RPL for Certificate III in Signs and Graphics

Certificate III in Signs and Graphics takes 16 units. Through Recognition of Prior Learning, each unit is assessed on evidence of work you have already done rather than on training you sit through.

What the assessment looks at

Every unit sets out what you must be able to do and what you must know. An assessor works through them one at a time, asking the same question each time: does this person's evidence show they can do this reliably, in a real workplace, recently enough to count?

You can read the full requirements for CPC30216 on the national training register. They are public, and worth a look before you spend anything — if the units describe work you have never done, RPL is not your route.

Evidence worth gathering before you start

• Photos of completed jobs, ideally showing a few stages of the same job, with their original dates intact.
• Job sheets, dockets, work orders or site diaries covering a spread of jobs.
• Supervisors, employers or clients who will confirm specifically what you did.
• Any licences or tickets you already hold.

How the guided process works

You work through the 16 units one at a time, talking about jobs you have actually done. You can speak rather than type. Add photos as you find them, and stop whenever you like — progress saves itself, and most people spread this over weeks while they dig out records. At the end you have an evidence portfolio your RTO's assessor can work through.

What this does not do

It does not assess you, and it cannot promise you CPC30216. An assessor at a registered training organisation makes that decision and may require further evidence or training. What a complete portfolio buys you is a fair assessment rather than a rejection over paperwork.

See what CPC30216 involves →

The 16 units you complete, chosen from these 29

You do not do all 29. Certificate III in Signs and Graphics is 7 core units, which everyone does, plus 9 chosen from the 22 electives below. Read both lists before you spend anything — it is the fastest way to tell whether RPL is your route. If most of this describes work you have done, you have a case to make. If whole sections describe work you have never touched, an assessor will say so, and doing the course is the honest answer.

Worth knowing: 2 of them have a prerequisite unit, so the order you gather evidence in matters.

Core units — everyone does these

• CPCCSG3001 — Design and lay out digital signs for production
• CPCCSG3002 — Produce and apply vinyl signs
• CPCCSG3003 — Colour manage signs
• CPCCSG3004 — Print digital signs
• CPCCSG3011 — Install LED technology into signs
• CPCCSG3012 — Fabricate signs
• CPCWHS3001 — Identify construction work hazards and select risk control strategies

Electives — you choose from these

• AURVTP109 — Apply vehicle body film wrapping
• CPCCCM2006 — Apply basic levelling procedures
• CPCCCM2010 — Work safely on scaffolding higher than two metres
• CPCCCM3001 — Operate elevated work platforms up to 11 metres
• CPCCCM3003 — Work safely around electrical sources, services and assets
• CPCCCM3004 — Identify and apply information in construction plans, drawings and specifications
• CPCCLSF2001 — Licence to erect, alter and dismantle scaffolding basic level
• CPCCSG3005 — Engrave signs
• CPCCSG3006 — Apply gilding to signs
• CPCCSG3007 — Paint lines and scrolls
• CPCCSG3008 — Hand draw chalkboards and showcards
• CPCCSG3009 — Screen-print signs
• CPCCSG3010 — Hand render pictorials
• CPCCSG3013 — Paint letters and decorative effects for signs
• CPCCSG3014 — Manufacture gas-charged glass-formed illuminated signs
• CPCCSG3015 — Produce airbrushed signs
• CPCCSG3016 — Prepare surfaces for signs
• CPCCSG3017 — Erect and install signs
• MEM05049 — Perform routine gas tungsten arc welding
• MEM05050 — Perform routine gas metal arc welding
• MSFFF2006 — Apply surface coatings by spray gun
• MSFFM3022 — Set up, operate and maintain computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining and processing centres

Each unit breaks down further into elements and performance criteria — the specific things you have to be able to show. The guide works through them one unit at a time and asks about jobs you have actually done, rather than making you read the register yourself.

Related qualifications

Same training package, and a common second choice for people who find this one is not quite their trade:

• Certificate III in Carpentry (CPC30220, 34 units)
• Certificate III in Concreting (CPC30320, 22 units)
• Certificate III in Demolition (CPC30426, 20 units)
• Certificate III in Painting and Decorating (CPC30620, 29 units)
• Certificate III in Rigging (CPC30720, 19 units)
• Certificate III in Shopfitting (CPC30120, 18 units)

More RPL in construction, plumbing and services

Every qualification in this industry, which of them have a guide ready, and what assessors here accept as evidence: RPL in construction, plumbing and services.

When you are ready, see what CPC30216 costs and what the guide asks you for, or read what counts as evidence and how RPL compares with doing the course.