Making Connections - The Skills Recognition newsletter

Local Government moves ahead with new approaches to skills recognition

Local Government has taken up and extended innovative approaches to skills recognition developed by the NSW Public Sector ITAB, according to Jenny James, its Executive Officer. Council employees are great candidates for RPL, with many having acquired valuable skills over a long period of employment with local government.

Shellharbour City Council staff who have received Frontline Management qualifications: Melinda Fitzgerald – Risk Management Officer; Jenny Filmer – Governance/Administration Officer; and Michelle Olsen – Executive Assistant to the Public Officer. They all embraced the concept of recognition and whilst they were in different areas, they supported each other and brainstormed together at workshop sessions, looking at each person’s job role and seeing how each competency aligned with their roles.

The NSW Public Sector ITAB received funding from the COAG RPL Program (2006 - 09) to develop new approaches to RPL that would move beyond the traditional portfolio approach. Three models were developed, two for group assessment and the third for a streamlined approach to portfolios in the area of contract management. Fourteen RTOs were on the steering committee (including one from interstate). The mix of RTOs from TAFE, government agencies, and the private sector had different approaches to RPL and networking as a result of the project has helped them look at what they do and be less prescriptive in some cases. They have used the new resources and also adapted them for other units and other qualifications.

Group assessment model

Chris Power of Australian Training and Consulting (ATAC), Tamworth, successfully trialled the tools developed in the COAG RPL project with long term existing workers enrolled in Certificate III in Local Government at Coffs Harbour City Council in the administration section. Since then he has used group assessment tools as part of the evidence gathering in Business (Frontline Management) and Hospitality, and is currently using it with long term existing workers in local government enrolled in Certificate III in Civil Construction Plant Operations.

Based on their experience, ATAC has developed clear guidelines for the use of group assessment. It is deemed appropriate when the assessor has determined that the workplace systems, work duties and work history of the candidates supports using on-the-job training and work experience as evidence towards recognition.

Chris Power comments that “The group process allows candidates to relate their work experience through reference to actual events and happenings in the workplace and allows group members to support each other in providing evidence of on-the-job training and work experiences from the workplace.”

The assessor’s role in the group assessment process is to ask trigger questions of the group that are linked to the requirements of each unit of competency, to capture and record evidence presented by each candidate and to form an opinion on the skills and knowledge of each of the candidates.

At ATAC the group assessment is used in conjunction with other forms of supporting evidence which the assessor has already put together from within the workplace and/or from the information supplied by the candidates. This type of recognition process relies on the assessor taking a lead role in gathering and collating available information and it takes the burden of compiling evidence away from the candidate and into the hands of the assessor.

TAFE NSW partnerships with local government

TAFE Illawarra is another RTO working with Local Councils and making use of group assessment and recognition. Elizabeth Ross, Head Teacher of Administrative Studies in Illawarra TAFE, has worked with Goulburn, Shellharbour and Wingecarribee Councils who are making use of funding available to support existing worker trainees in order to up-skill their staff. Both indoor and outdoor staff have taken part in the program.

Elizabeth Ross commented that using group assessment for core units of the qualification was a great way to introduce staff to skills recognition and training. As many long-term staff are anxious about the process, the group recognition experience is very reassuring, especially when focusing on core units. Because these units are the essence of their work and, for example, normally assessed in Performance Review, participants find it easy to discuss and to identify evidence. From that starting point, it becomes easy to apply the process to the more specialist units that relate to particular roles.

Both Elizabeth Ross and Chris Power agree that the cooperation and involvement of management is critical to the success of group recognition, and indeed of skills recognition generally. The human resources managers in local government are often the primary movers in programs to up-skill existing workers. Their assistance in providing opportunities for staff to participate in group recognition, as well as helping to source evidence of competency is essential to the success of such projects.

Streamlined RPL portfolio

The Local Government Training Institute is based in the Hunter region, but provides training across Australia, mainly by distance education. RPL is a standard offering for those undertaking its courses and it has refined its guidelines for candidates applying for RPL by portfolio. However, the area of RPL which is growing most strongly is also in group recognition. Margaret Murray, the Certificate Programs Manager for the Local Government Training Institute, was a member of the steering committee of the COAG funded project, and conducted successful pilot studies for group recognition with existing workers in Horticulture (in the Hunter) and Regulatory Services (at Liverpool).

Margaret emphasises that the success of the group recognition method depends heavily on the expertise of the assessor, who must be very knowledgeable both about the work practices and the relevant units of competency, as the responsibility rests with the assessor to identify evidence that is both relevant and sufficient to demonstrate competency. In addition, the assessor must foster supportive communication within the group.

It is clear from the range of Councils and RTOs that continue to use and develop the resources first produced through the COAG funded project by the NSW Public Sector ITAB, that skills recognition will continue to be an important strategy to enable local government employees to gain formal qualifications, and to build on them to further their careers. The resources are available on the ITAB website, as well as on Skills Online.