FOLS records the training and currency of a worker.
Some common questions we are asked relating to currency are:
“what is the Currency Statement?”
“why do I need it?”
“who should sign it?”
The Currency Statement or Verification of Currency (VOC), demonstrates that the person has been using the skills that they have been trained and assessed as competent to undertake. In signing the currency you are confirming that the person has been using those skills in the last 3 years and that you are unaware of any major incidents pertaining to these activities. This statement can be signed by an employer, forest manager or another person who has observed the person using their skills. They need to be comfortable to indicate that regardless of the last time they were trained and assessed, in their opinion their skills are current and without major incident.
To have a skill listed on a FOLS both a Statement of Attainment and a Currency Statement for that skill is required. When a FOLS is renewed a Currency Statement is required for the skills to remain on your FOLS.
Currency is required to support the skill being listed on FOLS. If skills are not used regularly they can become “rusty”. Currency provides a review every three years of which skills a person is using.
We are often asked who signs a currency if they are self-employed? In these cases often the forest manager or the company a person is contracted to work for signs this form.
Skill currency has implications for everyone in the supply chain. In mid-2018, the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) will be amended to provide that every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain must ensure the safety of their transport activities. If you consign, pack, load or receive goods as part of your business, you could be held legally liable for breaches of the HVNL even though you have no direct role in driving or operating a heavy vehicle. Corporate entities, directors, partners and managers are accountable for the actions of people under their control. This is the Chain of Responsibility (COR).
Skills currency provides for WHS requirements under the HVNL and various state-based Codes for safety in forestry operations.
The Currency Statement is an essential tool to demonstrate that an individual has maintained their skills through regular practice and this recognition is valued and necessary across the supply chain.