AHC10 Qualifications and Australian Apprenticeships Guide

The AHC10 Qualifications and Australian Apprenticeships Guide has been produced by Rural Skills Australia and can be downloaded from the links shown below. Users need only download the sectors relevant to them rather than the whole guide.

You can view the entire document as an E-Zine or print it out here.

The qualifications guides have been designed for use by Australian Apprenticeship Centres, Registered Training Organisations, Group Training Organisations and industry bodies. They are highly useful in appreciating the qualifications packaging rules of the 'Agriculture, Horticulture, and Conservation and Land Management AHC Training Package'.

The guides contain an informative summary of the qualifications and training available within the agricultural, horticultural, conservation and land management and associated services sectors of industry, with specific reference to qualification rules for Australian Apprenticeships/Traineeships.

The AHC10 Training Package was endorsed by the National Quality Council (NQC) in April 2011 and is now published on the website www.training.gov.au

Download your guides for each sector

• Agriculture AHC10 Training Guide - Version 2.1 PDF document
• Horticulture AHC10 Training Guide - Version 2.1 PDF document
• Production Horticulture AHC10 Training Guide - Version 2.1 PDF document
• Conservation and Land Management AHC10 Training Guide - Version 2.1 PDF document
• Services AHC10 Training Guide - Version 2.1 PDF document

'Services' includes: agribusiness, beekeeping, commercial seed processing, commercial composting, conservation earthworks, feedlot, irrigation, rural machinery, rural merchandising, rural operations, shearing, wool classing and wool handling.

Full document

• E-Zine, PDF or printout

Ring binders

RSA makes available ring binders in which to clip the updated sector guide versions as they are downloaded from this webpage (see image below). They are available on request from our national network of education and training advisers in all states and territories.  Click on your state  QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS, SA, WA, NT to send an email request direct to your state's adviser.

Regular updates

The AHC10 Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package is under continuous review by relevant stakeholders and amendments will be made to reflect current practices and the changing needs of the industry. This review process is managed by AgriFood Skills Australia.

Accordingly, the guides will be updated from time to time to reflect approved changes made to any of the qualifications in the training package (post endorsement). The date of these approved changes is shown in the 'Endorsed/Revised' column of the 'Qualification Index' within the Guides.

Rural Skills Australia welcomes your views on the structure and content of the guides and invites you to provide your comments here about any additional information you think should be included in future updates.

The sector guides have have been produced as a project funded under the Australian Government’s Industry Training Strategies Program: Industry Pathfinder, administered by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

Disclaimer: These guides are provided for information purposes only. Rural Skills Australia will not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy or authenticity of the contents of the guides. The information is provided on the basis that persons using the guides undertake responsibility for assessing the version, relevance and accuracy of the content.

Training package explained

A training package is a set of nationally endorsed and recognised competencies and qualifications that are used to describe the level of knowledge and skills required by an individual to work effectively in the workplace. Training packages are developed and endorsed by industry through national Industry Skills Councils and are designed to meet the training needs of a specific industry, industry sector or enterprise.

Each training package is made up of three key components each of which is endorsed by the National Quality Council. The three components are:

• Competency Standards
• Assessment Guidelines
• Qualifications Framework

Responsibility for the development, implementation and on-going review of the Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package (AHC10) rests with AgriFood Skills Australia.

AgriFood Skills Australia is one of a number of Industry Skills Councils that work in conjunction with industry, industry representative bodies, training organisations, affiliated organisations in each of the states and territories and other interested parties to undertake this work.

For more detailed information about the role and responsibilities of AgriFood Skills Australia within the industry training sector and, for specific information about training packages in particular, visit their website at www.agrifoodskills.net.au

The Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package (AHC10) is a new training package and is the result of several years of planning, extensive consultation, product development and on-going review.

The training package is the amalgamation of three earlier and quite separate training packages namely the Rural Production Training Package, the Amenity Horticulture Training Package and the Conservation and Land Management Training Package all of which have been the basis for training delivery in their respective industry sectors since 2002/03. The new AHC10 training package was endorsed by the National Quality Council in November 2010.

How to gain a qualification

There are four ways of obtaining a qualification from the Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package (AHC10):

1. Australian Apprenticeships – an employment based training arrangement that combines practical work experience with an underpinning theory based component. Training is delivered utilising a variety of different delivery methods by a Registered Training Organisation that also assesses the Australian Apprentice and awards an appropriate qualification on successful completion.
2. Skills Recognition – this is a process whereby individuals gather evidence to demonstrate their skills and knowledge base and, if deemed competent, may be awarded an appropriate qualification (e.g. Certificate IV in Agribusiness).
3. Study with a Registered Training Organisation by enrolling in any of the qualifications listed in the Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package (AHC10) at an appropriate TAFE College, private Registered Training Organisation or Agricultural College.
4. Complete a VET in Schools Qualification – normally at the Certificate I and II level while participating in compulsory schooling.

The importance of gaining a qualification

Owning, managing or working in any enterprise or organisation associated with the agriculture, horticulture and conservation and land management industries provides individuals with the opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop skills related to those industries.

A person who has had hands-on experience in the workplace may have performed a number of different tasks such as, the safe handling of stock, the control and application of chemicals, the maintenance of parks and gardens, financial tasks associated with the running of a business or perhaps, the management of employees and contractors and will have acquired both knowledge and skills as a consequence of that experience.

These skills may be highly valued in the general workforce but, in many instances, individuals may not have the formal documentation to demonstrate the extent of the knowledge and skills they have acquired. This often puts them at a disadvantage when applying for jobs.

Without the support of the relevant documentation some job applicants may lack the confidence and ability to convey the full scope of their knowledge and skills to a prospective employer. Obtaining a qualification can assist in overcoming this problem and open up a host of employment opportunities.

When thinking about job and career opportunities there are national training and qualification pathways in agriculture, horticulture and conservation and land management that individuals can follow to pursue their employment and career interests. Details of the range of qualifications available and the industry specific pathways are included at the end of this booklet.

A number of jobs in industry require a person to have a prescribed qualification in order to perform the duties of the job. For example, some Departments of Agriculture require that their Technical and Quarantine Officers are graduates with Certificate III or Certificate IV level qualifications in agriculture.

Similarly, many training institutions require their teaching staff to hold a Diploma or Advanced Diploma level qualification. Having a qualification can greatly enhance an individual’s career prospects.

Individuals may receive credit for studies they have undertaken at a TAFE College or Registered Training Organisation in relation to higher level studies. Some tertiary institutions will accept or recognise the completion of higher level AHC10 qualifications to gain entry and/or credit into various degree programs.

Individuals are advised to check available arrangements, if any, with individual tertiary institutions.

Skills recognition

Skills recognition is the formal acknowledgement of the skills, knowledge and competencies that a person has acquired through previous formal or informal training, work experience and/or life experience.

For a fee a person can apply to have their skills assessed by a qualified assessor against the national competencies for the industry and can be awarded a qualification, or part of a qualification, based on their practical knowledge and experience.

The skills recognition process helps overcome the need for people to spend unnecessary time in the classroom going over work that they already know.

For example, a person who has spent time working in a farming environment may have acquired a range of skills related to their experience (e.g. the operation and maintenance of machinery, the handling of chemicals, the management of livestock).

These skills can be assessed as part of the skills recognition process and can contribute towards a qualification. Skills recognition processes are sometimes referred to as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) processes or Recognition of Current Competency (RCC) processes.

For further information on skills recognition contact a TAFE college, private Registered Training Organisation or an Agricultural College.