Purpose: To report on research that examines the impact of the adoption of nationally-recognised training by enterprises in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: The project involved a mix of methodologies including focus groups, employer survey and case studies. Findings: The research found that there had been a higher than expected adoption of nationally-recognised training by Australian enterprises in recent years and that enterprises were using training packages to support other human resource management activities apart from training. Research limitations/implications: The case studies were confined to four industry areas of hospitality, manufacturing, arts/media and call centres. Originality/value: This paper fills a significant gap in the research literature on the use that enterprises make of nationally-recognised training. (Contains 5 tables and 1 note.)