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Persons within the outdoor recreation industry in Australia, or those seeking to enter the industry, may have achieved formal qualifications in a variety of ways: from a university; from a TAFE College or another Registered Training Organisation; from industry bodies (eg, Australian Canoeing); from in-house organisations (eg, Scouts, Guides). Alternatively, they may hold no formal certification and may have acquired their skills on-the-job.
Quite simplistically, a person may be trained to achieve skills and knowledge. At the end, or throughout that training, they may be assessed formally, informally or not at all. Depending on who has conducted the training and/or assessment, and on the type of course, a student may achieve:
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 | a qualification (eg, a Bachelor.s Degree, a Diploma, a Certificate I, II, III or IV); | |
a Statement of Attainment (eg, for a cluster of competencies in rockclimbing); | |
a statement indicating successful course completion; or | |
a reference from an employer, indicating skills and experience. |
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Employers or land managers frequently ask how you align qualifications to actual workplace requirements, what level of qualification is required, and the difference between a formal TAFE or University qualification and industry-based and in-house training. The answer is not simple. It must be emphasised that NOT EVERYONE WILL REQUIRE A COMPLETE QUALIFICATION.
In some cases, a person may gain employment with a package of specific competencies that do not, in themselves, equate to a qualification (eg, the competencies that equates to an Australian Canoeing Basic Skills Instructor Award). An employer or volunteer organisation may decide that these are the only competencies that an employee requires to fulfill a specific role within their organisation. If, however, that employee/volunteer had additional competencies in other activity areas or in other related areas such as tourism, marketing, computer skills (as contained within a complete qualification), then
they could also be employed in off-peak periods, during bad weather, etc.
Many factors interact to determine the level of competency required. These include the kind of environment, the kind of activity, the profile of the participants/clients, the program objectives and the number of staff and their combined skill level.
AN EMPLOYER or LAND MANAGER MUST DETERMINE THE RANGE OF SITUATIONS ENCOUNTERED WITHIN THE WORKPLACE AND THEN DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR THE RANGE OF PROGRAMS AND SITUATIONS THAT THE EMPLOYEE/VOLUNTEER IS REQUIRED TO OPERATE IN.
In the same way, the Qualifications Framework within the National Outdoor Recreation Industry Training Package does not specify exactly which competencies are required for a particular vocational outcome (eg, for a canoeing instructor, or a fishing guide).
Flexibility must be retained to suit individual needs and circumstances, although suggested clusters of competencies that are interdependent are defined.
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