At ForestWorks we receive many requests asking how to find a training provider. You may have identified the need to have either yourself or one of your staff receive training, but where do you go next?  Who and where are the training providers, and is it possible to get government funding to complete the training?

Before we answer that, we need to make clear that there are two kinds of training:

  1. Accredited Training: means that the course has been developed in consultation with the broader industry and other stakeholders. It usually comes from a nationally recognised training package and is made up of units of competency.
  2. Non-accredited training: has been developed to meet a specific, regional or short-term need.  The course may have been customised to suit one client or one project only.

“Registered training organisations (RTOs)” are training providers that have been endorsed by the national regulator of training, to deliver accredited training.  Some RTOs conduct accredited and non-accredited training, some RTOs only do one.

Accredited training is the only kind that attracts subsidies from State and Federal governments, depending on which state you are in and if you meet their conditions. Subsidies usually only cover the cost of training, not the cost of downtime or loss of production or wages.

Accredited training will have a code attached to it that maps back to a nationally recognised training package, for example ‘FWP’ which refers to the FWP Forest and Wood Products Training Package.

How to Search for Accredited Training

  1. Go to training.gov.au
  2. Click on “National Register of VET”
  3. On the right hand side of the screen, you will see a search box. Type in the training package code FWP and hit enter.
  4. You will then see a list of relevant and accredited training packages, units of competency, skill sets and qualifications. Select from this list.
  5. On the next page you will see a link to Find RTOs approved to deliver this unit/skill set/qualification. Click on it.
  6. The result is a list of all the training providers around Australia that have permission to deliver this training. This does not always mean that they are eligible to receive government funding for delivery, or that they have been endorsed by the plantation industry as having an excellent reputation for the delivery of high-quality training.

You can then contact a training provider and discuss your needs with them.  They may be able to provide some advice on how to access government subsidies for training.