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Benefits and costs

If your skills are recognised before you start training, you don't have to be trained in things you already know. That makes study faster, cheaper and a lot more interesting.

Gaining a qualification by skills recognition should cost less because you're not paying to learn things you are already competent in.

The rule of thumb is that the more skills and experience you can demonstrate with evidence upfront, the quicker it will take you to gain your qualification and the cheaper it will be.

Variables

You might be wondering 'How much will it cost, and how long will it take?'

The answers vary depending on a number of factors. For example:

• What level of skills and experience do you have and therefore what gaps do you have?
• Which training provider will you use?
• What kind of qualification do you want to get?
• How much evidence have you already collected?
• What kind of assessment will you need?
• What delivery method will you use for your gap training eg online or face to face?

When shopping around for a training provider, ask about their fee for assessing skills recognition and what this includes. They may refer to skills recognition as Recognition of Prior Learning or RPL. You can use the RTO checklist to help you make your decision.

You can search for a training provider using the self evaluation tool.

Fees

Different training providers will charge different fees for recognition services.

Some training providers will charge you for any extra subjects you need to complete if you want a whole qualification plus an administration fee. Others will ask for the entire qualification fee. Some will then refund the cost of any areas you receive recognition in.

Some training providers will ask you to enrol in a qualification before you can apply for skills recognition, others will not.

Workplace assessments

A workplace assessment, where an assessor comes to your workplace or observes you in a simulated workshop, can sometimes be more expensive.

If you are working, getting your skills recognised will benefit your employer as well. It helps them identify the skills in their organisation and find faster ways to build the skills they need in their workforce.