Course Information

Horticultural Skills Australia's quality Vocational programs range from Certificate to Graduate Certificate in Production Horticulture, Wholesale Nursery, Retail Nursery, Turf, Parks & Gardens Landscape and Applied Production Horticulture.

Language Skills Australia English Language Centre provides English language programs for international students who intend to study in Australia or wish to improve their English language skills for social, commercial or academic purposes. At the Centre, we believe that the ideal approach to learning English is while students are with us and to develop independent learning skills which they need to continue learning after they leave the Centre. The staff at the Centre will provide students with the support and encouragement to develop studentsability to become independent learners of English.

About Vocational Training

Vocational Education and Training OR VET studies are is directly linked to the needs of business and industry. VET qualifications are nationally recognised and provide people with practical skills and information to enable them to competently perform their workplace roles. VET qualifications are part of the Australian Qualifications Framework that links all recognised education and training nationally. 

Qualifications certify the knowledge and skills that a person has achieved through study, training, work and life experience. They are a measure of Australia’s intellectual capital, which is increasingly important in a society where unskilled jobs have disappeared and continuous upskilling is required in all forms of work and in day-to-day life.

An AQF qualification is recognised all around Australia and by other countries.

The Framework links together all the qualifications and is a highly visible, quality-assured national system of educational recognition that promotes lifelong learning and a seamless and diverse education and training system.

School, work-based qualifications and academic qualifications are part of a single system of qualifications, allowing maximum flexibility in career planning and continuous learning.

The AQF groups the qualifications according to the educational sector responsible for their accreditation.

aqf_handbook_07 Guidelines for each qualification are provided in the 4th edition of the AQF Implementation Handbook. For more information about a particular qualification, click on the links in the table below.

The AQF comprises national qualifications issued in:

• the senior secondary schools sector
• the vocational education and training (VET) sector, and
• the higher education sector.

Definitions

Competency is a broad concept that describes a persons ability in a range of areas. It covers:

• Task skills (performing individual tasks)

• Task management skills (managing a number of different tasks within a job)

• Job or role environment skills (dealing with the responsibilities and expectations of the workplace)

Competency Based Training is aimed at providing students with the skills, knowledge and understanding to demonstrate competence against standards, usually nationally, industry endorsed Competency Standards.

Competency Standards reflect the knowledge and skill and the application of that knowledge and skill to the standard of performance required in employment and against the same standards. Students are not compared with one another. Standards are developed by industrial parties, based on the organisation of work, expressed in terms of workplace outcomes and regularly reviewed to ensure their continuing relevance to the workplace.

Competency based assessment is a process of collecting evidence and making judgments on whether competence has been achieved. This is based upon the student being informed about the assessment process and includes the provision of information detailing the requirements for successful performance to be assessed.

Workplace Training is training that is undertaken in the workplace and may include structured training and/or assessment, observation of work practices, assignments, trade-tests, presentations, case study or completion of work tasks. (Please note that HSA is not registered for Workbased Training for Interntional Students)