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What is recognition?
Skills recognition means that the skills and knowledge you already have through informal learning may count towards a nationally recognised qualification or statement of attainment. To have your skills recognised you need to get a formal assessment. The assessor can consider your evidence of:
- paid or unpaid work in Australia or overseas
- on-the-job training
- other qualifications from Australia or overseas
- community or voluntary work
- hobbies, sport and leisure activities.
If they recognise your skills, you may be able to get credit for a course of study, which will shorten the length of time for your studies. In some cases, you may get 100 per cent recognition of your qualification, meaning you would not have to study at all.
Skills recognition applies to courses offered in Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). RTOs include TAFEs, private training providers, 
some community colleges and some workplaces. A few universities are also RTOs. RTOs offer you the security of knowing you have a nationally recognised qualification. Watch out for this logo to guarantee that the training provider you choose offers nationally recognised qualifications.
Types of recognition
This site gives you information about skills recognition. You might also hear it called recognition of prior learning. This means people who are beginning a qualification can gain credit for what they already know and what they can already do. Many of these valuable skills have been picked up outside of a formal learning environment.
There are also specific types of skills recognition which suit the different needs of different people.
You can have your trade skills or overseas vocational qualification recognised via the skills recognition processes this site describes. Or alternatively you can look at these options -
· trade recognition for people who have trade skills and experience but have not completed an apprenticeship in Australia. These people can apply to the Vocational Training Tribunal (VTT) to have their trade skills recognised as described in the DET Apprenticeships and Traineeships website.
· recognition of specified overseas qualifications, allowing the practise of those occupations in Australia. See the Department of Immigration and Citizenships Australian Skills Recognition Information website.
If you have already done some formal studies and want credit transfer from previous study to your new course, contact the new training provider to check what they will recognise. If your previous study and your new course are both nationally recognised training within Australia, it should be easy to claim credit transfer.
How it works
Once you’ve decided what qualification you want, you apply for recognition at a registered training organisation or RTO where you have enrolled. You may want to shop around for an RTO that suits you and you can find a list of them at National Training Information Service (NTIS)
Someone at the RTO, usually a teacher in the subject you want to study, can help you apply for skills recognition. It is also their job to assess whether you are eligible for recognition.
To have your skills recognised, you will need to provide evidence that you already have skills relevant to the qualification you want. These might include certificates, resumes, references, a portfolio of work or you could do a practical skills test.
Having your skills recognised by an RTO is a significant achievement. It means your skills are of a standard recognised anywhere in Australia by employers and government. Nationally recognised qualifications are only available from RTOs who display this logo:
This logo means your qualifications have been awarded under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). That means that industry and governments across Australia agree you are ready for work!
When you apply for skills recognition, you will hear some new language. Don’t let it put you off. Here are some of the training terms you need to know:
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Statement of attainment | This is a statement to say you have part of a qualification. You may not need a whole qualification, depending on your job, so a statement of attainment may be more relevant to you. Statements of attainment recognise that you have achieved certain ‘units of competency’. |
| Unit of competency | This describes the standard of performance expected by industry for certain work functions e.g. driving a forklift, operating a bar or communicating in the workplace. Every qualification and statement of attainment offered by RTOs is made up of units of competency. |
| Competence | Competence is a mix of knowledge, technical skills, understanding, problem solving and attitudes that you need to be successful at work. Employers have worked with all Australian governments to decide the competencies needed in their industry. Your competence will be measured by an ‘assessor’ in an RTO. The assessor will assess you against relevant units of competency. |
| Assessment | Assessment is a process in which you gather evidence to show an assessor that you are competent. Assessors can help you work out the kind of evidence to gather. |
