On the 12 September 2018, the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) approved the Case for Endorsement for the updated and revised qualifications, skill sets and units of competency, along with a Companion Volume Implementation Guide.The final qualifications, skill sets and units of competency are now published on training.gov.au, which means they are available for use by registered training organisations (RTOs). They are published within the FBP Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Training Package Version 2 (published on 18/12/2018). Click here to view the training package.Pharmaceutical manufacturing industry qualifications and units of competency were reviewed to reflect current skills standards and practices and to align them to the skills required to apply Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) principles and procedures.

What does this mean for training providers?

Registered training organisations (RTOs) may now apply to have the updated qualifications, skill sets and units added to their scope of registration. RTOs who already have the qualifications, skill sets and units that have been updated as part of this endorsement have 12 months to transition to deliver the updated qualifications, skill sets and units, from the date of publication. For more information, visit the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) website. A Companion Volume Implementation Guide has also been produced to help training providers implement the new and revised qualifications, skill sets and units. It can be downloaded from VETNet.com. 

Summary of consultation

After initial desktop research and analysis of the existing pharmaceutical manufacturing qualifications, job roles and work job functions, consultation meetings/site visits were undertaken with three large Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Melbourne to undertake Workforce Functional Analysis. Subject Matter Experts were also identified and assisted with the review of qualification and unit content. The draft Certificate III and IV in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and 24 related units were available for broader stakeholder feedback from 31 October – 7 December 2017, via the Skills Impact website. Further research confirmed the need for a Certificate II qualification and a draft was available for stakeholder feedback from 14 November to 7 December 2017. Stakeholder consultation workshops and webinars were arranged and promoted during November to seek feedback on the draft components. Face-to-face workshops and a webinar were conducted. Concerns raised by the Victorian State Training Authority regarding the proposed deletion of the existing Diploma of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing were considered by the Subject Matter Experts who supported the deletion of the Diploma as the job roles covered by this qualification typically require higher education qualifications (such as a Bachelor Degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or Pharmacy). The validation drafts of the three qualifications and 24 units were released for broader stakeholder feedback from 11 January – 1 February 2018.