Recognition of Acquired Competencies (RAC).

RAC is a process that makes it possible to be assessed on your existing skills for the purpose of gaining official recognition of the competencies you’ve acquired through life and work experience. Basically, what you have already learned on the job, through a hobby, or from volunteering. This process allows Quebec residents the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in a program that we offer in our school board and match the skills to the requirements in the trade’s program of study. With each successful recognition you get closer to your diploma!

You should not have to redo, in a formal educational setting, any learning you may have already acquired on the job or through life experience.

Together with a content specialist from your trade, we’ll discover what you already know and what is the best way to develop any missing elements based on the program of study from your trade.

Once we have created your plan, you will work with your content specialists to complete activities while they observe and assess your skills. If you are missing a skill or need a review, your content specialist can provide you with tutorials, reading material, or exercises to complete on your own time.

It should be noted that is some centres, if you are missing a skill it might be recommended that you take the full competency in the program and in turn,  would require the prerequisites for the program to be able to do so.

The ideal RAC Candidate (that’s you!) is self-motivated and can learn independently.

Your experience can come from anywhere! Perhaps you learned on the job, from a parent, or are self-taught. RAC’s not too concerned with how you learned, we just want to make sure you get the recognition you deserve.

One of the tools we have is a self-assessment document. This document lists every skill we will be assessing, with choices to rate your skills. In conjunction with an interview, we will use your self-assessment to discover what you already know and where you need support.

To qualify for RAC you do need to have enough experience in your trade that our content specialists will not be teaching you the basics of our program. Together we will decide if RAC is right for you.

Your RAC advisor will contact you and discuss what’s involved in the RAC process.

At the end of the RAC process you will receive the same certification from the program as a traditional student. All recognitions of competencies are submitted as “successes” and are recorded on your official Quebec Ministry of Education transcript. Nowhere in your documentation will it indicate that you used the RAC process to obtain your certification.

If you left the program to seek employment in your field and have since been growing your skills, RAC may be the perfect way to be recognized in the competencies you are missing to acquire your diploma.

Nothing! There are no application or registration costs for RAC. The only cost may be an exercise book or trade specific certification, For example, the Content Specialist may recommend that a Secretarial Candidate with limited Excel experience purchase an exercise book used in our traditional program, to support their learning.

RAC is driven by the Candidate (that’s you), and your level of experience and motivation. There are no set start or end dates for RAC. The difference is that the RAC process uses adult-specific assessment methods which take into account how you learned, and the self-taught practical nature of your learning. This gives you an opportunity to prove that you have acquired these competencies during activities or situations in your trade.

If you have a wide variety of experience in the trade and are motivated, the process may take less time than the traditional program. We work together at your pace, to meet your needs.

Assessments of your skills can happen a number of ways. We can visit you work or job site, or an appointment will be scheduled at one of our centers. Because we are assessing your competence (ability to complete a skill accurately and efficiently) you can be given a situational problem to solve, or an activity to complete. While you work, your content specialist will assess your abilities. If you are successful and show competence, you get your recognition. If you are unable to complete the task, you will be given a review and re-assessed at another time on only the skills you did not demonstrate correctly.  There is no failure in RAC, only identification of where you will need to focus your learning.

Are you a Canadian citizen from outside of Quebec: To meet the requirements of RAC you must live in Quebec for a minimum of 12 months before registration can be submitted. Proof of residency for this time will be required.

Are you new to Canada: Welcome! For immigrants to Canada, a document that proves Canadian citizenship or a permanent residency card, and a Quebec Selection Certificate or other permits are required.