The recommendations from the Year 2000 Preferred Standards Project are intended to support the realisation of the shared vision of national cooperation in applying technology to Vocational Education and Training.

The Preferred Standards are relevant to circumstances where national cooperation is agreed to be desirable. Such circumstances could include

• development of reusable training materials for national use (e.g. Toolboxes),
• joint delivery of courses and training programs,
• national purchasing arrangements, and
• installation of national infrastructure.

The Preferred Standards are relevant to individual Training Organisations in circumstance where they wish to

• improve services to students by using an optimal mix of products from different manufacturers,
• reduce development and delivery costs by using the most cost effective mix of products from different manufacturers,
• future-proof their systems by enabling substitution of individual components as required,
• compete in the international arena on a basis at least equal to the overseas competition, and
• attract students by offering online learning that can be accessed using hardware and software readily available to students.

The recommendations are not intended to replace State and Territory whole of government arrangements that have been established for other purposes.

It is important that the standards are called Preferred Standards. In accepting the recommendations, Australian National Training Authority CEOs in no way agree to use them under all circumstances.

The recommendations are particularly aimed at online learning. They are intended to indicate the standards required in client hardware and software used by students. They are not intended to influence SOEs (Standard Operating Environments) used by staff for administrative purposes.

The Project was concerned with standards applicable to the delivery of online training to students. The Project did not consider standards for the administration of students or finances.