The term "User Choice" refers to the policies and funding mechanisms that allow employers, together with the apprentices and trainees they employ, to:
Choose which Registered Training Organisation (RTO) will provide them with structured training services and Negotiate key aspects of the training, such as where, how and when it is provided.
The choice may be limited in some cases, such as where there are small numbers (‘thin market’), but the objectives are the same.
Each State and Territory determines the policies regarding User Choice and the amount of funds RTOs receive for providing structured training to each apprentice and trainee. Employers and apprentices/trainees may also be eligible for government assistance in meeting the costs of the apprenticeship or traineeship, such as employer incentives, travel and accommodation allowances.
User Choice works in conjunction with the New Apprenticeship System, whereby apprentices and trainees (also known in some jurisdictions as New Apprentices) enter legally binding Training Contracts (in some juristictions also known as Training Agreements or Contracts of Training) with their employers. The apprentice/trainee and employer negotiate with an RTO of their choice to deliver structured training to achieve a nationally recognised qualification. Employment may be full time or part time (in SA not all part-time employment will facilitate apprentice/traineeship training due to varying conditions in Industrial Relations Awards). The structured training may be delivered at the premises of the RTO, at the workplace, by various forms of distance education, or by a combination of any of the delivery pathways. Note that all States and Territories offer User Choice, although some do not use the term "User Choice".