Core Competencies (Level 3)

The National Certificate in Community Support (Core Competencies) is designed to recognise the industry generic knowledge and skills required of support workers working in a health or disability setting.

This qualification consists of a compulsory section of eleven unit standards totaling 44 credits and an elective section of 12 unit standards from which 13 credits much be chosen, to total 57 credits.

The compulsory section of the qualification includes skills and knowledge relating to recognising abuse, contributing within a team, behaving professionally, consumers’ rights and responsibilities, supporting a person’s quality of life, maintaining a safe environment, culturally safe operating principles, self-advocacy, risk management planning, ethical responsibility and the role of the support worker.

The elective section of the qualification enables trainees to select specific unit standards that support the requirements of their work environment.

The National Certificate in Community Support Services (Core Competencies) Level 3 is a prerequisite to other Level 3 and 4 Career Pathway Strand Qualifications.

The cost of this qualification is $200 (incl GST) per trainee. Workplaces may be eligible for an assessment support rebate of $100 (incl GST) for every trainee that completes Core Competencies with a 24 month time frame.

Download the Core Competencies Brochure (807KB)

For more information on the Core Competencies Qualifications click here to access the NZQA website.

Prerequisite Information

Core Competencies is a pre-requisite qualification for:  

1. National Certificate in Community Support Services (Human Services) (Level 3)
2. National Certificate in Community Support Services (Intellectual Disability) (Level 3)
3. National Certificate in Community Support Services (Residential) (Level 3)
4. National Certificate in Diversional Therapy (Level 4)

You need to complete the last unit standard in Core Competencies prior to completing the last unit standard in the qualifications above.

Resources

Trainees undertaking this Qualification receive a Workbook and a Trainee Assessment Portfolio for each unit standard in the Qualification.

Workbooks are a learning aide for trainees. They are designed to be interesting and stimulating, and assist trainees to complete their Trainee Assessment Portfolio (TAP). A Trainee Assessment Portfolio is effectively an answer book for the trainee to complete for each unit standard.

Trainee Assessment Portfolios

Strand Compulsory
	Abuse and Neglect: 1836 (297KB)
	Professional Behaviour: 20100 (270KB) Version 1 only
	Consumer's rights and responsibilities: 20824 (212KB)
	Cultural Safety: 23380 (211KB)
	Self Advocacy: 23385 (258KB)
	Challenging Behaviour: 23388* (173 KB)
	Understanding Risk Management: 23389 (267KB)
	Ethical Behaviour: 23392 (194KB)
	Contributing in a Group/Team: 9681 (138KB)
	Quality of Life: 20829 (212KB)
	Safety and Security: 20830 (211KB)
	Understanding Your Role: 23451 (258KB)
Electives
	Moving People: 5012 (228KB)
	Listening: 11097 (174KB)
	Causes and Associated Conditions - Intellectual Disability: 16870 (150KB)
	Causes and Common Effects - Physical Disability:16871 (150KB)
	Prescribed Medication: 20827 (212KB)
	Community Participation: 23382 (207KB)
	Supporting Personal Care: 23386 (221KB)
	Loss and Grief: 23391 (207KB)
	Apply Risk Management: 23393 (23KB)
	Support, Mentor and Facilitate: 23925 (207KB)
	Impact of Change: 23926 (207KB)
	Unit Standard 23381 will be available when unit standard is reviewed.

*Please note that the Trainee Assessment for Unit Standard 23388 (Provide support to a person whose behaviour presents challenges in a health or disability setting) was updated on 24 March 2009 to correct a print error on the Assessment Record Sheet and the Feedback Sheet, at the back of the portfolio. 

Assessor Assessments

For every Unit Standard, Workplace Assessment Portfolios provide assessors with model answers, evidence and judgements to ensure fair assessment practices.

If you are an assessor wishing to obtain Workplace Assessment Portfolios you must complete a Request for Assessor Portfolio Form

Previous Versions

Version 3 of the National Certificate in Community Support Services (Core Competencies) was registered in July 2009. The qualification was revised to provide an exemption from Unit Standard 23386 for people with credit for Unit Standard 5019.  Standard 5019 was replaced by standards 23386 and 23387 in October 2007 but providing an exemption from Unit Standard 23386 was overlooked when version 1 of the qualification was registered.

Careerforce also made some minor changes to this qualifcation (Version 2) in August 2008. These changes were necessary because of the expiry of several core health unit standards by NZQA. The unit standards that have been expired include 20100 (“Behave professionally with consumers and their support people in a specific health care context”) and 20700 (“Describe the stages of the normal human lifespan”). These two unit standards are longer be accessible from the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), even though they can still be assessed against and credits registered for them during the two-year “period of grace” provided.

Because this situation would clearly disadvantage trainees, Careerforce has applied to NZQA to have these two unit standards removed from the qualification, resulting in a revised qualification.

This revision has provided Careerforce with some further opportunities:

1. We have requested that the name of the qualification be changed to National Certificate in Community Support Services (Core Competencies) Level 3, Version 2, which is similar to the naming of our other Career Pathway Qualifications.
2. We have added unit standard 23388 (“Provide support to a person whose behaviour presents challenges in a health or disability setting”) to the compulsory section.
3. The range of unit standards in the elective section has been extended so that trainees are given more choices, including in the area of independence and interdependence.
4. Unit standard 23381 (“Describe and apply culturally safe operating principles and Pacific values in a health, disability, or community setting”) has been temporarily withdrawn pending further refinements which will ensure that this unit standard is assessable in the workplace.

If you wish to see more detailed content of any of the unit standards listed, please enter the unit standard number at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/index.html.

Please be aware that this revision does not in any way affect the total credit value of Version 1 of this qualification; it is simply a change in the unit standards contained within the qualification.

Which Version Will Each Trainee Complete?

Any trainee who has started on Version 1 can choose to complete that version, or to transfer to the new version.  Whilst Version 1 will no longer be available on the NQF, it will be valid for two more years; so trainees who wish to complete it will have two years to do so.

Please note that if a trainee chooses to complete Version 1, that trainee cannot select any of the additional standards which have been included in Version 2.

If a trainee chooses to transfer to Version 2, he/she will not need to complete the assessments for unit standard 20100 (“Behave professionally with consumers and their support people in a specific health care context”), and will be sent the new learning and assessment materials for 23388 (“Provide support to a person whose behaviour presents challenges in a health or disability setting”).