CUA – what the new Training Package means

23 October 2012

The CUA Live Performance Training Package has been approved by industry, and will now go to Government for formal endorsement by mid 2013.

Ten years since the current package CUE03 replaced CUE98, the new training package has been designed for better industry acceptance, with qualifications streamlined and more rigorous.

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IBSA (Innovation and Business Skills Australia) steered the creation of the new package, which was constructed after a long period of consultation, through a National Project Reference Group meetings in all states and an online tool called the IBSA Feedback Hub.

CUE98 was poorly received by the live performance industry, and CUE03 fared a little better with the industry generally negative about nationally recognised qualifications obtained through the VET (Vocational Education and Training) system. VET courses are delivered by RTOs (registered training organisations), such as government controlled TAFEs and also private providers. Universities offer Bachelor Degree’s outside the VET framework, and are not party to the CUA package. 

Within CUA are Certificate II, Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications. The training package provides a framework within which RTOs design and deliver courses. All RTOs must construct their courses with uniform assessment principles, so that in theory a Certificate III issued by a school RTO will be assessed to the same rigor as a venue RTO, such as Arts Centre Melbourne.

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Most RTOs will find the new package an evolution from CUE03, with many units carried forward with revisions and over 30 new units. One significant improvement is the inclusion in all qualifications of one core unit in entertainment specific OHS plus CPCCOHS1001A ‘Work safely in the construction industry’, commonly known as a ‘white card’ or construction induction card.

New for CUA are Skill Sets, which are clusters of units specific to technical roles.

These have a cluster of units, for specialties like Sound, Vision Systems, Lighting, Staging and more. Introduction of Skill Sets allows for future Government funding of specific training to address a skills shortage – by narrowing the training focus.

Stakeholders in the CUA process spanned venues, RTOs, production suppliers and Government organisations nationally.