Training Plan for apprenticeships or traineeships

A Training Plan outlines training and assessment for apprentices and trainees. As an employer, you’re responsible for guiding them as they complete the plan. You also record evidence of demonstrated skills.

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What’s a Training Plan?

Every apprentice or trainee in NSW gets an individualised Training Plan.

A Training Plan is your learner’s road map to success.

It describes their formal and workplace training and assessment.

Learners must perform workplace duties that map to their study units called Units of Competency (UoCs). It also describes the time frame for learning.

Apprentices and trainees must complete the Training Plan to

receive their qualification
get their Certificate of Proficiency
complete their apprenticeship and traineeship.

All Training Plans will need to be submitted to Training Services. This is a division of Department of Education responsible for apprenticeships and traineeships.

How and when to get a Training Plan

Your Registered Training Organisation (RTO) must develop a Training Plan in consultation with you and your learner. An RTO delivers the formal training (study) and assessments to complement your workplace training. To get an RTO on board see How to employ an apprentice or trainee

When to get one

Make sure you start developing a Training Plan as early as possible:

Your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider (ACAP) will prepare a draft Training Plan Proposal (TPP) and will send it to your RTO to confirm training details.
For school based apprentices or trainees (SBATs) the school sector representative or Apprentice Connect Australia Provider will prepare a draft SBAT Training Plan Proposal and send to your RTO to confirm training details.
Once the RTO confirms a delivery date, they will return the TPP or SBAT TPP to your Apprentice Connect Australia Provider. The ACAP will lodge it with the Training Contract to Training Services.
For school-based apprentices or trainees a full Training Plan needs to be completed by your RTO and the school sector representative within six (6) weeks after approval of the Training Contract by Training Services. The Training Plan is used to support the pattern of study that your employee can undertake while completing their Higher School Certificate (HSC).
For most other apprenticeships and traineeships, the full Training Plan must be developed within 12 weeks of getting the apprenticeship or traineeship approved.

To find out more about getting an apprenticeship or traineeship approved, see Training Contract and registration

Developing the Training Plan

To develop the plan, the RTO will discuss with you:

The learner’s needs, abilities and circumstances.
Units of Competency in the Plan. Each unit sets out practical tasks and structured milestones.
The delivery sequence. Each unit increases your learner’s skills, like building blocks and should be a guide to what work your learner needs to undertake on the job throughout the progression of the term of the training contract.
Any extra learning needs (such as literacy and numeracy)
If your learner can apply for recognition of prior learning (RPL). Under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act (the Act) an apprenticeship or traineeship is seen as training and assessment. RPL only training is not appropriate for an apprentice or trainee and the employee should be undertaking other funded training to meet industry needs.

You can negotiate how the training and assessment will be delivered. Also, when, where, and by whom.

The Training Plan must be developed using the Training Plan proforma issued by Training Services - according to the Department's Vocational Training Guide for Training Plan.

See Details of the Training Plan (below) to find out what each plan includes.

The RTO must give you and your apprentice or trainee a copy of the signed Training Plan.

Put a Training Plan into practice

The Training Plan is a living document. It needs input from everyone involved in the apprenticeship or traineeship.

As an employer you need to:

Create workplace opportunities for your learner to master skills from the Training Plan.
Make sure a reliable and appropriately qualified workplace supervisor can instruct and supervise the learner on the job. You will be asked to provide the name and contact details of the learner’s direct supervisor.
- For regulated trades such as an electrician or plumber, the direct supervisor must be someone who holds the appropriate licence. Verify a licence with NSW Department of Fair Trading.
- For unlicenced trades such as baking, the direct supervisor must have a Certificate of Proficiency for the vocation or be a person who has the qualification and experience that would entitle the person to a Certificate of proficiency.
- For traineeships the direct supervisor must be someone who is either experience or qualified, at the same or higher level, in the vocation being undertaken.
- IMPORTANT: Apprentices and/or trainees must not supervise other apprentices or trainees.
Ensure the plan is regularly updated and reflects the current status of training.
Discuss progress with your RTO at least every six months. If there’s performance issues, do this more often.

Essential documents

Training Plan The pdf version provides automatic totalling of training hours and other advanced features. You can also download in Word by following the same link.
Employer Endorsement Addendum
Training Plan Proposal
RTO Notification Process
Guide to Completing the Training Plan

Details of a Training Plan

A Training Plan will include:

the title of the formal qualification for your apprentice/trainee
the commencement date of formal training
the Units of Competency, including any elective units, that will make up the qualification
the competency record books or work evidence records which you will need to sign off
the mode of delivery of formal training by the RTO (e.g. classroom based, block release, online learning etc)
how and when assessments will happen
training materials to be provided by the RTO to your apprentice or trainee
specific assistance to be provided by the RTO to the apprentice/trainee to meet any special learning needs eg literacy, numeracy, mentoring.