As we creep ever closer to new Government plans to license the aesthetics industry it’s important to know two things – firstly new laws and coming and secondly Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) can help you qualify.
Despite recent missed deadlines and uncertainty over what the new laws will look like, in a statement just this week the Government says it remains committed to: “taking forward work to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England” and that it intends to “agree the procedures in scope of the licensing scheme and communicate a plan for delivery by July 2023”.
What does this mean in reality?
It means that unless the Government has a major change of heart and policy every aesthetic practitioner will be required to have a nationally recognised qualification.
This could be up to level 7, and if so will require practitioners to take courses at level 4, 5, 6 and 7 if they don’t have relevant entry qualifications for each level – you have to have a level 4 to go onto level 5 etc!
That is where RPL can prove to be extremely useful.
RPL is a way of using your past experience and work to shorten and fast-track qualifications you may want to or be required to take by proving that:
· previous certification or qualification can be accepted as meeting the learning requirements of a current course, module or qualification
· skills and knowledge collected through work experience can be transferred to support a current course, module or qualification
· formal and informal learning can be measured, mediated and recognised against the requirements for a course, module or qualification
So RPL is hugely beneficial by helping you:
· save time by not completing teaching modules of a qualification you can demonstrate you are competent in
· reduce the cost of a course/module by requiring less teaching time
· prevent the need to duplicate current learning
But remember it only benefits you if you ensure you have the evidence required and presented appropriately.
Whenever the new legislation comes into force RPL is a simple way of avoiding replicating work you have already done and fast-tracking your way to the qualifications.