Nationally recognised assessment - and training - is provided by RTOs (registered training organisations).
These include TAFE institutes and private training providers that meet national quality standards. Only an RTO can issue Qualifications and Statements of Attainment.
RTOs specialising in this industry
Although the Forest, Wood, Paper and Timber Products Industry is spread right across Australia and is made up of many different enterprises, only a small number of RTOs specialise in servicing this industry. Click here to find an RTO near you that services the industry.
As a general rule, the assessors and trainers who work for these RTOs have themselves worked in the industry, so they have first-hand knowledge and skills.
Workplace-based assessment
With workplaces often in rural or remote areas, it's not always easy to have an RTO assessor on site to do assessments. To deal with this, some enterprises have their own workplace-based assessors who work in partnership with an RTO. These assessors, who are skilled and formally trained employees, gather evidence about the competence of workers, then pass it on the RTO. The RTO is then able to issue a qualification or Statement of Attainment recognising the worker's skills.
What about the quality of the assessment?
There are guidelines that govern the way assessment and training is conducted by RTOs. These guidelines, part of the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF), set out standards that RTOs must comply with to ensure the quality and consistency of assessment and training.
