What is accredited training?

Accredited training leads to a course of your own design receiving a stamp of approval from a recognised awarding organisation.

This approval ensures that the individual’s learning programme or qualification is fit-for-purpose, rigorous and quality assured – and without accreditation, the same level of recognition cannot be gained. 

Who can benefit from accredited training? 

Anyone can! Any business, organisation, provider or educational setting wanting to offer a bespoke or personalised development opportunity to their employees or learners can get involved with designing a programme of learning which can then be accredited or endorsed by an awarding organisation. 

What are the benefits of accredited training? 

There are several benefits to accredited training, such as that it: 

• is bespoke in nature 
• increases an individual’s skills 
• can improve staff retention
• provides a stamp of approval. 

Many off-the-shelf training programmes or qualifications are broad in nature and contain aspects of learning that aren’t always relevant to learners or employees. Accredited training, however, allows organisations to develop their own training and tailor all aspects of a training course to the context of their sector or business. 

Accredited training can improve specific soft skills or technical skills amongst learners or employees, helping to provide a pool of talented individuals who are armed with the knowledge to go above and beyond in their career or roles.  

Encouraging staff to advance their personal development can also help improve staff retention, as it displays a commitment to helping employees to push themselves and grow. And we’ve already covered the ways in which accreditation offers a recognised stamp of approval! 

What types of accredited training are there? 

Accredited training can often be split into two types, depending on the needs of the organisation – these are Customised Qualifications and Endorsed Programmes. 

Customised Qualifications are unregulated qualifications that are written and developed by an organisation, before being accredited by an awarding organisation. They contain learning outcomes and assessment criteria, measured through relevant assessment methods. Once developed, these qualifications are the intellectual property of the qualification provider. It’s also important to note that as these qualifications are unregulated, they will not appear on the register of regulated qualifications – however, accreditation by an awarding organisation provides recognition of their suitability and quality. 

Where a full qualification is not required, an Endorsed Programme – which consists of a series of informal activities carried out in-house by a programme provider – is instead endorsed by the awarding organisation. Activities range from seminars, to workshops, to paper-based materials – and crucially, contain no learning outcomes or assessment criteria. Again, recognition of an Endorsed Programme by an awarding organisation ensures that any programme is fit-for-purpose and of a high quality. 

How can you recognise accredited training? 

You’ll know when a qualification or a programme of learning has been accredited or endorsed by an awarding organisation, as you’ll be able to recognise the awarding organisation’s logo on any certificates administered, as well as on any advertising information related to the qualification or programme. 

Have further questions about accredited training, Customised Qualifications, or Endorsed Programmes? Our Accreditation and Employer Services homepage offers even more information to help you make the right decision that is suited to your training needs.