diff --git a/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/defaults.py b/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/defaults.py
index 3c36b817ec..359828004e 100644
--- a/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/defaults.py
+++ b/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/defaults.py
@@ -78,15 +78,21 @@ def get_role(
     @staticmethod
     def get_base_job_name(
         base_job_name: Optional[str] = None,
-        algorithm_name: Optional[str] = None,
-        training_image: Optional[str] = None,
+        algorithm_name=None,
+        training_image=None,
     ) -> str:
         """Get the default base job name."""
         if base_job_name is None:
-            if algorithm_name:
+            if algorithm_name and isinstance(algorithm_name, str):
                 base_job_name = f"{algorithm_name}-job"
             elif training_image:
-                base_job_name = f"{_get_repo_name_from_image(training_image)}-job"
+                repo_name = _get_repo_name_from_image(training_image)
+                if repo_name:
+                    base_job_name = f"{repo_name}-job"
+                else:
+                    base_job_name = "training-job"
+            if base_job_name is None:
+                base_job_name = "training-job"
             logger.info(f"Base name not provided. Using default name:\n{base_job_name}")
         return base_job_name
 
diff --git a/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/model_trainer.py b/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/model_trainer.py
index d07edeb025..a3fd052474 100644
--- a/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/model_trainer.py
+++ b/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/model_trainer.py
@@ -410,14 +410,22 @@ def __del__(self):
                 self._temp_code_dir.cleanup()
 
     def _validate_training_image_and_algorithm_name(
-        self, training_image: Optional[str], algorithm_name: Optional[str]
+        self, training_image, algorithm_name
     ):
         """Validate that only one of 'training_image' or 'algorithm_name' is provided."""
-        if not training_image and not algorithm_name:
+        from sagemaker.core.helper.pipeline_variable import PipelineVariable
+
+        has_training_image = training_image is not None and (
+            isinstance(training_image, PipelineVariable) or bool(training_image)
+        )
+        has_algorithm_name = algorithm_name is not None and (
+            isinstance(algorithm_name, PipelineVariable) or bool(algorithm_name)
+        )
+        if not has_training_image and not has_algorithm_name:
             raise ValueError(
                 "Atleast one of 'training_image' or 'algorithm_name' must be provided.",
             )
-        if training_image and algorithm_name:
+        if has_training_image and has_algorithm_name:
             raise ValueError(
                 "Only one of 'training_image' or 'algorithm_name' must be provided.",
             )
diff --git a/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/utils.py b/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/utils.py
index 0abd7596b5..994933f151 100644
--- a/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/utils.py
+++ b/sagemaker-train/src/sagemaker/train/utils.py
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ def _get_unique_name(base, max_length=63):
     return unique_name
 
 
-def _get_repo_name_from_image(image: str) -> str:
+def _get_repo_name_from_image(image) -> str:
     """Get the repository name from the image URI.
 
     Example:
@@ -152,11 +152,13 @@ def _get_repo_name_from_image(image: str) -> str:
     ```
 
     Args:
-        image (str): The image URI
+        image: The image URI (str or PipelineVariable)
 
     Returns:
-        str: The repository name
+        str: The repository name, or None if image is not a plain string
     """
+    if not isinstance(image, str):
+        return None
     return image.split("/")[-1].split(":")[0].split("@")[0]