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Is recognition for you?

Traditionally, you study for a qualification from beginning to end, regardless of whether you already know part of the material in the course.

Skills recognition shortens that process by acknowledging the skills you already have. So, if you have experience in the area your qualification covers, you are a likely candidate for skills recognition.

Experience counts

If you have already worked in the area you want to study, either paid or as a volunteer, the skills you've developed are probably very valuable. You may have done other studies that include similar subject matter, here or overseas. Even some of your hobbies and interests might include relevant skills.

To be recognised, you need to prove you are already competent in that study area. If you have just left school, don't do part-time work or have many interests, you may not be a candidate for skills recognition. If you are an older person with a wide range of successful work and study experiences, you are probably a very strong candidate.

Are you competent?

To decide whether you are competent in something, start by asking yourself these kinds of questions:

• What tasks have I done at work or in community activities?
• How recently did I do them and would I still remember how?
• What training have I done that might be relevant, including informal on-the-job training?
• How can I prove I can do these things?

Your role in the recognition process

In traditional training, the trainer teaches and you study to pass assessments. With skills recognition, the responsibility is on you to find out what competencies are required and prove whether you have them. The teacher assesses you and then teaches only what you need to fill in the gaps in your skills and knowledge.

Although skills recognition saves you a lot of study time, you need to put a fair amount of work into your application.

A successful skills recognition applicant advises "It saved me months of study but it took me several days to gather all the material and present it to my assessor. I had to think pretty hard about what skills I had and how they related to the qualification."

Prefer to refresh your learning?

Skills recognition is not for everyone. Some people love to learn and don't mind refreshing existing skills. But if you don't want to revise your skills, because you have difficulty getting to classes or just don't have the time, fast-tracking through skills recognition is worthwhile for you.