Review of Rural Contracting qualifications

FIELD AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Review of Rural Contracting qualifications

National Certificate in Rural Contracting (Introductory Skills) [Ref: 0228]

National Certificate in Agrichemical Application with strands in External Parasites, Total Vegetation Control, Aquatic, Broadacre, Brush, and Management [Ref: 0229]

National Certificate in Agricultural Contracting with strands in Crop Production, Land Drainage, Land Development, Hedge Trimming, Harvesting, Mowing, and Zero Tillage [Ref: 0230]

National Certificate in Rural Contracting (Management) with strands in Agrichemical Contracting, and Agricultural Contracting [Ref: 1003]

InfraTrain New Zealand (InfraTrain) has completed the review of the qualifications listed above.

Date new versions published August 2008

The next qualification review is planned to take place during 2013.

Summary of review and consultation process

The review was prompted by industry expressing the need to increase the uptake of these qualifications and by changes resulting from the progressive implementation of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.

The Rural Training Advisory Group (Rural TAG) was established to represent key stakeholders, including the Rural and Associated Contractors Federation of New Zealand (RACF). Rural TAG initially convened in October 2005, followed by a series of further meetings and working groups through to September 2006. The consultation process included meetings with representatives of the Agriculture Industry Training Organisation (February 2006 and later) and the New Zealand Agrichemical Education Trust (September 2006 and September 2007) to prevent unnecessary overlap and to ensure alignment with the widely recognised GROWSAFE^® brand certifications.

As part of the overall review process, all unit standards in the Rural Contracting subfield underwent review and this development has contributed to the changes made to these qualifications.

Version 3 of Ref: 0228 and Ref: 0229 contain standards that have expired or have been replaced by other standards. This review has introduced transition arrangements to enable existing candidates to use credit for the replacement standards as exemptions for the expiring standards. This type of transition is called ‘reverse transition'.

Main changes resulting from the review

National Certificate in Rural Contracting (Introductory Skills) [Ref: 0228]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· Standards 4, 14, 497, 772, 3461, 5059, and 5062 were removed from the compulsory section.

· Standards 3466, 4249, 9707, 17676, and 19578 were added to the compulsory section.

· The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries field was removed from the elective.

· Standards 3471, 6255, 6257, 6469, 16605, 16701, 16702, 16703, 20877, 21556, 21560, 21563, and 21564 were added to the elective section.

· Standard 24552 replaced standard 19043 in the elective section.

· Standard 21544 was substituted for standard 5059 and moved to the elective section.

· Reverse transition arrangements were included for version 3 of the qualification.

People currently working towards version 3 of this qualification may either complete the requirements of that version or transfer their results to this version. If transferring, candidates will need to gain the additional standards required.

This qualification contains standards that replace earlier standards. For the purposes of this qualification people who have gained credit for the expiring standards are exempt from the requirement to gain credit for the replacement standards.

Credit for	Exempt from
5	19043
5059	21554

For the purpose of this qualification, people who hold a current full driver licence of Class 1 are exempt from the requirements of a Driver Licence Classes standard, as specified below. They are required to pay the credit fee associated with the standard and must apply for the exemption through InfraTrain New Zealand, who will process the application and forward the results and fees to NZQA for processing.

Current Full Driver Licence	Exempt from
Class 1	16605

Version 3 Reverse Transition

Version 3 of this qualification contained standards that have expired or have been replaced by other standards. For the purposes of this qualification, people who have gained credit for the replacement standards are exempt from the requirement to gain credit for the expiring standards.

Credit for	Exempt from
22174	14
22177	772
17676, 20969	3461
21557	5062

No exemptions are required for standards listed in the Elective as they were recommendations, and any credit from the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Field can be used to meet the requirements of the set.

National Certificate in Agrichemical Application with strands in External Parasites, Total Vegetation Control, Aquatic, Broadacre, Brush, and Management [Ref: 0229]

National Certificate in Agrichemical Application with strands in Livestock External Parasites, Total Vegetation Control, Aquatic, Broadacre, and Brush [Ref: 0229]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· Title and strand names were adjusted to reflect strand changes.

· Credits in the compulsory section were increased from 36 to 61.

· Minimum credits in the elective section were increased from 2 to 6.

· Standards 6401, 19578, 21544, and 21565 were added to the compulsory section.

· Standards 6243 and 6244 were removed from the compulsory section.

· Standard 21554 replaced standard 5059 in the compulsory section.

· Standard 21560 was substituted for standard 823, and standards 21563 and 21564 were substituted for standard 5060 in the compulsory section.

· Standard 24552 replaced standard 5 in the elective section.

· Standards 4 and 6258 were removed from the elective section.

· Standard 6400 was moved from the compulsory section to the elective section.

· Standards 6469, 17978, 20627, 20798, and 21551 were added to the elective section.

· Standard 23617 was added to the Brush strand.

· Standard 23619 replaced standards 6252 and 6253 in the Broadacre strand.

· Standard 23620 was added to the Broadacre strand.

· External Parasites strand was renamed ‘Livestock External Parasites' strand and the level of the qualification with the strand was increased from 2 to 4.

· Total Vegetation Control strand: Credits were increased from 20 to 26 and the level of the qualification with the strand was increased from 2 to 4.

· Aquatic strand: Credits were increased from 20 to 26 and the level of the qualification with the strand was increased from 2 to 4.

· Broadacre strand: Credits were increased from 22 to 38 and the level of the qualification with the strand was increased from 3 to 4.

· Brush strand: Credits were increased from 6 to 12 and the level of the qualification with the strand was increased from 2 to 3.

· The Management strand, which included standards 6248, 6249, 6250, and 6251, was removed.

· Reverse transition arrangements were included for version 3 of the qualification.

Credit for	Exempt from
5	19043
5059	21554
6252, 6253	23619
10892	21551
10898	21544
15189	19578

This qualification contains rural contracting standards with similar content to standards from other sub-fields that are included in GROWSAFE^®AppliedCertificate training. For the purposes of this qualification people who have gained credit for the standards listed below are exempt from the requirement to gain credit for the equivalent rural contracting standard.

Credit for	Exempt from
21558	17232

People who hold a current dangerous goods (D) driver licence endorsement are exempt from the requirement for standard 16718 within the elective section, as specified below. They are required to pay the credit fee associated with the standard and must apply for the exemption through InfraTrain New Zealand, who will process the application and forward the results and fees to NZQA for processing.

Current Driver Licence	Exempt from
D (dangerous goods) endorsement	16718

Version 3 Reverse Transition

Version 3 of this qualification contained standards that have expired or have been replaced by other standards. For the purposes of this qualification people who have gained credit for the replacement standards are exempt from the requirement to gain credit for the expiring standards.

Credit For	Exempt from
21560	823
21563, 21564	5060
19561	6248

National Certificate in Agricultural Contracting with strands in Crop Production, Land Drainage, Land Development, Hedge Trimming, Harvesting, Mowing, and Zero Tillage [Ref: 0230]

National Certificate in Agricultural Contracting with optional strands in Crop Production, Fencing, Harvesting, Land Development, Mechanical Vegetation Control, Transport, and Zero Tillage [Ref: 0230]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· All strands were registered as optional strands, with the qualification able to be achieved with the Core Compulsory and Core Elective only.

· Minimum credits for the qualification were changed from 86-147 to 69.

· Core Compulsory reduced from 33 to 29 credits, and Core Elective increased from 27 to 40 credits.

· Core Compulsory: standards 6258, 6469, and 19579 were removed; and standard 23622 was added.

· Core Compulsory standard 6255 was moved to the Harvesting optional strand.

· Standard 24552 replaced standard 19043 in the Core Compulsory.

· Standards 6400 and 16701 were moved from the Core Compulsory to the Core Elective Set B.

· Core Elective was split into Set A and Set B and standards 6256, 6257, 6267, 6290, 19562, 19574, 19575, and 19576 within the Core Elective were replaced by Set A with the requirement to select a minimum of 25 credits from the Agricultural Contracting domain.

· Standard 1766 was removed, and standards 6917, 19046, 20627, 20798, 20877, 20878, 21563, and 21564 were added to the Core Elective.

· Standard 6466 was moved from the Core Elective to the new Transport optional strand.

· Standard 9707 was moved from the Core Elective to the Core Compulsory.

· Standard 15164 was removed from the Core Elective, and was substituted by standard 24089 in the Core Compulsory.

· Two new optional strands were added – Fencing and Transport.

· Crop Production and Zero Tillage strands were replaced by the Crop Production and Zero Tillage optional strands.

· Standards 6271, 6272, 6274, and 19568 were removed from the Crop Production optional strand.

· Standard 6275 was moved from the Crop Production strand Compulsory to the Crop Production optional strand Elective Set A.

· Standard 6266 was moved from the Crop Production Elective Set A to the Crop Production optional strand Elective Set B.

· Standard 23638 replaced standard 6268 within the Crop Production optional strand Elective sets.

· Standard 19063 was added to the Crop Production optional strand Compulsory and the Zero Tillage optional strand.

· Harvesting strand was replaced by the Harvesting optional strand.

· Standards 6273, 6279, 6285, 6287, 6288, 6289, and 19572 were removed, and standards 23624-23626, 23629-23637, and 23639 were added to the Harvesting optional strand.

· Hedge Trimming and Mowing strands were replaced by the Mechanical Vegetation Control optional strand.

· Standard 6479 was moved from the Mowing strand to the Land Development strand.

· All standards from the Hedge Trimming strand were moved to the Mechanical Vegetation Control optional strand.

· Standards 5627, 19570, 19571, and 19576 were moved from the Mowing strand to the Mechanical Vegetation Control optional strand.

· Standard 23623 was added to the Mechanical Vegetation Control strand.

· Land Drainage and Land Development strands were replaced by the Land Development optional strand.

· Standards 6260, 6261, 6266, 6283, 6284, 6479, 19562-19564, and19575 were moved from the Land Drainage and Land Development strands to the Land Development optional strand.

· Standard 23638 replaced standard 6280 within the Land Development optional strand Elective.

· Standards 19565-19567 and 19574 were removed, and standards 6476, 17309, 17311, 17314, 17316, 17317, 23621, and 23623 were added to the Land Development optional strand.

People currently working towards version 4 of this qualification may either complete the requirements of that version or transfer their results to this version. If transferring, candidates will need to gain the additional standards required.

Credit for	Exempt from
5	19043
6254	19562
6268, 6280	23638
23628	23622

For the purpose of this qualification, people who hold a current full driver licence of Class 2, 3, 4, or 5 are exempt from the requirement for one of the Driver Licence Classes standards, as specified below. They are required to pay the credit fee associated with the standard and must apply for the exemption through InfraTrain New Zealand, who will process the application and forward the results and fees to NZQA for processing.

Current Full Driver Licence	Exemption – one of
Class 2	17574
Class 3	17575
Class 4	17576
Class 5	17577

National Certificate in Rural Contracting (Management) with strands in Agrichemical Contracting, and Agricultural Contracting [Ref: 1003]

National Certificate in Rural Contracting (Management) with strands in Agrichemical application, and Agricultural Contracting [Ref: 1003]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· The title of the qualification was amended to reflect the change in strand names.

· The Agrichemical strand was renamed Agrichemical Application.

· The Agricultural strand was renamed Agricultural Contracting.

· Qualification prerequisites were removed.

· Overall credits were reduced from 87-93 to 68.

· Standards 6406 and 6407 were removed from the compulsory section.

· Standards 16661, 19798, 20078, and 23627 were added to the compulsory section.

· Credit requirement for the elective section was reduced from 35 to 5.

· Standard 5628 and all listed subfields and domains were removed from the elective section.

· Standards 7462, 11633, 16653, and 19028 were added to the elective section.

· Standard 23618 replaced standards 6250 and 6251 in the Agrichemical Application strand.

· Standard 23628 replaced standards 6292 and 6293 in the Agricultural Contracting strand.

· Standard 23627, which was placed in the compulsory section, replaced standard 6249 in the Agrichemical Application strand and standard 6291 in the Agricultural Contracting strand.

People currently working towards version 1 of this qualification may either complete the requirements of that version or transfer their results to this version. If transferring, candidates will need to gain the additional standards required.

This qualification contains standards that replaced earlier standards. For the purposes of this qualification people who have gained credit for the expiring standards are exempt from the requirement to gain credit for the replacement standard.

Credit for	Exempt from
6248	19561
6249, 6291	23627
6250, 6251	23618
6292, 6293	23628

General Transition Information

The last date for assessment of the previous versions of above qualifications is 31 December 2011.

It is the intention of InfraTrain New Zealand that these transition arrangements are fair, and do not disadvantage any existing candidate. Anyone who thinks that they have been disadvantaged by the transition process should, in the first instance, contact InfraTrain at the address below.

InfraTrain New Zealand

PO Box 2759

WELLINGTON

Telephone 0800 486 626

Email askus@infratrain.co.nz

Key to Qualification Review Categories

Category A The qualification is published as a new version with the same NQF ID	Changes are made to SSB name, contact details or purpose statement
	No change is made to title, rules or components of the qualification
	No transition arrangements are required
Category B The qualification is published as a new version with the same NQF ID	Changes are made to title, rules or components
	The new version of the qualification recognises a similar skill set to that recognised by the previous version
	The SSB is confident that people awarded the new or previous version are comparable in terms of competence
	Transition arrangements are required if candidates must gain additional/different credits for the new version
Category C A new (replacement) qualification is published with new NQF ID	Significant changes are made to the qualification in terms of components, structure, type or level
	The SSB views people with the replacement qualification as being significantly different in terms of competence from those with the replaced qualification
	Transition arrangements are required
	Transition may be limited to phase-out dates
Category D Qualification will expire. There is no replacement qualification	Qualification is no longer required by industry
	The qualification is designated as expiring and a last date for meeting the qualification requirements is set

Credit for

Exempt from