Course Description
This qualification is designed to give you the specialist skills and knowledge to create and draw commercial plans that show the layout of a garden, playground or community space including grassed areas, garden beds, entertaining areas, retaining walls, water features, and other elements.
On successful completion of this course, you’ll have the landscape design skills you need to prepare you for work within this in-demand industry.
Participants will combine self-paced study and individual assessment task completion. Participants are provided with electronic copies of learning and assessment tasks.
Fee-For-Service
Where Participants are not eligible for an Apprenticeship Training Contract or a Skills SA Training Account they may seek enrolment into the Course under a fee-for-service basis.
Course Suitability
The Course is designed primarily, but not exclusively, for Participants that are eligible for an Apprenticeship Training Contract and currently employed in a horticulture, landscape design or construction enterprise specifically:
- Persons pursuing a career as a designer in a Landscape Design/Construction based enterprise or organisation
- Persons working in the AHC industry who are seeking a formal qualification
- Graduates of AHC-related qualifications at the Certificate III or Certificate IV level who are upskilling or articulating from previous studies.
Skills SA Funding
Eligible South Australian participants may have this course partially subsidised through the Government of South Australia’s WorkReady initiative. Check your eligibility here: https://finder.skills.sa.gov.au/get-support-for-training/check-my-eligibility
ARO College is an approved provider of WorkReady funding for this qualification. Eligible Participants who live or work in South Australia may receive subsidised training in this course under a Training Contract.
What is a Training Contract?
A training contract is a legally binding document that is agreed between the employer, and a trainee which includes a nominated RTO to deliver the program. It must be signed by a parent or legal guardian if the trainee is under 18. It covers:
- the length of the traineeship
- details of the registered training organisation (RTO) delivering the training
- the qualification to be obtained
- employment arrangements and industrial award
The training contract must be lodged with an Apprentice Connect Australia Provider, who can help with preparing the training contract as well as other paperwork. If you want to become a trainee or hire one, Apprentice Connect Australia Providers are the first point of contact to get started. They support students throughout their traineeship. If you’re already a trainee and don’t know who your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider is, call the Skilling Australia hotline on 1800 020 108.
Click here to find a local Apprentice Connect Australia Provider | Australian Apprenticeships
Units of Competency & Tuition Fees
12 units of competency must be satisfactorily completed by participants to achieve a AHC50621- Diploma of Landscape Design. The 12 units of competency are comprised of: 6 core units, plus 6 elective units. The 6 elective units selected by ARO College are guided by advice provided by consultation with industry and on the qualifications and expertise of ARO College training and assessment staff.
Participants are not provided access to all units of competency (UOC) in the qualification simultaneously. The learning and assessment resources are released at nominal 8-10 week intervals. Each unit is attempted in the order presented in the Delivery Schedule table below.
Fees
Participants are charged Tuition fees in advance for each individual unit as enrolled via the student portal. The Delivery Schedule table below indicates the fees charged per unit. A single Registration Fee will be invoiced upon enrolment. Please refer to the Charges Table in our Fees, Charges and Refunds Policy.
Delivery Schedule
| Unit # | Code | Title | Participant Fee (fee for service) |
Participant Fee (SA subsidy) |
| Elective | AHCLSC504 | Survey and establish site levels | $1,500 | $600 |
| Core | AHCDES509 | Assess Landscape sites | $1,500 | $600 |
| Core | AHCDES507 | Produce drawings for landscape design projects using CAD software | $1,500 | $600 |
| Core | AHCDES506 | Design for construction of landscape features | $1,500 | $600 |
| Core | AHCDES505 | Prepare a landscape design | $1,500 | $600 |
| Core | AHCDES508 | Design sustainable landscapes | $1,500 | $600 |
| Core | AHCPCM511 | Specify plants for landscapes | $1,500 | $600 |
| Elective | AHCWRK513 | Write and present reports | $1,500 | $600 |
| Elective | AHCBUS515 | Prepare estimates quotes and tenders | $1,500 | $600 |
| Elective | AHCLSC505 | Manage landscape projects | $1,500 | $600 |
| Elective | AHCBUS514 | Negotiate and monitor contracts | $1,500 | $600 |
| Elective | AHCBUS511 | Manage enterprise staff requirements | $1,500 | $600 |
| $18,000 | $7,200 |
Outcomes
Awards
Participants that complete all 12 units of competency satisfactorily will be awarded a Testamur certificate and a statement of results for the Course.
Academic Pathways
Graduates of this Course may articulate to a range of qualifications in the AHC Training Package at the Diploma levels, such as:
- AHC52021 Diploma of Landscape Construction Management
- AHC50422 Diploma of Horticulture
Occupational pathways
Graduates of this Course are ideally placed to maintain or seek employment in the AHC sector in roles such as:
- Landscape Designer in a commercial Landscape Construction Enterprise
Exit Opportunities
Participants have the opportunity to exit the Course prior to completion at any stage. Participants will be issued a Statement of Attainment certificate for any UOC completed.
Entry Requirements
Upfront Assessment of Need (UAN)
To ensure Participants receive the support they need to successfully complete the Course, an upfront assessment of need (UAN) process is undertaken before enrolment is confirmed. All individuals who are seeking access to a fee-for-service or subsidised training place, regardless of prior educational attainment, employment experience or employment status, are required to participate in the UAN process. The UAN process includes an assessment of the participant’s suitability, support needs and literacy and numeracy capabilities via a Language Literacy and Numeracy assessment (LLN).
Employment
All applicants into this Course must arrange and provide their own access to an actual workplace or enterprise to enable the attempting of practical/performance-based training and assessment activities. Applicants will require a Training Contract or a Workplace Training Agreement (WTA) to be executed prior to an application for enrolment will be offered.
Workplace Training Agreement
Where a Training Contract does not exist, for example under a fee-for-service enrolment, Participants should nominate their current place of employment, if it is an appropriate facility. ARO will engage with the nominated workplace, prior to enrolment being confirmed, to ensure that the workplace can provide a suitable environment to gather practical experience across all tasks outlined in all UOC’s. If approved, ARO will offer a WTA to the employer and the Participant to sign and execute.
Personal
All applicants into this course will need:
- A Unique Student Identifier #
- A mobile phone or other hand-held device that is: web-browser-enabled; can access the Participants personal email account (eg: Gmail); and has a calendar App or functionality (eg: Google Calendar) and has photo and video recording capabilities
- An active personal email address
- Government-issued photo identification inclusive of Date of Birth
- Evidence of personal place of residence address such as a Driver Licence or Utilities/Bank Statement
- A computer with enough processing power/memory to run CAD software (we can provide access to a student licence if needed)
Assessment
There are 3 assessment Tasks that Participants must achieve a satisfactory result for, to be deemed competent in each unit of competency:
Knowledge questions – 20-40 questions which assess the Performance Criteria and Knowledge Evidence requirements of each Unit.
Practical Tasks – which are on-the-job project activities using actual equipment and tools, that the Participants undertake in their workplace or simulated workplace or role-play.
Case study and/or project(s) – requiring self-directed research and medium-long-answer written responses which requires the participant to apply theory and practice such as action research, experiment, impact studies, planning for a complex professional task, field work etc.
Third Party Report (Supplementary) – allows for a Workplace Supervisor to provide feedback on the skills and knowledge of the Participant to capably complete the specific tasks in the workplace on multiple occasions consistently.
