Introduction

ADO and CMS/BSC contractor staff who complete the GESST 01 Infrastructure Appraisal, GESST 02 Estate Maintenance Programming and GESST 03 Estate Maintenance Bidding courses can obtain the nationally recognised CPP30311 Certificate III in Property Services (Operations).  Further information on the qualification, eligibility, application and payment for this qualification are detailed below.

Accreditation for Defence Facilities Training (DFT) courses, the superseded CPP30309 Certificate III in Property Services (Operations), CPP50509 Diploma of Property Services (Asset and Facility Management) and BSB51107 Diploma of Management is no longer available.  Only staff who have completed GESST01, 02 and 03 are eligible for the new CPP30311 Certificate III in Property Services (Operations).

Recognition of GESST

Certificate of Attendance. Trainees who attend and complete GESST courses will be issued a Certificate of Attendance.  To qualify for a Certificate of Attendance, Trainees will need to:

• Attend the entire course.
• Sign the Attendance Record each day.

• Be Registered with fmedge as a Trainee on their Learning Management System (LMS) and Student Management System (SMS). Details on how to Register can be found on the GESST Overview web page.
• Complete and submit the course exercises.

Providing these criteria have been met, fmedge will automatically send Certificates of Attendance to the Regional Training Coordinator who hosted the course, for distribution to Trainees.

AQF Qualifications. Staff who complete the accreditation process will receive a Certificate III in Property Services (Operations) from fmedge.

Recording in PMKeyS. GESST can be recorded on PMKeyS as follows:

• GESST/DFT courses.  As GESST/DFT courses have been developed for Defence business requirements, they can be recorded as Courses under My Training in PMKeyS Self Service providing a Certificate of Attendance has been issued.  
• Certificate III in Property Services (Operations). Staff with a Certificate III in Property Services (Operations) can record it as a vocational qualification in PMKeyS Self Service.  This can be done by going to the My Qualifications sub-menu and following the instructions under ‘Submit Qualifications’.

Recognition of pre-DFT training. Recognition of pre-DFT training for accreditation purposes is no longer available.

Accreditation for Certificate III in Property Services (Operations)

Staff who complete all three of the GESST01, 02 and 03 courses, including the course exercises, can seek accreditation for a Certificate III in Property Services (Operations).  The Estate & Facilities Program Office (EFPO) will pay for the Certificate III for Defence staff only.  The diagram below gives an overview of the Certificate III pathway.  More detailed information on the qualification is available in the Cert III Property Services Data Sheet.

Accreditation process for the Certificate III qualification.  Accreditation is only available for GESST 01, 02 and 03 courses. The accreditation process for the Certificate III qualification is shown and explained below: 

• Applicant has attended all three of the GESST01, 02 and 03 courses, completed the course exercises and has a Certificate of Attendance for each course.
• Applicant applies for Certificate III accreditation by completing the Application for Accreditation in Certificate III in Property Services (Operations) , obtaining their Supervisor’s endorsement, and submitting the application to fmedge.
• On receipt of the application, fmedge will:
  • Confirm attendance on the GESST01, 02 and 03 courses; and that the course exercises have been completed.
  • Advise the applicant that they have been accepted and issues them the Certificate III accreditation package.
• Applicant completes the additional learning objectives and obtains a referee’s (supervisor’s) report, and submits this as a Portfolio of Evidence to fmedge for assessment.
• fmedge assesses the Portfolio of Evidence and course exercises, and on successful completion, will award a Certificate III in Property Services (Operations).

Accreditation time constraints

·         Once accepted for accreditation, fmedge will send candidates an accreditation package by email.  Staff members will then have two calendar months to complete and submit the required Portfolio of Evidence. 

·         An extension of one month may be granted by seeking EFPO/fmedge approval with a justification, prior to the expiry of the original two month period.  Staff who fail to meet these timelines may lose their EFPO sponsorship and will have to arrange private up-front payment with fmedge if they still want accreditation.

Finance

General. Any ADO or CMS/BSC staff who complete the GESST01, 02 and 03 courses can apply for a Certificate III in Property Services (Operations) from fmedge:

• EFPO sponsored Defence staff will receive the certificate for free, providing they have applied for accreditation, received prior approval from EFPO, AND funding is available.
• All other applicants will have to arrange their own payment with fmedge.

Cost. The cost for each Certificate III in Property Services (Operations) is $1,280:00.  

Funding. There are several options to pay for the certificate.  These include:

• Defence sponsored:
  • EFPO will pay for all Defence staff who meet the criteria for a Certificate III in Property Services (Operations) while funding is available.
  • APS staff may be eligible for Studybank funding in accordance with Departmental Personnel Instruction 1/2011.
  • Military staff may be entitled to DASS funding in accordance with Defence Instruction (General) Personnel 05-1 and DEFGRAM 43/2012.    
  • Regional DSG funding. Staff may be able to obtain funding for accreditation from DS regional resources.
• Contractor sponsored. CMS/BSC staff may be able to obtain employer funding for accreditation as professional development.
• Private payment. Individuals can opt to pay for accreditation themselves.

Payment to fmedge. fmedge will process accreditation payments as follows:

• EFPO sponsored accreditation will be included in fmedge monthly invoices to EFPO.
• Staff who obtain other Defence funding for their accreditation will need to liaise with EFPO and fmedge on payment arrangements on a case by case basis. 
• Employers and private individuals will need to arrange payment with fmedge under their normal commercial arrangements, which is payment up front.

Definitions

• Accreditation. The GESST accreditation process allows Defence staff and contractors who have completed accredited GESST courses to obtain an AQF qualification.
• Certificate of Attendance. fmedge will issue a Certificate of Attendance to Trainees who are enrolled on their Learning Management System (LMS), attend an entire GESST/DFT training course and complete the exercises for that course.
• Competencies. A competency is a nationally recognised Unit under the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF), and can be used by itself or put towards obtaining a qualification.  A Competency consists of a number of learning/training objectives which can be achieved by a combination of attendance; assessment of exercises, course work, a Portfolio of Evidence (POE); or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).  They are normally referred to as Units of Competency and achievement is recognised by the issue of a Statement of Attainment.

• Proficiency. The PMKeyS Professional Development and Training Administration Manual defines a proficiency as: ‘A training, education or experiential outcome achieved by an individual that is essential to satisfy a specified workplace requirement associated with an established Defence position’.  GESST/DFT courses have been developed to meet Defence business requirements and therefore completion of a GESST/DFT course equates to a proficiency.
• Qualification. A qualification is issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), higher education institution, or a professional association.  Examples of qualifications are certificates, diplomas and degrees.  You obtain a qualification by completing the specified Units of Competency.
• Statement of Attainment. An AQF Statement of Attainment is issued on completion of an AQF Unit of Competency.

Australian Qualifications Framework

Garrison & Estate Support Services Training (GESST), formerly Defence Facilities Training (DFT), is delivered by fmedge facility management training on behalf of the Estate & Facilities Programs Office (EFPO).  fmedge is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), authorised to deliver qualifications within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).  The AQF provides a comprehensive, nationally consistent yet flexible framework for all qualifications in post-compulsory education and training.  There are fifteen qualifications in the AQF which are delivered by three sectors, the schools sector, vocational education and training sector, and the higher education sector.  The fifteen qualifications and their relationships are shown in Table 1 below.  The Estate Maintenance Training Program and accreditation provided by fmedge fall in the vocational education and training sector.

Table 1 - AQF Qualification by Sector of Accreditation

GESST courses have been developed to meet Defence business requirements and are not AQF qualifications.  However, some GESST courses do align with the AQF, and those courses have been mapped to identify the shortfalls to achieve an AQF qualification.  The GESST accreditation process allows Defence staff and contractors who have completed the accredited GESST courses to do the additional work to cover the shortfalls in order to obtain an AQF qualification.

Further information

fmedge: Please contact fmedge with queries or for more information:
Phone: 03 5428 7398
Email: gesst@fmedge.com.au

Garrison and Estate Systems Officer: Michael Romalis
Phone: 03 6237 2046
Email: michael.romalis@defence.gov.au