December
Recognition of prior learning refers to the process of identifying, documenting, and recognising learning outcomes acquired in both formal and informal settings. While many people use their previous professional experience to secure qualifications through RPL, in reality any experience can count! Volunteering can be a part of formal or even informal learnings with skills easily mapped to many of the learning outcomes required for certifications. For example, if you’ve ever worked in a charity shop, you’ll have to understand certain business-related skills, such as working with customers or counting the till at the end of the day. These are instances of relevant and practical knowledge that can be used to add credits to a business course.
Volunteering and the labour market
Volunteers occupy a surprisingly large section of the workforce, with almost one-third of Australians aged 15 and over participating in voluntary work in 2019. During this time, these workers contributed approximately 596 million hours to the community and more broadly, helped the national economy. According to the Australia Bureau of statistics, 61% of people volunteer for one type of organisation and covers anything from sports and recreation groups, education and health and welfare organisations. From SAS work through to meal prep for the aged, volunteers are often responsible for many important roles in our society. With a wide variety of skills that can be gain through unpaid volunteer roles, it makes sense that it can be used for an RPL application!
What do I need for my volunteer work to be used in RPL:
While there is no one road to acquiring qualifications through RPL, the process does require evidence to support your volunteer skills and experience. This can take many forms including
In short, any relevant documentation can be used to support your experience and knowledge. If you’re finding it difficult to obtain this evidence, you could reach out to the organisation you worked for to see if you’re still on their records. Official documentation of this nature can be used. Feel free to contact us and discuss, we’re RPL specialists and can help you every step of the way.
Why Choose RPL?
Traditionally, training programs demand students to devote a significant amount of time to their studies in order to acquire a certificate. This approach is replaced by the RPL certificate, which allows persons with extensive industry knowledge and expertise to earn their certifications much faster.
You can anticipate to acquire your qualifications in weeks, not years, depending on your relevant experience and documentation. RPL is also less expensive than typical programs because you only pay for the evaluation of your documentation rather than the complete course, why pay for something you already know! Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to be formally recognised for your charity or volunteer work in way that can help boost your career and resume.
How RPL Works:
The first step is to complete our FREE RPL assessment form. This will start the process and give you an idea of what you could be eligible for. Part of this process involves adding as much evidence of your volunteer work as possible. The more the better!
Our team then evaluates your documentation to see if it satisfies the learning outcomes for any of our courses. If there is any issue or if more documentation is required, we’ll reach out to discuss.
Depending the evidence and if it meets all required learning outcomes, we provide a list of eligible qualifications. Some more advanced certificates may require minimal additional study. This will be covered and explained as part of the RPL process.
You select the qualification you’d like and pay the required fee. Your email address will receive electronic copies, and your postal address will receive hard copies. That’s it, you’re done!
Contact Us to Discuss
Volunteering is a great way to build skills and help the community. If you need any help throughout the RPL process or would like to discuss you options, get in touch! Our team are specialists in the RPL and can help you achieve your learning goals.
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