4 Helpful Tips When Building a Strong RPL Portfolio

So you’ve decided to leverage your valuable IT experience and pursue a qualification through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) — great choice! With RPL, you can discover new opportunities for promotions, become qualified for higher-level job positions, improve your motivation and confidence, and potentially even gain a competitive edge in the job market by reducing the time and cost required to obtain a formal qualification.

After completing your RPL consultation, your next task is to build a strong portfolio of evidence. This helps you demonstrate your existing skills and knowledge to an RPL assessor, increasing your chances of a successful RPL application. But with so much valuable experience to showcase, where do you even begin?

In this blog, we will identify four helpful tips when building your RPL portfolio of evidence. We will also discuss how Lumify Learn can help you fast track your IT career journey through our RPL program.

Aligning Your RPL Portfolio

The key to a successful RPL application is demonstrating a clear alignment with the targeted IT qualification. Each certification outlines the required skills and knowledge, often referred to as "learning outcomes" or "competency units" that must be demonstrated.

When you clearly understand these requirements, you can better ensure that your portfolio of evidence effectively showcases how your on-the-job experience aligns with the key areas of expertise for the chosen qualification.

For example, one of the learning outcomes in a cyber security certification (like the ones Lumify Learn offers) is “identify and mitigate cyber security threats.” To showcase this in your portfolio, you could highlight instances where you identified potential security vulnerabilities in systems, implemented solutions to prevent or mitigate those risks, or responded to and resolved security incidents while in your current or previous job roles.

Alternatively, if you’re targeting an IT networking certification, the required competency units normally include managing network security, installing and configuring network devices, and troubleshooting network issues. As such, you need to tailor your portfolio of evidence to showcase your experience in these relevant skills. You can include examples of projects where you leveraged network security tools, installed network devices, or troubleshooted connectivity problems.

What Should You Gather for Your RPL Portfolio of Evidence?

Here are some things that you can include for your portfolio of evidence:

Certificates

• IT certifications relevant to your targeted qualification

• Any other relevant professional certifications or training completion certificates

Workplace documents

• Job descriptions outlining your responsibilities and required skills

• Project documentation detailing your involvement and contributions

• Email confirmation of employment or specific projects (if applicable)

Work experience

• Resumes: Include your most recent resume, highlighting relevant skills and experience

• Performance reviews/evaluations: Positive reviews can showcase your skills and achievements.

• Project descriptions: Provide summaries of projects you worked on, such as your role, key achievements, and the project’s impact.

• Client testimonials or recommendation letters: Feedback from clients or colleagues can strengthen your profile.

Other potential evidence to include:

• Personal projects and contributions: Present relevant personal projects that demonstrate your skills and initiative

• Samples of your work (if any): This could include code samples, reports you created, presentations you’ve delivered, etc.

• Recordings of presentations or demos: These can be valuable additions for skills like communication or software demonstration.

Be sure to tailor the specific evidence you gather to the requirements of your chosen IT qualification and the learning outcomes or competency units it outlines.

How to Make a Strong Impression with Your RPL Portfolio

Now that you’ve gathered everything relevant for your RPL application, it’s time to craft a compelling portfolio. Try these best practices:

1. Stay organised

Structure your portfolio logically by following a clear format that makes it easy for assessors to navigate. For instance, why not group evidence by area of relevance such as networking, system management, project management, cyber security or follow a chronological order highlighting your career progression?

2. Be clear and concise

Use clear and succinct language in your portfolio. Briefly describe each piece of evidence and explain its connection to the targeted qualification’s requirements. Avoid company specific jargon that assessors may not understand.

3. Write well

Use strong writing skills to describe your relevant experience in a professional and engaging manner. Highlight your achievements and contributions using actions verbs and quantifiable metrics whenever possible.

For instance, instead of simply writing “I was responsible for the cyber security initiatives of the company,” “you can write something like “I implemented various robust cyber security measures to protect the organisation’s systems from various cyber threats, resulting in a 20% reduction in recorded cyber-attacks.”

4. Ask for feedback

If possible, seek feedback on your portfolio from a trusted colleague or mentor. A fresh perspective can help you identify areas for improvement and ensure that your portfolio is polished and impactful.

Advance Your Career Today with Lumify Learn’s RPL Program

Lumify Learn’s RPL initiative can help you turn your real-world experience into a formal qualification that earns you the recognition you deserve in the IT field. You can attain your qualification with an assessment or have the option to complete gap training if necessary.

When you go through our RPL program you will be assessed in one of two ways:

• Written portfolio/CV/Resume: Assemble your portfolio of evidence and submit it to us.

• Recognition interview: After completing your portfolio of evidence, schedule a day to present it to your assessor through Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

You can apply for RPL whether you’re an individual or an IT organisation looking to upskill your team members.

Ready to bring your IT career to new heights? Contact us today about our RPL program.