What To Expect When Completing Your RSA certificate
The Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificate is a requirement for anyone who works in licensed premises and is involved in the serving of alcohol. The RSA Training teaches participants the safest and best practices when serving patrons, including when to stop serving alcohol and duty of care. This training is increasing in popularity as bars, clubs and restaurants open later into the night, and as more young people take up work in licensed venues.
To serve alcohol, a venue must possess a liquor license and all members of the alcohol-serving staff must successfully complete RSA Training. This gives them the skills and knowledge they need to deal with the various situations that can arise when serving alcohol. Many people find working in licensed venues to be a lot of fun, but there are also some serious incidents that can occur and staff needs to be trained and prepared.
There are a wide range of topics covered when training for the RSA, including the law as it relates to alcohol, how to deal with minors, handling difficult and intoxicated customers, how to know when someone has had too much to drink and refuse further service, and facts about alcohol such as alcohol percentage in various drinks and correct standard serve sizes.
RSA Training is often completed in a range of different formats. It can be conducted in a classroom environment face to face, or students can learn and be tested online. This allows a range of different learning styles to be catered to. The duration of the course can vary depending on the intensity and whether it is face to face or RSA Online, and generally ranges from 3 hours to a week or two. RSA Training is a short course that is available for almost anyone to take part in. Not all states or institutions offer the course RSA online; study format is generally up to the individual.
RSA participants can only receive training from a nationally recognized institute, and the RSA course is based on a national unit of competency called Provide Responsible Service of Alcohol (SITHFAB201). Although this is a national qualification, each individual state has its own liquor laws and the course may be slightly different from state to state to keep in line with those laws.
The RSA course also covers the issue of drinking and driving, and explains that servers have a duty of care and a community responsibility to ensure that the person does not become highly intoxicated at their venue. It is important to have an understanding of the way alcohol affects people differently based on size, age, gender and the amount of food previously consumed. Students will also learn how to complete an incident diary if incidents involving intoxicated patrons do occur.
RSA Training is an excellent qualification to possess, especially for young workers just getting started in the industry – it is a qualification that can help set them apart from other candidates when applying for work, and ensures they have a sound knowledge of how to serve alcohol in a responsible manner.