Diploma WHS Fast Track

Diploma of WHS Fast Track allows you to graduate in a Diploma of Work Health and Safety within a shorter time than the usual 12-month period. Find out the two pathways to Diploma of WHS Fast Track and select the right approach for you using these tips.

How to Fast Track a Diploma of WHS (Work Health and Safety)

Introduction

Throughout Australian workplaces, there is increasing emphasis placed upon Work Health and Safety (WHS) leading to interest in a Diploma of WHS Fast Track. Work health safety practices protect the workforce and qualifications are set as a standard for overseeing WHS responsibilities. Consequently, the Diploma of WHS has grown in prominence and desirability when setting minimum qualification standards for employment opportunities.

The Diploma of WHS is commonly known as Diploma of Work Health and Safety.

Briefly, the Diploma of WHS focuses on the skills and knowledge required to construct and deliver WHS education to a workgroup and lead WHS initiatives. If you are eager to qualify in Diploma WHS, then you should consider your Diploma WHS Fast Track options. This article is designed to help you consider how to fast track your Diploma by outlining the two key paths to graduation: Recognition of Prior Learning or Study.

What is the Diploma WHS Fast Track and Why Does it Matter?

The average course duration for Diploma of WHS is 12 months. For some people, though, studying for 12 months is too long. There can be several reasons for this, including:

• You may be acting in a higher role that requires a Diploma of WHS as a minimum standard.
• An employer may be tendering for a contract which requires the Diploma of WHS to be held by key staff and the closing date is approaching.
• You could be transitioning careers (for example, from the military to civilian workforce) and need qualifications quickly to be competitive in the job market.
• You may have substantial industry experience and be reluctant to spend 12 months studying, losing valuable family time.

Therefore, people can be focused on completing their qualification earlier than 12 months through a Diploma WHS Fast Track. A Diploma WHS Fast Track can save you time, save you money and improve your competitive edge in an employment market or business environment.

How to Fast Track your Diploma of WHS

Planning your Diploma of WHS Fast Track requires three clear steps:

1. Reflect on your existing Work Health and Safety skills, knowledge, and experience
2. Consider Recognition of Prior Learning Assessment for your Work Health and Safety experience
3. Identify a quality training provider that offers a Fast Track solution

We will consider each step now in turn…

Step One:  Reflect on your existing Work Health and Safety skills, knowledge, and experience

It is important to determine the extent of your experience in work health and safety. This will help you determine what you need from a Diploma of WHS Fast Track program, based on the depth of your knowledge in the industry.

We recommend looking over some key documents:

• Your position description – what is required of your role in the practice of work, health, and safety? Do you have oversight of any work health and safety responsibilities in your role? Have you completed WHS investigations? Do you conduct WHS audits or plan and deliver WHS training?
• Your training history – have you already completed Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety? Have you completed Work Health and Safety courses?
• Your performance reviews – have you been recognised for your contribution to WHS policies, procedures, and practices in your organisation?
• Your reporting obligations – do you report regularly on work health and safety priorities, training, and incidents?
• Your resume – as you look over your career, what has your engagement been with WHS responsibilities? Can you see a progression of WHS capabilities and leadership?
• Your calendar – what proportion of your work calendar is taken up with WHS responsibilities? Is it a significant part of your employment or an occasional aspect of work for you?

When you are overseeing work health and safety management in your workplace, you are likely to be holding a depth of experience that may let you pursue a Recognition of Prior Learning application for your Diploma of WHS Fast Track.

However, if you are implementing work health and safety practices that have been overseen by someone else, you are more likely to be operating at a Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety. This means you will be looking for a fast-tracked study option.

Step Two: Consider Recognition of Prior Learning Assessment for your Work Health and Safety experience

Now that you have gathered the key information such as your position description, training history, performance reviews and resume, you should arrange for assistance reviewing your suitability for a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Assessment for your Work Health and Safety experience.

Recognition of Prior Learning is an assessment methodology permitted under the Australian Qualifications Framework to allow experienced workers to be recognised for their skills and knowledge. It means that an assessor uses evidence of your experience instead of assignments and exams to mark you off against the requirements of a qualification.

Find out how Ken used RPL to move from Defence to WHS

Using RPL can mean you are eligible to be awarded the full Diploma of Work Health and Safety, or some of the units of competency (otherwise known as subjects) that make up the Diploma of Work Health and Safety.

To determine how much your experience is worth towards achieving the full Diploma of Work Health and Safety, the best starting place is to arrange for a Recognition of Prior Learning preliminary assessment.

This is a no-obligation process that involves an experienced RPL Assessor examining a snapshot of your career to assess your suitability for a Diploma of WHS Fast Track.

It means that you can then decide whether you are looking for a study option for your Diploma of Work Health and Safety, or if you are a good fit to complete your Diploma of Work Health and Safety by Recognition of Prior Learning.

Step Three: Identify a quality training provider that offers a Fast Track solution

Finally, you will need to identify a quality training provider for your Diploma of Work Health and Safety Fast Track.

This is how we recommend choosing a quality training provider, regardless of if you are pursuing a RPL Diploma of WHS Fast Track or a Study Diploma of WHS Fast Track.

It can be challenging to find the right training provider for your needs. Here’s our tips for selecting the training provider that will help you complete a Diploma of WHS Fast Track.

Here’s five tips to choosing a training provider for Diploma of WHS Fast Track

Tip 1: Select a Registered Training Organisation that specialises in the qualification and the delivery mode you require, not a Broker

We always recommend going to the actual source of the qualification, which means using a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) or TAFE, not a broker.

Brokers exist in many industries – from finance to education. The problem with education brokers in Vocational Education in Australia is that they lack consistent regulation.

Instead, they are effectively a marketing agency – taking a cut of your enrolment and then pushing your application onto the ultimate RTO.

So, we recommend speaking to only Registered Training Organisations. RTOs are regulated by a national regulator, getting audited and having to meet ongoing and strict compliance requirements around issuing nationally benchmarked qualifications.

You can identify RTOs that offer Diploma of Work Health and Safety on www.myskills.gov.au  Remember, many RTOs may offer Diploma of Work Health and Safety but few specialise particularly in this qualification. Finding a specialist means you will be obtaining the most up to date training program, tailored to WHS trends and practices.

Recognition of Prior Learning Specialists for Diploma of WHS Fast Track

If you have determined to pursue an RPL option, look for a specialist Recognition of Prior Learning RTO that offers a clearly marked Fast Track option. Churchill Education specialises in Recognition of Prior Learning and thousands of Australians have used our RPL program to complete a Diploma of WHS using their on-the-job experience.

The preliminary assessment process offered by Churchill Education is free. If the assessor recommends that you are suitable for a full Recognition of Prior Learning application in the Diploma of Work Health and Safety, you can receive a qualification within a fast time frame.

After providing your evidence, you will enrol and pay the qualification fee.

You will receive your qualification within 14 days of your application, or alternatively, if you elect to pay for a Fast Track at an additional $350, you will receive your qualification within 7 days of your application.

Study Specialists for Diploma of WHS Fast Track

If you require a study option, identify a training provider that will offer you a self-paced learning program with regular start dates and ready access to a Work Health and Safety trainer.

Whilst the full study program for Diploma of Work Health and Safety can take 12 months to complete, you can identify a training provider that will allow you to move through the program at your own pace.

Avoid “short courses” for study options. You will recognise these providers because they will advertise completing a Diploma in only 5 days. Warning bells can start ringing when you think that you must cover 10 subjects in 5 days. This is an indication that there can be no depth in the learning or quality in the training.

Tip 2: Look at how long the training organisation has been operating

Like any industry, new providers can pop up from time to time.

But in this industry, you want someone who understands the long game of education: have they been operating successfully in a regulated environment for a long time so that they understand their requirements and have been examined by the national regulator?

The team at Churchill Education has been working in Vocational Education and specialising in Recognition of Prior Learning since 2006 and have had registration endorsed by the National Regulator, ASQA continuously from our registration all those years ago through to 2024.

Tip 3: Research & Reviews are vital to choosing your provider

This is the point to make Google your friend and do some research. We recommend looking for

• Is there an effective website that lets you get a clear idea of who the people behind the company are?
• Can you get a clear picture of the Diploma of WHS program and the service being offered?
• Can you identify where the RTO works from or are you left wondering if they work from the boot of a car?
• Is there a legitimate business number to call or is it just a mobile phone?
• Can you find client’s stories or case studies to help you see their service in action?

Reviews can be a useful tool to see what other customers have thought of their experience with a training provider. Of course, on the internet, you still need to use your common-sense radar:

• How many reviews are there? It is hard to get a good feel for consistency if there are only a few reviews.
• Do the reviews read like real customers wrote them?
• Does it look and feel legitimate or is there a sense of too good to be true?
• Keep an eye on the syntax – some companies buy reviews offshore and you can get a feel for that in the language used in the review.

Tip 4: Talk to the Training Organisation

At this point, pick up the telephone and make a call.

Trust and relationships are always built through actual conversations.

Here’s a checklist to identify a good training organisation:

• Is the call answered promptly and professionally? Do the team have a friendly tone – a happy team is always easier to work with than an abrupt team who feel like callers are an annoying interruption.
• If you submit an email inquiry or have to leave a message, how long does it take for the organisation to come back to you?
• Are you being sold to or are they really listening to you?
• Is the clock running or are the team happy to give you as much time as you need?
• Do they have a depth of knowledge about the programs or qualifications that makes you feel like these are experts in their field?
• What is their story as a company?
• What study resources will they provide you – are they online or in hard copy? Are their video tutorials? Can you ask questions along the way?
• If studying, will they allow you to work through your training materials at your own pace?
• If studying, what access will you have to a trainer?
• How long will it take to have your assessments marked once you have submitted your work?
• If you are a highly motivated student, can you fast track your studies and complete your Diploma of Work Health and Safety in under 12 months?
• What is the timeline they will work to for a Recognition of Prior Learning assessment?
• Are you speaking to a Recognition of Prior Learning specialist?
• Will you have a single point of contact during the process?

Tip 5: Set the training organisation some homework

Before you commit your hard-earned money to this provider, give them some homework. Ask for a particular piece of information to be sent to you.

Then keep an eye on if it gets done. Follow through is an important quality in an effective working relationship – you deserve a high standard of customer service. You also want to know that this organisation knows how to cross their Ts and dot there is in a regulated and compliance focused environment.

Too many providers are slow to return calls or emails and leave you hanging with your money on the line.

Set the benchmark and see if they meet it before making your investment.

Now, get Qualified!

Once you have made a decision about whether you will pursue your Diploma of WHS Fast Track by Recognition of Prior Learning or study, it is time to enrol. Time is of the essence!

Remember, holding a Diploma of Work Health and Safety is a career boosting decision. Holding up to date qualifications that reflect your career experience is a signal to employers that you are serious about your professional development and the WHS industry.

Churchill Education is here to help you

Get the ball rolling on a complimentary preliminary RPL assessment to check your eligibility for this and other qualifications: Call us on 1300 793 002, email us hello@churchilleducation.edu.au or simply fill in this application form.