Developing Training and Employment Pathways via Skills Recognition Process
18 July 2008
Kangan Batman TAFE trainer Rupert Owen with Skills Store participant Scott Kellett
The Employment Services department at Kangan Batman TAFE recently took on the Skills Store contract to assist jobseekers on Work for the Dole activities, adding another dimension to the department's wide range of services and products.
The Skills Store enables individuals to develop employment and training pathways by identifying the skills they've acquired via work and life experiences that could be recognised as formal qualifications via RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning assessment).
Since its establishment last year, the Skills Store program has already helped many participants plot a pathway to career success, including Scott Kellett who came to the Employment Services department in search of a new career challenge.
"I was looking for a change in direction and wanted to search for a job within the information technology sector," he said.
"Most job adverts I came across required some form of documentation or certificate within IT, so I focused my attention on obtaining these qualifications. As I wanted to focus on Certificate IV in information Technology, I needed recognition of prior learning to obtain my Certificate III and then apply for Certificate IV in the mid year."
Although he didn't have any formal qualifications, Scott's previous on-the-job experience was enough to qualify him for entry into the Certificate III level of IT, essentially "fast-tracking" the training process.
"Once I cross-referenced my resume and identified the jobs where I had developed PC skills, I found the RPL process to very beneficial," Scott said.
"Being able to categorise and focus on the skills I already had really helped to define what else I needed to then learn to succeed in the industry.
"I had always had computer knowledge but with no formal certification. This was limiting me when looking for work as I knew the programs or the job, but couldn't prove my knowledge or show my skills on paper. Now that I have my RPL, I can focus in on fine tuning my skills for the profession that I want."
Kangan Batman TAFE's Employment Services department has also worked closely with a group of Skills Store participants in Essendon, assessing life skills, work experience, work history and prior study to identify areas for recognition.
The participants had widely varying degrees of experience and education history, right through from no higher education qualifications to PhD level. Completing the process assisted all of them to identify skills they had gained via non-formal experiences that could be mapped against and recognised in a formal certificate or qualification.
Part of the process involved completing a 'Plan Skills Development' unit where participants developed a portfolio containing resumes, cover letters, work experience examples, evidence of skills, documents and certificates.
Along with identifying the units that each jobseeker could be eligible for, this module also assists with career development.
It helps guide Skills Store participants to take the most appropriate steps when looking and applying for work, with customised cover letters, follow up phone calls, on the spot job applications and target resumes.
Enthusiasm has been growing as the participants get set to undertake skills assessment via RPL over the next few weeks, with a variety of individually tailored assessment outcomes expected.
Kangan Batman TAFE's Employment Services sees this engagement and recognition - with opportunities for potential training and the creation of employment pathways - as the most important and valuable outcome of the program.
If you would like to discuss how this process could help you, please contact us at the Skills Recognition Centre on 9279 2274 or email us at skills@kangan.edu.au. Alternatively, you can attend an information session at the Hume Global Learning Centre on Thursdays at 2:30pm. The process is free for all individuals, and the formal assessment step costs $55.
