It is designed to be convenient and cost effective. There are currently over 60,000 Industry Trainees, of whom well over a third are seeking to gain the National Certificates that replaced the traditional 'apprenticeship orders' . These are registered on the National Qualifications Framework . On the job training can take a number of forms. Sometimes the learning is self-paced,sometimes the training is carried out by an experienced staff member or an external trainer.
Some businesses run formal training sessions, others train staff on the job.
Often the ITO will have published training guides and resources. The costs Industry Training Organisations were created to provide industry-wide training solutions. They are supported partly by industry and partly by an Industry Training Fund. The Industry Training Fund subsidises the cost of training where a registered training agreement is linked to an employment contract.