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All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |
| SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY |
| REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: |
| National Occupational Certificate: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Technician |
| SAQA QUAL ID | QUALIFICATION TITLE | |||
| 121155 | National Occupational Certificate: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Technician | |||
| ORIGINATOR | ||||
| Development Quality Partner-MICT SETA | ||||
| PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY | NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK | |||
| - | OQSF - Occupational Qualifications Sub-framework | |||
| QUALIFICATION TYPE | FIELD | SUBFIELD | ||
| National Occupational Cert | Field 10 - Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences | Information Technology and Computer Sciences | ||
| ABET BAND | MINIMUM CREDITS | PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL | NQF LEVEL | QUAL CLASS |
| Undefined | 212 | Not Applicable | NQF Level 04 | Regular-ELOAC |
| REGISTRATION STATUS | SAQA DECISION NUMBER | REGISTRATION START DATE | REGISTRATION END DATE | |
| Registered | EXCO 0820/23 | 2023-11-14 | 2028-11-14 | |
| LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT | LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT | |||
| 2029-11-14 | 2032-11-14 | |||
| In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise. |
This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. |
| PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION |
| Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Technician. A Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technician dismantles, re-assembles, maintains, tests, diagnoses and repairs Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). A qualified learner will be able to: Rationale: As the Fourth Industrial Revolution reshapes how we live, work, and communicate, it is impacting government, education, healthcare, commerce and almost every aspect of life. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) technology is at the heart of these changes and the development of the skills and knowledge to thrive in this environment has a great potential for job creation and poverty alleviation in South African communities. It will increase the potentiality of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technicians to be employed, while ensuring the upward mobility of individuals with the entrepreneurial spirit to move confidently towards self-employment. The exponential growth for the use of an RPAS, which are also known as drones, for work and commercial purposes in industries such as emergency services, the police service, research, collection, and surveying has led to a huge demand in the market for more qualified personnel to attend to various issues that arise with the usage and support for RPAS operations. RPAS are already being used as a business tool to access high, difficult, or unsafe places and as a result, many sectors are ramping up their usage, using them for disaster management, infrastructure, agriculture, surveillance, and resource purposes. RPAS are being considered to move freight and are even being used in a military sense. This qualification reflects the workplace-based needs of the RPAS environment in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) that are expressed by this growing upward trend in the market. Currently the RPAS repair environment is proliferated with individuals who are trained on the job without formal qualifications, hence the need for a formal qualification targeted at people who wish to join the RPAS repair industry, or those that are currently working in this industry as salespersons and repairers. They will be performing duties related to fault-finding, repair and maintenance of electronic equipment related to the RPAS for disaster management, infrastructure, agriculture, surveillance, commercial, military, etc. This qualification will empower the learners with the required skills that will allow them to enter this market of RPAS with the skills and knowledge to work either in the sales stream or the technical stream. It will permit individuals to increase their employability or become self-employed by starting their own small businesses with a potential of employing others. Furthermore, the qualification will benefit societies by ensuring better quality products and services. The sector will benefit from Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technicians with a set of competencies aligned to industry regulated standards for products and services. The economy will benefit from increased revenue due to increased employment opportunities, entrepreneurship due to emerging SMME's that will create employment and pay tax. It will also allow the country to embark on localisation of manufacturing of electronic devices and components, once there are enough skilled personnel capable of innovation locally. The availability of suitably qualified Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technicians will permit quick recovery for faulty RPAS by reducing business interruptions for individuals and businesses and allowing economic activities to carry on. This will also improve the safe working environment especially as these devices are in the proximity of the public. Upon completion, the qualification will provide learners with opportunities for professional development and career advancement within the broader RPAS environment, including, RPAS Pilot, Senior Technicians, Team Leaders, Master Technicians, Sales Officers, Sales Representatives, Senior Sales Representatives, RPAS Centre Managers, etc. There is no professional registration needed for the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technician. There are no similar qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). |
| LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING |
| a) Learners will gain access to the qualification through RPL for Access as provided for in the QCTO RPL Policy. RPL for access is conducted by accredited education institution, skills development provider or workplace accredited to offer that specific qualification/part qualification.
b) Learners who have acquired competencies of the modules of a qualification or part-qualification will be credited for modules through RPL. c) RPL for access to the external integrated summative assessment: Accredited providers and approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by issuing a statement of result. Entry Requirements: |
| RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? |
| Y |
| QUALIFICATION RULES |
| This qualification is made up of compulsory Knowledge, Practical Skill and Work Experience Modules:
Knowledge Modules 12 Credits. 12 Credits. Total number of credits for Knowledge Modules: 78 Practical Skill Modules Total number of credits for Practical Skill Modules: 86 Work Experience Modules Total number of credits for Work Experience Modules: 48 |
| EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES |
| 1. Demonstrate the ability to remove, update and install software and firmware used for remotely piloted aircraft systems according to manufacturer's specifications and procedures.
2. Assess, dismantle, repair, and reassemble remotely piloted aircraft systems hardware according to standard operating procedures. 3. Diagnose and upgrade remotely piloted aircraft systems software according to standard operating procedures. |
| ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA |
| Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
ELO 1: Demonstrate the ability to remove, update and install Software and firmware used for remotely piloted aircraft systems according to manufacturer's specifications and procedures. Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2: ELO 2: Demonstrate the ability to assess, dismantle, repair, and reassemble remotely piloted aircraft systems hardware according to standard operating procedures. Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3 : ELO 3: Demonstrate the ability to diagnose and upgrade remotely piloted aircraft systems software according to standard operating procedures. Integrated Assessment: Formative Assessment The skills development provider will use the curriculum to guide them on the stipulated internal assessment criteria and weighting. They will also apply the scope of practical skills and applied knowledge as stipulated by the internal assessment criteria. This formative assessment together with work experience leads to entrance in the external integrated summative assessment. Summative Assessment An external integrated summative assessment, conducted through the relevant QCTO Assessment Quality Partner is required for the issuing of this qualification. The external integrated summative assessment will focus on the exit level outcomes and associated assessment criteria. |
| INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY |
| The National Occupational Certificate: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technician was compared to that of the foremost countries in RPAS technology and repairers, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United States of America (USA). These countries offer comprehensive Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) qualifications that spans across the disciplines in our qualification. RPAS are used and repaired all over the world, but these countries have been chosen as they have systems with most similar qualification structures to the Republic of South Africa (RSA).
These qualifications focused on developing learners towards a wider range of related skill sets including, flying operation, launch and recovery systems and components. Learning programs and qualifications registered by a qualification's authority on a national qualifications' framework were selected for this comparison. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE): The International Aviation Technical College at Riyadh (IATC) offers 3 qualifications: International Aviation Technical College at Riyadh (IATC) offers these qualifications and is internationally recognised. This course is for students who are interested in a career in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance Engineering. The entry requirements are: These Qualifications are made up of the following core standards and optional learning goals that can be compared to the South African qualification: Associate Diploma in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance Engineering. Core Curriculum/Syllabus: General units: More information / Learning goals (optional) Diploma in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance Engineering (Mechanical). Core Curriculum/Syllabus: Mechanical pathway units: More information / Learning goals (optional) Diploma in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance Engineering (Avionics). Core Curriculum/Syllabus (list) Avionics pathway units: More information / Learning goals (optional) Similarities The UAE qualifications compares well with the South African qualification in essence it has similar skills sets which are comparable with the South African Qualification. It allows for learners to articulate to additional qualifications in similar or related occupations. Differences The UAE qualifications covers a broader range of disciplines and are not as specialised and defined in such detail as in the South African qualification. The UAE qualification also has a broader approach to the UAV environment and includes flight operations, which is not the case in the South African qualification. The South African qualification supports an industry-specific, fit-for-purpose approach. The generic, wide-reaching approach followed by the UAE does not provide sufficient recognition for the specialised nature of the RPAS Technician and the labour market requirements for a RPAS Technician in the Republic of South Africa. United States of America (USA): Northland Community and technical College offers the following qualifications. The entry requirements are: These Qualifications are made up of the following core standards and optional learning goals that can be compared to the South African qualification: Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technician: MN Transfer Curriculum (Electives): Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Field Service Technician: UAS & Geospatial Applications: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Maintenance Technician Similarities The USA's qualifications compare well with the South African qualification in essence it has similar skills sets which are comparable with the South African Qualification. It allows for learners to articulate to additional qualifications in similar or related occupations. Differences The USA's qualifications cover a broader range of disciplines and are more specialised and defined with much more detail than the South African qualification. The USA's qualifications also have a strong focus on, academic skills and knowledge as well as components of flight and avionics, which is not case in the South African qualification. The South African qualification supports an industry-specific, fit-for-purpose approach that meet the labour market requirements for a Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technician in the Republic of South Africa. The USA's qualification's structure allows for an optional stream in generic academic knowledge whereas the South African qualification does not allow this. Conclusion The South African Qualification does however compare favourably with the UAE and the USA Qualifications as it holds similar skill sets. ARTICULATION OPTIONS This qualification allows possibilities for both vertical and horizontal articulation. Horizontal Articulation: Vertical Articulation: Diagonal Articulation: |
| ARTICULATION OPTIONS |
| This qualification allows possibilities for vertical, horizontal and diagonal articulation.
Horizontal Articulation: Vertical Articulation: Diagonal Articulation: |
| NOTES |
| Qualifying for External Assessment:
To qualify for an external assessment, learners must provide proof of completion of all required modules by means of a statement of results and statement of work experience as well as proof of successful completion of the subjects and modules or alternative programmes where applicable. Additional Legal or Physical Entry Requirements: Criteria for the Accreditation of Providers: Accreditation of providers will be done against the criteria as reflected in the relevant curriculum on the QCTO website. The curriculum title and code are: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Technician: 311401-001-00 Encompassed Trades: Assessment Quality Partner: LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION None |
| LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: |
| NONE |
| PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: |
| This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here. |
| NONE |
| All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |