What is the Difference Between Accredited Courses and Training Packages?

The main difference between accredited courses and training packages lies in their development, purpose, and coverage within the vocational education and training (VET) system. Here are the key differences:

Accredited Courses:

Developed to fill skills and knowledge gaps not covered by training packages.
Cannot be accredited to address an outcome that can be achieved through a training package.
May have similar outcomes to other accredited courses, but with different titles and course content.
Developed privately by individuals, groups, or businesses not employed or funded by the government.
Remain the intellectual property of the creator and can be sold to Registered Training Organizations (RTOs) as a license.

Training Packages:

Designed to meet most of Australia's training needs.
Developed by Service Skills Organizations (SSOs), which are employed by the government.
Available for all industries and cover most training needs.
Progressively replaced accredited courses over the years.

Both accredited courses and training packages are nationally recognized and subject to quality and regulatory frameworks. However, accredited courses are developed to address gaps in training packages, while training packages are developed to meet the majority of Australia's training needs.

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What is the Difference Between Accredited Courses and Training Packages?

Comparative Table: Accredited Courses vs Training Packages

The main difference between accredited courses and training packages lies in their development and approval processes. Here is a comparison table highlighting the key differences:

Feature	Accredited Courses	Training Packages
Development	Developed privately by individuals, groups, or businesses not employed or funded by the government	Developed by Service Skills Organizations (SSOs), which are government-employed organizations responsible for creating qualifications around particular industries
Approval	Approved by a quality assurance process, often done by a government organization	Approved by the relevant government-employed organization
Coverage	Cover areas not provided by training packages	Cover most training needs and ensure effective monitoring
Scope	Limited to the specific course developed by the individual, group, or business	Part of a larger group of courses under the same training package
Funding	May or may not have funding options available	Funding options may be available for certain courses

Both accredited courses and training packages are nationally recognized and subject to quality and regulatory frameworks. However, training packages tend to cover most training needs and provide effective monitoring, while accredited courses cover areas where training packages do not provide services. Additionally, accredited courses have a 5-year accreditation period, after which they need to be re-evaluated and possibly replaced by new courses.

Guilherme Mazui

Guilherme Mazui is graduated in journalism from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a master's degree in Communication from the University of São Paulo (USP). In addition, he has experience in advertising writing and has worked as a content editor in several companies.