Individuals undertaking training and enterprises wanting to improve the skills of their employees often do not require a full qualification because there are individual and business reasons to address immediate skill requirements. Research conducted on the uptake of Vocational Education and Training (VET) over the past decade, shows that approximately half of those enrolled each year complete only one or two modules or units of competency. Presumably many of these have met their skill development needs rather than chosen not to complete a particular qualification. The High Level Review of Training Packages identified that there are many individuals and enterprises that do not look for full qualifications, but for flexible skills sets made up of individual units of competency.

Formal recognition

Until now, individuals electing to complete part of a qualification have received no formal recognition that the particular combination of units they complete meets an identified industry need. In the past, in many cases the Statement of Attainment has made reference to partial completion of a specified qualification, thereby implying that something has been unfinished, rather than the skill needs met. This has created difficulties for individuals, who do not receive formal recognition for the skills they have developed and also for employers in identifying the skills their employees have obtained.

Several attempts have been made to overcome these problems and solve the recognition issue. Council of Australian Governments decisions in early 2006 and National Quality Council decisions formalise the recognition of skill sets in the national VET system by including them in nationally endorsed Training Packages where there is a defined industry need, but also encouraging Registered Trainig Organisations to develop their own approaches to meeting local needs.