The Business Benefits of Accredited Training
Lately, there has been considerable discussion surrounding the Building Safety Act 2022, emphasising the need to elevate quality and safety standards through competency, not just for Higher Risk Buildings but for all buildings. Obtaining appropriate qualifications is one method to showcase skills and knowledge, while accredited training courses offer another avenue.
Seeking accreditation for your courses can significantly enhance their value, particularly in situations where formal qualifications might not be suitable, but where you still aim to provide training of value for your employees and clients. Let's delve into the process and advantages of developing accredited courses.
Firstly, accreditation can apply to various types of training, whether it's conducted in classrooms, factories, offices, or out in the field. GQA Qualifications has partnered with many well-known organisations in this respect, and they've found accredited training to be instrumental in preventing errors in fabrication, enhancing product familiarity, reducing the need for site remediation work, increasing profitability, and attracting fresh relationships with professionals seeking to broaden their expertise.
An essential aspect to grasp about the accreditation journey is that YOU determine what aspects are most critical for maximising benefits to your business and clientele. The process for accreditation requires that you become an approved GQA training centre, a simple application process which our Technical Team (or an External Quality Advisor) will guide you through, and this is integral to the permission to offer any qualification or accreditation from an Awarding Organisation.
However, indicating to industry that you are a recognised training provider for GQA accredited courses is a strong endorsement of quality, especially since we are a regulated Awarding Organisation.
Declaring that an Awarding Organisation for the sector has assessed your course for rigour and learning outcomes is the value-added which complements the quality and strengths of your course. It sets you apart from other organisations which offer training where their content is self-certified; it is hard to prove the value of learning on the issuance of a ‘Certificate of Attendance’.
Accreditation can also serve as the acknowledgment candidates seek to showcase their understanding of a specific topic to prospective customers or decision-makers.
The accreditation process provides reassurance that the required learning objectives are defined, the learning outcomes are verified, course content is structured for consistency, and is delivered and conducted without prejudice. This process is achieved by:
1. Assessing that your course content is supportive to the learning outcomes.
2. Introducing an end assessment to test learners' comprehension of course content, with an outcome based on a 'certificate of understanding rather than a 'certificate of attendance.’
3. Implementing 'reasonable adjustment' for individuals with learning difficulties, for example there are 20,000 dyslexic individuals in the UK construction industry.
4. Maintaining a non-biased approach to assessment.
5. Ensuring the existence of an appeals procedure, should anyone dispute the outcome of the end of course assessment.
6. Undergoing regular quality assurance assessment by one of our GQA External Quality Assessors to verify all structure and fairness procedures have remained implemented, and to ensure uniformity in course delivery has been maintained.
The rigour introduced in relation to course content and procedures for fairness and consistency ensures that no matter who takes the course, wherever the location, with whichever trainer and timeframe – the quality and standard remains the same.
Once your courses are accredited, a great place to start is to upskill and educate your employees , in particular your customer-facing employees, such as customer services, sales and specifiers. Your organisation will be reassured that they have been empowered with the knowledge to educate, inform, specify and support customers and key decision-makers without providing misleading statements or the mis-selling of your services or products.
Ensuring that your customer-facing employees are appropriately trained is relevant now more than ever. Under the Building Safety Act 2022, Section 148, a person who fails to comply with a construction product requirement in relation to a construction product, a person who markets or supplies a construction product and makes a misleading statement in relation to it, or a person who manufactures a construction product that is inherently defective is subject to extended liability periods and penalties, thus offering residents and homeowners greater protection and right of recourse over greater time periods.
But the benefits of offering accredited training programmes does not end with your own employees. Courses relating to your products, including the delivery of topic or technical related courses can be expanded out to your customers and key decision-makers, who will also be tested and rewarded for demonstrating comprehension in the same way as your employees. In this way, your customers and partners will be equally empowered to make the right decisions when selecting and specifying your products, thereby increasing quality and safety. They will seek your organisation as the ‘go-to’ resource to enable them to accrue the appropriate product-related skills and knowledge for their role. All of which contributes to the development of trusted relationships and the strengthening of your brand.
This process of education also allows your organisation to exert an element of quality and control of your products once they have left your factory and have entered the market. Thus, we begin to grasp the significance of accredited training in adding value. It enhances vocational qualifications by supplementing skills and knowledge in particular areas relevant to products and technical subjects, fostering a more proficient individual dedicated to ongoing professional growth.
Crafting the course content for an accredited programme entails diligent effort, yet it can prove to be a relatively straightforward and enjoyable process. Once established, the course can be readily adapted for broader accessibility in diverse regions and languages, all while upholding the same standards of rigor, equity, and consistency.
Finally, those acquainted with GQA Qualifications are likely to be aware of the additional option for digital certificates and virtual skills cards. These are accessible via new digital applications to minimise paper usage, decrease our operational carbon footprint and enhance convenience. Furthermore, virtual cards can be personalised with your organisation's logo, serving as your own digital product passport. Moreover, it instils greater consumer confidence in your workforce when verification is requested.
If you feel that developing accredited training is something you may be interested in and wish to explore further, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on dan.brown@gqaqualificatons.com alternatively, phone 07572 736323.
