sign into a training agreement. This means your workplace will receive an entitlement to help with assessment costs.

If you are not currently employed in the industry you must pay all costs associated with assessment and NZQA reporting.

These costs are:

$2 per credit for each unit standard submitted
$25 administration fee
$25 NZQA ‘hook on’ fee (if not already hooked on to the NZQA Framework)
$15 per certificate (when the qualification is awarded)

The current assessment rate is $75 per hour. The number of hours required for assessment varies - the more information you prepare the lower the cost.

More information

To contact a registered ATTTO assessor, or to find out more about RPL or RCC, contact us.