Choosing resources for the CPC training package.
A plain guide for RTOs delivering construction, plumbing and services qualifications: what the package covers, how a qualification is put together, how to check it is current, what each resource format contains, and what stays with you.
What the CPC package covers
The Construction, Plumbing and Services training package (CPC) holds the national qualifications for the building and construction trades and the plumbing and services trades. It runs from Certificate I and II qualifications that introduce the industry, through Certificate III trade qualifications such as carpentry, bricklaying and blocklaying, wall and floor tiling and plumbing, to Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications in building and construction, project support, services design and building surveying.
Many construction and plumbing outcomes connect to occupational licensing, and licensing is set by each state and territory, not by the training package. A qualification's entry on training.gov.au notes any licensing or regulatory link. Your state's licensing authority sets the rest.
How a qualification is packaged
Every qualification is a set of units of competency. Core units are completed by every learner. Elective units are chosen by your RTO, usually to suit a trade specialisation, a type of workplace or a region, within the qualification's packaging rules.
The packaging rules are published with each qualification on training.gov.au. They set how many units are needed, which units are core, which electives may be chosen and whether any may come from other training packages. Some units also have prerequisites that must be completed first.
Resource choice follows packaging. Before you buy, write down the exact units your RTO will deliver for each qualification, then check the product against that list. If your elective choice differs from what a product covers, ask CAQA before you order.
Checking currency and transition
Training packages change. When a qualification is updated or replaced, training.gov.au shows its status, its release history and what superseded it, including whether the new version is marked as equivalent. training.gov.au is the authority, not a resource catalogue. Always check the current release on training.gov.au before you enrol learners.
When a qualification you deliver is superseded, plan the transition: your scope of registration, your training and assessment strategy, your resources and your learners' enrolments all need attention. ASQA explains the transition requirements for providers on its Standards for RTOs page. A resource written for a superseded qualification is not a resource for its replacement, even when the titles match.
What each format contains
- Assessment kit: assessment pack (student), trainer assessment pack (marking guide), mapping for each unit of competency, and assessment record tools.
- Learner resources: learner guide, PowerPoint presentation, session plan, classroom activities and self-study guide.
- Learning and assessment kit: the assessment kit and the learner resources together.
- RPL kit: written for each qualification and set out in stages, from the application form and information booklet through self assessment, competency conversation, demonstration and observation tasks, and a third party kit.
- LLND kit: LLND assessment tools aligned with the ACSF, with mapping, assessor guides and learner profile and learning plan templates.
- Training and assessment strategy: a template you customise to your learner cohort and your RTO.
- Vocational placement kit: a work placement kit for assessing practical skills in a simulated environment or an actual workplace.
Documents are supplied in Microsoft Word, so you can customise them. Unlimited student licence: deliver to unlimited students within the purchased licence conditions. The store describes a one-off licence fee with no annual or ongoing fees. Which formats are listed differs from code to code, so check the code in the store.
What your RTO still has to do
Bought resources are a starting point, not a finished training and assessment system. Under the Standards for RTOs 2025 your RTO remains responsible for its training and assessment. Plan to:
- Contextualise the materials for your trade stream, your learners, your workshop or site, and local practice.
- Check that each assessment tool meets the requirements of its unit and that practical tasks can be done with the equipment, materials and conditions you have. Construction units often call for practical work in a workplace or a realistic simulated one, so read the assessment conditions closely.
- Validate your assessment practice and judgements, as set out at Standard 1.5 of the Outcome Standards.
- Implement with care: brief trainers and assessors, keep version control, and record the changes you make and why.
No resource can promise an outcome at audit. A good one saves your team time and gives your validation panel something solid to work on.