Review of Farming Skills qualification

FIELD AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Review of Farming Skills qualification

National Certificate in Farming Skills (Farm Safety) (Level 2) [Ref: 0963]

The Agriculture Industry Training Organisation has completed the review of the qualification listed above.

Replacement qualification

National Certificate in Farming Skills (General Skills) [Ref: 1468]

Date new versions published December 2008

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

Summary of review and consultation process

The review was carried out because the qualification had reached its planned review date, and feedback from industry had indicated that changes were required to the structure and content of the qualification to meet current industry requirements.

Key industry representatives from the agriculture sectors were identified, and meetings were convened. Initial discussions focused on the current issues around on-farm safety, any changes which had occurred since the last review which impacted on training, and the future requirements for on-farm safety training across the farming sector.

Feedback received since the last review was also considered by the review panel, and considered in the updated version of the qualification.

A draft replacement qualification was circulated for internal ITO consultation to training advisors, key accounts managers, and moderators. Suggestions were further considered by the review panel and incorporated where relevant.

All stakeholders were notified of the opportunity to provide feedback. Stakeholders consisted of farmers, farmer trainers, Accident and Compensation Corporation (ACC), the Workplace Group of the Department of Labour, training providers, and other Industry Training Organisations.

Feedback was considered by the review panel, and the draft replacement qualification was updated and then endorsed by the Agriculture Industry Committee prior to submission to NZQA for evaluation and registration.

Main changes resulting from the review

The National Certificate in Farming Skills (Farm Safety) (Level 2) [Ref: 0963] has been replaced by a new qualification that is significantly different. The structure of the new qualification has been simplified. The compulsory section is now focussed on health and safety of farm workers and the use of chainsaws. Supporting skills involving the use of vehicles and agrichemicals, and industry specific skills have been included in the electives.

National Certificate in Farming Skills (Farm Safety) (Level 2) [Ref: 0963]

replaced by

National Certificate in Farming Skills (General Skills) [Ref: 1468]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

There are substantial differences between the new and replaced qualifications. These include:

· Minimum credit total of the new qualification is 49 (replaced qualification is 62).

· Standards 497, 6916, 19052, 19054, 19055, 19059 and 19060, and Lists A – E in Elective 1, have not been included in the new qualification.

· Standards 19044 and 19053 have been included in Elective 1.

· Standards 21563 and 21564 have been included in Elective 2.

· Replacement standards 24552, 24554, 24555, 24557, and 24559 have been included in Elective 1 – see exemptions below.

· Standards 6917, 19070, 19106, 19145, 21554, 21561, 21562 and 24539 have been added to the new qualification.

· A new Elective 3 has been added.

For detailed information see Review Summaries on the NZQA website.

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 – see table below.

Credit for	Exempt from
14489, 14490, 14491	23540, 23541, 23542
19043, 19049	24552
19056	24554
19057	24555, 24557
19058	24559

Transition

People currently enrolled in programmes leading to the award of the National Certificate in Farming Skills (Farm Safety) (Level 2) [Ref: 0963] may choose to complete that qualification or transfer their results to this qualification.

Training programmes or courses for this qualification may start as soon as the qualification is registered. The last date for entry into training programmes or courses for the National Certificate in Farming Skills (Farm Safety) (Level 2) [Ref: 0963] is December 2009.

The last date for assessments to take place for the replaced qualification is December 2011. Candidates currently working towards the replaced qualification must be assessed against standard 19113 by 30 June 2011.

It is not intended that anyone be disadvantaged by this review. However, anyone who feels they have been disadvantaged may appeal to:

Agriculture Industry Training Organisation

PO Box 10 383

The Terrace

Wellington 6143

Telephone 04 801 9616

Email standards@agricultureito.ac.nz

Website http://www.agricultureito.ac.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