Frequently asked questions (FAQ) – qualification
transition process
This information is intended to answer frequently asked questions about the New Zealand Mountain
Safety Council’s (MSC) qualification transition process.
If you have a question relating to the qualification transition process we recommend you read
through the qualification transition information on our website first. If you can’t find an answer to
your question there, please look over this FAQ document.
If you are still unable to find an answer to your question, please contact your branch administration
officer in the first instance. If they are unable to assist you, please email
qualifications@mountainsafety.org.nz.
We will continue to update this FAQ document as new questions are received.
Contents
What evidence of a current first aid certificate do I need to provide in order to transition to a Skills
Active or NZOIA leader level qualification? ............................................................................................ 2
Where is the Skills Active RCC information/documentation for MSC Outdoor Leaders? ...................... 2
Do you have any advice or guidance about which organisation (Skills Active or NZOIA) I should
transition my qualification to? ................................................................................................................ 3
What do I do if I already hold a Skills Active National Certificate but I can’t see it on the NZ
Registration of Recreation Professional (NZRRP)? ................................................................................. 4
Does Skills Active have an equivalent qualification to the MSC Bush 2 and/or Alpine 2 instructor? .... 4
Why can’t the MSC do a mass qualification transition of all members? ................................................ 4
If, in future, I want to be awarded the Skills Active National Certificate in Recreation (Instructor) –
Level 4 Bush (Tramping) would my River Safety course and/or Outdoor Leader warrant with MSC
count towards this? ................................................................................................................................ 4
What if I am already registered with Skills Active with a different workplace for another
qualification? .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Is the MSC national office able to send me copies of HARM forms and trip plans that I have
completed? ............................................................................................................................................. 5
How do I transfer my assessor status? ................................................................................................... 5
I’m having trouble finding someone who can sign the Skills Active attestation form, what should I
do? .......................................................................................................................................................... 5
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What evidence of a current first aid certificate do I need to provide in order to
transition to a Skills Active or NZOIA leader level qualification?
Current holders of the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (MSC) Outdoor Leader Programme
(ODL) warrant can choose to transition to either a Skills Active Aotearoa (Skills Active) National
Certificate or the New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association (NZOIA) Bush Walking Leader
qualification. To do so, both Skills Active and NZOIA require evidence of a current first aid certificate.
To gain the NZOIA Bush Walking Leader qualification, you do not need to have any of the first aid
unit standards registered on your NZQA record of achievement. This includes unit 424.
To gain the Skills Active National Certificate in Recreation (Leadership) Level 3 Bush, you require first
aid units on your NZQA record of achievement. These units can either be the 6400/6401/6402 series
or the newer 26551/2 series, as well as unit 424.
If you choose the Skills Active qualification transition pathway, you will need to call NZQA direct on
0800 697 296 to receive confirmation you have the required unit standards on your record of
achievement.
Unfortunately the MSC is not able to receive a bulk confirmation from NZQA direct, nor are we able
to ring them on a member’s behalf.
If you do not have the first aid unit standards registered, but have completed a first aid course that
included the relevant unit standards, you will need to contact the provider of that course and ask for
the unit standards to be loaded.
If the course provider was the MSC, you can request this by emailing a copy of the certificate to
qualifications@mountainsafety.org.nz.
If you choose to transition to Skills Active but are unable to complete the required unit standards
within the MSC qualification transition timeframes, you can transition to Skills Active as a trainee
and complete any outstanding requirements through Skills Active.
We encourage all ODL warrant holders and ODL trainees who do not hold the required unit
standards to make contact with their branch as soon as possible and let them know so they can
consider running appropriate outdoor first aid courses before 30 April 2015.
Where is the Skills Active RCC information/documentation for MSC Outdoor Leaders?
MSC Outdoor Leaders don’t need to use a Recognition of Current Competency (RCC) process to gain
the equivalent Skills Active National Certificate, like a Bush 1 or Alpine 1 holder does. This is because
the MSC Outdoor Leader warrant exceeds the requirements of the equivalent National Certificate
and the MSC and Skills Active have agreed on a unique process to transition Outdoor Leaders.
If you hold a MSC Outdoor Leader warrant you should:


Check that you haven’t already received the National Certificate and associated unit
standards by contacting NZQA on 0800 697 296.
If you haven’t, please complete the Skills Active Training Agreement available here and
submit this to qualifications@mountainsafety.org.nz along with:
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

o
Identification - this could either be a Birth Certificate (as long as it
shows current name) or Passport (with proof of residency/work visa if
not holding a NZ Passport) – they do not need to be verified
o
You must have the first aid units 424, 6400, 6401, 6402 or 26551, 26552 and 424 on
your NZQA Record of Achievement. You can check this by calling NZQA on 0800 697
296 and asking if those units are registered. After calling NZQA, if you find your first
aid unit standards are not registered on your Record of Achievement you must call
the organisation/company that issued your first aid certificate and ask them to
register your first aid unit standards for you.
o
A copy of current first aid certificate valid within the last 2 years which
covered/revalidated the above unit standards.
MSC will email you back to confirm your application has been received and MSC will submit
your application to Skills Active on your behalf
Skills Active will process your certificate and this will be sent to you directly
Do you have any advice or guidance about which organisation (Skills Active or NZOIA) I should
transition my qualification to?
To determine which option is best for you, your first consideration should be what you want to do in
the future.
Both organisations are well established, trusted professional bodies, providing high quality, industry
recognised qualifications.
If there is the potential you will work in a paid capacity then both options would work well for you
but NZOIA is generally regarded as the preferred option. This is because NZOIA is an association of
professional instructors and guides and the organisation is specifically tailored to needs of this
group. Keep in mind that Skills Active is the industry training organisation (ITO) for the recreation,
sport and fitness industries, so they work with a large number of workplaces and paid professionals.
If you want to use your qualification to deliver for uniformed groups or clubs, for example SCOUTS
NZ, GirlGuiding NZ, Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award or the NZ Alpine Club, both options would
work for you but we recommend Skills Active. Skills Active has lower ongoing costs associated with
maintaining your qualification and keeping it current. Skills Active National Certificates include unit
standards, which are recorded on your NZQA record of achievement and never expire or get
removed.
However, it is not as simple as saying those likely to complete paid work should choose NZOIA and
those looking primarily to volunteer should go through Skills Active.
Before you transition your qualification to either of these organisations you may want to discuss the
options with the organisation/s or provider/s you’ll operate through in the future, as they may have
a preference.
You can transition your qualification to both organisations but, in this case, the MSC will only fund
the Skills Active pathway.
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What do I do if I already hold a Skills Active National Certificate but I can’t see it
on the NZ Registration of Recreation Professional (NZRRP)?
It may take some time after you complete the qualification and receive your
certificate for your registration to show up online. We recommend waiting a month or two and then
rechecking. If your qualification is still not showing, please contact Skills Active direct.
Does Skills Active have an equivalent qualification to the MSC Bush 2 and/or Alpine 2
instructor?
The equivalent to an MSC Bush 2 or Alpine 2 qualification is not currently available through Skills
Active. These qualifications won’t be available until the Targeted Review of Qualifications (TRoQ)
process, which is currently underway, has been completed. You can find more information about the
TRoQ process here.
Once these qualifications are available we recommend you make contact with Skills Active directly
to find out how you can gain this qualification.
In the meantime, we highly recommend you use the RCC process to gain the Level 4 National
Certificate. This will ensure you have a range of unit standards and a qualification on your NZQA
record of achievement. Once the new qualifications are complete, you can discuss the RCC process
direct with Skills Active.
NZOIA has an equivalent to the MSC Bush and Alpine 2 qualifications – Bush Senior Instructor Level 2
and Alpine Senior Instructor Level 2. MSC Bush 2 and Alpine 2 warrant holders should consider
transitioning their qualification to NZOIA.
Why can’t the MSC do a mass qualification transition of all members?
We discussed this option with both Skills Active and NZOIA, but this was not possible for a number of
reasons. These include:



The MSC wanted to ensure members could choose whether or not they wanted to transition
their qualification/s and, if so, which organisation they transitioned their qualification/s to.
Skills Active and the MSC completed a benchmark process to establish how our
qualifications measured up against Skills Active’s. This indicated some MSC qualifications
had gaps in content when compared with their closest Skills Active equivalent. These ‘gaps’
form part of the portfolio of evidence requirements, which will be addressed during the RCC
process.
Skills Active requires assessment evidence and credit reporting for each individual person,
which requires everyone to submit their portfolio of evidence independently. This allows
each RCC application to be signed off by an assessor and have the specific credits recorded.
It also means that when NZQA moderate Skills Active, Skills Active can produce assessment
evidence for the individual person.
If, in future, I want to be awarded the Skills Active National Certificate in Recreation
(Instructor) – Level 4 Bush (Tramping) would my River Safety course and/or Outdoor Leader
warrant with MSC count towards this?
During the MSC River Safety course and Outdoor Leader training you are not assessed for unit
standard 427, so this will not count towards qualifications outside of the MSC.
Page 4 of 5
What if I am already registered with Skills Active with a different workplace for
another qualification?
You can only be actively registered under one training agreement for one
qualification at any given time, you will need to complete the qualification you are already registered
for before you can transition your MSC qualification. We recommend you complete all the
requirements and submit your application for processing.
Is the MSC national office able to send me copies of HARM forms and trip plans that I have
completed?
The MSC national office can send copies of HARM forms for MSC courses/activities sent to national
office within the last 12 months.
Please email qualifications@mountainsafety.org.nz and state which forms you require, your full
name, your MSC membership number, the activity/course name, the date the course ran and the
branch the course was run through. You will receive an email reply as soon as possible. This only
applies for paperwork contained in the MSC course reporting packs.
How do I transfer my assessor status?
Both Skills Active and NZOIA have their own assessor, and are often looking for new assessors to
join. If you want to become a Skills Active or NZOIA assessor, you will need to connect with each
organisation directly to discuss this. Each organisation has their own process and requirements, and
there is no assessor RCC process to assist you with this.
In order to continue as an assessor it is important that you maintain your qualifications, so you will
need to transition your qualifications to the organisation you wish to assess for first.
I’m having trouble finding someone who can sign the Skills Active attestation form, what
should I do?
As part of the Skills Active RCC process you’re required to submit a signed attestation form. This can
either be signed by a senior MSC instructor (a level higher than you, in the same warrant discipline)
or a MSC assessor (same discipline). This person must have witnessed you in the field on at least
three occasions.
If you’re having trouble contacting someone who can meet these requirements you could check with
your branch administration officer first. Alternatively you can contact the relevant programme
manager. Their contact details are available here.
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