This unit of competency covers the skills and knowledge required to identify performance and handling requirements of traditional and non-traditional millinery materials.

The unit of competency applies to materials used in the production of millinery and the skills and knowledge required to guide the selection of millinery material suitable to various millinery applications.

Work may be conducted in small to large scale enterprises and may involve individual and team activities.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria, and include:

reading and following work instructions, standard operating procedures and safe work practices and other reference material

identifying the structure and composition of traditional and non-traditional millinery materials

identifying common problems and faults of materials

identifying material quality using established quality indicators and testing fabric performance

conducting performance testing of millinery materials on at least two (2) occasions

testing and identifying at least two (2) performance characteristics of traditional and non-traditional millinery materials

identifying quality indicators of millinery materials

using performance characteristics to describe appropriate uses of millinery materials

identifying material finishes and implications for handling, care, cleaning and construction for at least two (2) types of millinery materials.

Evidence must be provided that demonstrates knowledge of:

safe work practices and procedures and use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

traditional and non-traditional millinery materials:

woven and non-woven materials

natural and synthetic materials

flat or moulded materials

composite materials

foundation materials

linings

covering fabrics

trims

components (wire, ribbon and feathers)

performance characteristics of millinery materials:

abrasion

wearability

absorbency

durability

elasticity

heat sensitivity

colour fastness

strength

handling requirements of millinery materials

care and cleaning of millinery materials

finishes:

colouration

brushing

sizing

decorative surface finishes for aesthetics

floating threads or fibres

quality practices

relevant Australian Standards

workplace procedures

recording and reporting practices.

Assessors must:

satisfy the assessor competency requirements that are in place at the time of the assessment, as set by the VET regulator

have vocational competency in identifying performance and handling requirements of millinery materials, at least to the level being assessed, with relevant industry knowledge and experience.

Assessment should occur in operational workplace situations. Where this is not possible, or where personal safety or environmental damage are limiting factors, assessment must occur in a sufficiently rigorous simulated environment reflecting realistic operational workplace conditions. This must cover all aspects of workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills.

Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.

Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications associated with this unit.

This section describes those required skills (language, literacy and numeracy) that are essential to performance.

Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.

Not applicable

Millinery