FIELD                        COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES

 

Review of Fire and Rescue Services qualifications

 

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services (Airport) (Level 3) [Ref: 0535]

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services (Airport) (Level 4) [Ref: 0536]

 

The Fire and Rescue Services Industry Training Organisation has completed the review of the qualifications listed above that were registered in October 1998.

 

Replacement qualifications

 

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Advanced) (Level 3) [Ref: 1159]

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Supervisory) (Level 4) [Ref: 1160]

 

New qualification

 

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Basic) (Level 2) [Ref: 1158]

 

Date qualifications published                        April 2005

 

Summary of review and consultation process

 

The above qualifications were reviewed in July/August 2004 to reflect the changes made necessary by the review of the unit standards in the Fire and Rescue Services subfield over the period 2001-2003.

 

Feedback received from assessors, moderators, and major stakeholders indicated that the qualifications had unnecessarily high credit levels, and that the unit standard makeup of the qualifications no longer met the requirements of training programmes being developed for today's airport fire fighters and rescue personnel.

 

It was also confirmed that a new qualification at level 2 was required to cover the progression of trainees entering the industry at a basic level of competence, and gaining additional knowledge and skills to enable their progress, through an advanced level, to a supervisory position.

 

A series of expert panel meetings involving input from personnel representing the airports fire fighting industry were held over the period January-July 2004 in order to ensure that current training methods and terminology would be reflected in the reviewed qualifications, and in the development of the new qualification.

 

The new and replacement qualifications are progressive from level 2 to level 4 in their construction, whereas the previous qualifications carried over unit standards from the level 3 qualification to the level 4 one.

 

The new National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Basic) (Level 2) [Ref: 1158] has been introduced to recognise the elementary skills gained by recruit airport fire fighters before they progress to the National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Advanced) (Level 3) [Ref: 1159].  The qualification was also developed to cover training requirements for fire fighters employed at small regional airports, who had found the National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services (Airport) (Level 3) [Ref: 0535] not suited to their particular workplaces.

 

The Airport Qualifications Review Panel, represented by the major users of the airport qualifications, has confirmed that the new and replacement qualifications will meet the training requirements of the airports fire fighting industry.

 

Main changes resulting from the review

 

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services (Airport) (Level 3) [Ref: 0535]

 

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Advanced) (Level 3) [Ref: 1159]

Changes to structure and content:

·          the credit total of the replacement qualification is 47 credits rather than 87;

·          unit standard 3272 has been replaced by unit standard 20395 in the replacement qualification;

·          expiring unit standard 3325 has been replaced by unit standards 20389 and 20390, and expiring unit standards 3332 and 3333 have been replaced by unit standard 20391 in the replacement qualification;

·          unit standards 3309, 3312, 3328, 3330, 3334, 3492, 14555, 16943, 16946, 20385, 20386, 20387, and 20388 have been added to the replacement qualification;

·          unit standards 497, 3270, 3271,3274, 3278, 3282, 3283, 3324, 3331, 4647, 4651, 6400-6402, 10612, 10614, and 10616 have not been included in the replacement qualification.

 

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services (Airport) (Level 4) [Ref: 0536]

 

National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Supervisory) (Level 4) [Ref: 1160]

Changes to structure and content:

·          the credit total of the replacement qualification is 65 credits rather than 132;

·          unit standard 3272 has been replaced by unit standard 20395 in the replacement qualification;

·          unit standards 2780, 3281, 14562, 16933, 16943, 16947, 17279, 19444, and 20394 have been added to the replacement qualification;

·          unit standards 497, 2791, 3267, 3270, 3271, 3273, 3274, 3275, 3278, 3282, 3283, 3290, 3310, 3316, 3324, 3325, 3328, 3331, 4647, 4651, 6400-6402, 7108, 10612, 10614, 10616, 11101, and 11552 have not been included in the replacement qualification;

·          expiring unit standards 3332 and 3333 have not been included in the replacement qualification.

 

Transition

 

The National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Advanced) (Level 3) [Ref: 1159] replaced the National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services (Airport) (Level 3) [Ref: 0535], and the National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services - Airport (Supervisory) (Level 4) [Ref: 1160] replaced the National Certificate in Fire and Rescue Services (Airport) (Level 4) [Ref: 0536].  People currently working towards the replaced qualifications may complete the requirements for those qualifications or transfer their results to the respective replacement qualification.  The last date for people to complete version 2 of the replaced qualifications is 31 December 2006.

 

These qualifications contain unit standards that replace earlier unit standards. For the purposes of these qualifications people who have gained credit for any of the expiring unit standards will be exempt from the requirement to gain credit for the replacement unit standards.

 

 

The Fire and Rescue Services Industry Training Organisation should be contacted for any information and/or appeals.

 

FRSITO National Training Manager

PO Box 11 988

WELLINGTON

 

Telephone            04 801 9469

Fax                  04 801 9476

Email              info@frsito.org.nz