In Vocational Education and Training (VET) a training package is a set of nationally endorsed standards and qualifications for recognising and assessing skills and knowledge in specific industries. These packages are developed by industry bodies to ensure the skills people learn at Registered Training Organisations (RTO – e.g. TAFE) match with what industry needs.

It outlines what skills and knowledge a person needs to be competent in a certain job or sector, and how they can be taught and assessed.

• units of competency (often many hundreds)
• qualifications (a specification of a number of units of competency)
• skill sets (like a mini qualification, just a couple of units)

For example, the ‘BSB Business Services Training Package’ is designed for those seeking skills in business services. It includes a range of qualifications, such as certificates and diplomas in business administration, human resources, marketing, and more. Each qualification within this package lays out the specific units of competency that a learner needs to complete to gain skills relevant to business services. This ensures that the training is relevant, up-to-date, and meets the standards required by the industry.

• Who: The participants involved in the learning program. E.g. students, trainers, industry professionals. The ‘who’ can also extend to administrative and support staff who contribute to the delivery and management of the program.
• What: This is the content of the program. It includes the units of competency the students need to attain to get their qualification or statement of attainment
• When: This aspect refers to the timing and duration of the learning program. It includes the schedule (e.g., daily, weekly), the length of each session, and the overall duration of the program (e.g., a semester, a year, multiple years).
• Where: This pertains to the location or environment where the learning takes place. It can be a physical setting like a classroom, a lab, a workshop, or a virtual environment such as an online platform or a combination of both (blended learning).
• How: This involves the methods and strategies used to deliver the content and facilitate learning. It includes teaching approaches (like lectures, seminars, hands-on activities), assessment methods (like written tests, projects, roleplay, observations, practical assessments), and the use of technology and multimedia tools.
• Why: This is the purpose or goal of the learning program. It could be to impart specific skills, prepare learners for a particular career, provide personal development, fulfill regulatory requirements, or contribute to lifelong learning, etc.