Training Packages are a key feature of Vocational Education and Training in Australia. They are part of the National Training Framework that aims to make skills development and training arrangements simple, flexible and relevant to the needs of industry.
Training Packages are developed by industry for industry
There are ten National Industry Skills Councils covering the vast breath of Australian industries. CPSISC has developed and is responsible for maintaining six Training Packages. Extensive consultation occurs during development to ensure that the Training Package is relevant to industry and useable. Before presenting new or reviewed Training Packages for national endorsement the CPSISC must consult widely, validate the contents of the Training Package and show that it has broad industry support.
Training Packages encourage training at work
Training may occur at the workplace, off the job, at a training organisation, during regular work, or through work experience, work placement or work simulation. Usually it involves a combination of these methods, depending on what suits the learner and the type of learning and particular vocational outcome.
Training Packages provide many pathways to competency
Australians can achieve vocational competency in many ways. Training Packages acknowledge this by emphasising (through units of competency), what the learner can do - not how or where they learned to do it. For example, some experienced workers might be able to demonstrate competency against the standards and gain a qualification without completing a formal training course. This is a process called Skills Recognition or Recognition or Prior Learning. Other people who are just setting out on a new career may undertake training in a classroom setting and others may gain competency through New Apprenticeships supported by on the job training and assessment.
Training Packages have 3 very important components
The endorsed component of a Training Package consists of three parts:
Competency Standards
Provide an industry endorsed benchmark for training and assessment. They specify the scope of knowledge and skills to be covered in the Training Package. They enable enterprises to accurately define particular roles within industry, and are a useful guide when designing job classifications, workplace appraisal, and skill development. They are the basis for designing Vocational Education and Training courses and assessment approaches for delivery off the job by registered training providers.
National Qualifications
Are awarded when a learner (who might be an employee) has been assessed as achieving a combination of units of competency that provides a meaningful outcome at an industry or enterprise level. Each qualification in the CPSISC Training Packages consists of a number of core and/or elective units of competency that industry representatives consider workers require to perform a particular job.
Assessment Guidelines
Provide a framework for accurate, reliable and valid assessment of the applicable competency standards. They ensure that all assessments are thorough, consistent and valid and they also provide important quality assurance in the issuing of qualifications. They include a statement on the qualifications required by assessors, guidelines for designing assessment materials and guidelines for conducting assessment.
