How to Create a Program for a Qualification, Accredited Course, Unit/Modules or Skill Sets

How to Create a Program for a Qualification, Accredited Course, Unit/Modules or Skill Sets

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Overview

Programs in the eSkilled Student Management System (SMS) refers to courses that could be a nationally accredited training programs, qualifications, part qualifications, units or modules, or non-accredited courses. 

Planning and setting up your Programs in the SMS correctly is important to ensuring a seamless experience for your administrators, trainers, and students. Correct Program settings also help ensure compliance with reporting requirements. 

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps of creating nationally accredited training programs in your SMS. Nationally accredited training programs are either reported to National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) during AVETMISS reporting or through your State Training Authority. 

This tutorial will cover the following: 

  1. Creating a qualification  
  2. Creating a program that is unit/s or module/s only, part qualification, or skill set
  3. Updating additional details of a program and adding units using the training.gov.au sync function
  4. Manually updating additional details of a program
  5. Manually adding units to a program

Notes
Step Tutorial

Creating a qualification or accredited course program

1. From the sidebar menu, go to Programs > Programs tab > then click Add.


2. Fill out the following fields:

Scope Information Section: 

  1. Program Code - enter the program code of the Qualification or the Accredited course as they appear in training.gov. au. The code must be an exact match with the listing in training.gov.au with no extra characters or trailing spaces.  Below is a sample of a qualification code from training.gov.au:

  1. Program Name - enter the program name of the qualification as it appears in training.gov.au. The name should match exactly as it appears in the site and must be for the correct program code. You may copy the name from training.gov.au to ensure no errors in the entry. 

  1. Qualification - Toggle this to YES if the program is a Qualification. If this is a units or modules, part qualification or skill sets, turn off this toggle. 
  2. Type - select the program type in the dropdown field. The dropdown is dynamic.
    1. If the toggle for Qualification is set to YES, users will need to select the corresponding AQF level for the program
    2. If the toggle is turned off, the following selections will appear.
      1. Non-accredited course
      2. Units or Modules only
      3. Part Qualification
      4. Skill Set/Accredited Short Course
  3. Maximum Nominal Hours - enter the maximum nominal hours for your program if the information is available. This is the maximum anticipated hours of supervised training deemed necessary to conduct the training and assessment activities associated with the program. 
  4. Transition/Teach Out Date - enter the transition or teach out date for the program if applicable. 
  5. Status - enter the program's status based on training.gov.au information. 
    1. Current
    2. Superseded 
    3. Transitioned

Once done, click Save.


Warning
IMPORTANT: A program can only be a Qualification or Accredited Course, a Unit or Module Only, Part Qualification or Skill sets. Each different type of program should have one program created to ensure proper reporting of the training activity. For example, if you offer training for a Full Qualification and a part qualification of Certificate IV in Cookery, two programs must be created, one for the Full qualification and the other for the part qualification. Only the full qualification program should use the qualification code and name found in training.gov.au.


Creating a Program for a Unit/s or Module/s Only, Part Qualification, or a Skill Set

A Unit/s Only or Module/s Only program typically refers to a training program where students enrol in a single unit or specific units of competency without completing the full qualification. These programs are particularly useful for students looking to upskill or specialise in a particular area without committing to a full qualification.  

Part Qualification refers to a subset of units required for a qualification and may represent a stage towards completing the full qualification.

Skill Set is a group of units of competency that are combined to provide a specific set of skills focused on a specific job task or function. They are designed to address specific industry needs and are often smaller and more targeted than a full qualification.

In the SMS, creating Unit/s or Module/s Only, Part Qualification, or Skill Set program follows the same process as a Qualification with some differences in the setting selection.

1. From the sidebar menu, go to Programs > Programs tab > then click Add.


2. Fill out the following fields:

  1. Program Code - enter the code for the program. The code should not match an existing qualification or accredited course in training.gov.au
  2. Program name - enter a program name. The name should not match an existing qualification or accredited course in training.gov.au.
  3. Qualification - turn off the toggle
  4. Maximum Nominal Hours - enter the maximum nominal hours for your program if the information is available.
  5. Type - enter the program type. Select if the program is a Unit/Module only, a Skill Set or a Part Qualification. Ensure that the selection in this field matches your Program. 
  6. Status - you may select the status of the Qualification. 

Once done, click Save.
Using the Sync with TGA (training.gov.au) Button to Populate or Update Details of a Program and/or Add Units

The eSkilled Student Management System (SMS) is integrated to TGA (training.gov.au), allowing you to quickly sync program fields and add units for your program based on what is on the official National Training Register website. This feature checks the program code and name, and if a match is found on training.gov.au, it will update and fill-in additional fields in the NAT30A section (if available on the site) and create all the related units for the qualification if they have not yet been added to the SMS.

Making the Sync with TGA feature even more significant and powerful is the fact that if your RTO number is populated in the SMS settings and synced with training.gov.au via the RTO lookup (see How to Set Up RTO Information in the SMS 2.0), it automatically syncs all packaging for a qualification or skill set within your RTO's scope, plus any individual units. This makes importing all the units and accredited training your RTO delivers highly convenient and reduces the burden of manually setting up accounts.


How to Sync with TGA (ALL Programs)
WarningIMPORTANT: Before using the Sync with TGA (All Programs) button, all programs must first be added to the system.

1. Go to the Programs tab and click the Add button.

Fill in the following information:
  1. Program Code - enter the program code of the Qualification as they appear in training.gov.au. The code must be an exact match with the listing in training.gov.au with no extra characters or trailing spaces.
  2. Program Name - enter the program name of the qualification as it appears in training.gov.au. The name should match exactly as it appears in the site and must be for the correct program code
  3. Type - select the program type in the dropdown field


Once done, click Save.

After adding all the necessary programs, go back to the Programs page. Click the Sync with TGA (All Programs) button.

This will now sync all relevant information for each added program from training.gov.au into the system.

How to Sync with TGA by individual Program?

WarningIMPORTANT: The Program Code and Program Name must match exactly with the one listed on training.gov.au. NAT30A field data will be automatically updated if the information is available on TGA. Units will be added based on the Units of Competency available on training.gov.au for the selected Program. 

1. In the Programs tab, click on Sync [Program Code] button.

Once synced, the following fields will be updated if the information is available in training.gov.au:

  1. Program Recognition Identifier
  2. AQF level
  3. Program Field of Education Identifier
  4. ANZSCO Identifier

The Units tab will also show list of units available for the program.

Manually Updating Additional Details of a Program

InfoNOTE: Some of the information in the NAT30A section is not required in National reporting but is required for state reporting. It is best practice to always complete fields especially if information is available, to avoid having to go back to the system again to update these later on when it becomes required. 
1. To manually update additional details of a program, go to Programs > Programs tab > search and select for the program > then go to the NAT30A section.

Fill in the following fields:

  1. Program Recognition Identifier - select from the dropdown the Program Recognition Identifier based on your Program type. 
  2. AQF Level - Select the corresponding AQF level for the program. Users may leave this blank if the Program type is Unit or Module Only or Skill Set or Part Qualification. 
  3. Program Field of Education Identifier - select from the dropdown the Program Field of Education Identifier. This information can also be found in training.gov.au under Classifications. Users may leave this blank if the Program type is Unit or Module Only or Skill Set or Part Qualification. 
  4. ANZSCO Identifier - enter the ANZSCO identifier for the program. This can be found also in training.gov.au under the Classifications table for the Qualification. Users may leave this blank if the Program is a Unit/Module Only, Skill Set or Part Qualification. 
  5. Program Identifier - Local (WA) - this field is only required for programs that report to WA. Users may leave this field blank if reporting for other States. 

Once done, click Update.


InfoNOTE: You may refer to the Classifications section of the program on training.gov.au for the information required in NAT30A.



Manually Adding Units to a Program

Follow the steps below if the training.gov.au sync is not available for the Program created, or if you would like to manually add units to a program: 

InfoNOTE: Ensure that units or subjects are already added in Programs > Units before doing the actions below


1. To add units to the program, in your Programs tab, go to the Units subtab. Then click New.


2. In the ‘create new entry’ modal, fill in the following from the dropdown fields: 

  1. Unit Code - select the code of the unit you would like to add.
  2. Unit Name - this field will auto-populate with the unit’s name for the selected unit code. This is a non-editable field. 
  3. Unit Type - select whether the unit is a Core or Elective unit.
  4. Status - select the status of the unit if Current, Superseded, or Deleted. This information should match the one in training.gov.au if this is an accredited unit. 

Once done, click Create.

InfoNOTE: The Students and Groups subtab for Programs will automatically update with a list of Students and Groups/Intakes when there are any enrolments to a Program Instance of a Program.

How to Set Up Risk Ratings & Sample Sizes
Before scheduling validation events, ensure your Units and Programs have configured risk profiles. Risk ratings drive automated prioritization and sample size calculations across the system. 

Unit-Level Configuration


1. Go to the Units tab in the SMS. (Programs > Units tab)
2. Select a unit and look for the Risk and Validation section.
3. Assign a Risk Rating (1 to 5):
  1. 5 – Critical: Identified invalid assessments, serious safety/legal/licensing/regulatory risk, or systemic failure evidence. Requires frequent, in-depth validation.
  2. 4 – High: High-consequence outcomes, new/changed tools, new delivery modes, inexperienced assessors, or regulator priority areas.
  3. 3 – Medium: Moderate complexity and consequence, stable tools, experienced assessors, and compliant validation history.
  4. 2 – Low: Low safety/regulatory impact, stable tools, low complaints, and consistent past compliance.
  5. 1 – Minimal: Very low-impact, simple assessment design, minimal cohorts, and negligible consequence of incorrect judgements.
4. Enter the required Risk Rationale justifying the rating (e.g., licensing requirements, cohort complexity, assessor changes).
5. Specify the Sample Size ("To Be Validated ") and Sample Rationale for:
   - Completed Assessments
   - Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Info
TIP: Use the built-in tooltip guidance to align with statistical benchmarks (such as ASQA calculator benchmarks) and adjust upward for risk factors like multiple assessors or diverse cohorts.

6. Click on Update to save your changes.
 

And that’s how to create a program for a qualification or accredited Course, unit/modules, part qualification, and skill set in the SMS!

Congratulations on completing this tutorial. We hope this has been helpful to you and your organisation. For any questions or concerns regarding this function, please reach out to us via email at support@eskilled.com.au.


Related Tutorials: 
How to Create a Program for a Non-Accredited Course
How to Set Up a Non Qualification Program