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Empet urges employers to seek recognition for their training

27 April 2009

Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, today announced a pilot support programme for employers who provide high-quality training for their employees to have that training accredited nationally.  

Employers are also being encouraged to use appropriate accredited qualifications where they already exist.  This will ensure that employers’ training programmes are of a high standard and that the qualifications awarded as part of those programmes will be recognised by all employers and education and training establishments across the UK.

Sir Reg said: “The Recognition of Training in Employment Programme is part of the UK-wide vocational qualifications reform programme which aims to increase the relevance, value and flexibility of vocational qualifications.  Through the reform programme, employers will have an enhanced role in determining and developing the qualifications that are available to learners.  A new regulated framework for vocational qualifications, the qualifications and credit framework, is also being established.

“The pilot programme will identify what kind of support we can offer to employers who already deliver high quality training to their employees, either in-house or through a third party.  It is in the interests both of employers and employees that qualifications awarded as a result of such training are recognised, and the best routes to achieving this are to use accredited qualifications that already exist or to have new qualifications accredited by the regulators and placed on the national framework.”

Employers will receive advice and support through the programme to help them decide how best to have their training recognised.  Where it is identified that new qualifications best meet employers’ needs, the options will include working with a recognised awarding body or other third party to provide the necessary quality assurance that the training and its delivery meet high standards.  An option will also be available for employers to seek recognition as awarding bodies in their own right, where that approach is suitable for them.

The Minister stressed that the programme would be determined by the unique situation of each interested employer.  He said: “Different employers have different needs and different approaches to staff development and training.  The Recognition of Training in Employment Programme will offer them advice to determine which approach suits their particular situation.  All employers, small, medium or large, can benefit from having their training recognised in this way, and it will be of great benefit to employees to gain transferable qualifications through the high-quality training that so many of our employers provide.

“In these challenging economic times, it is essential that government supports employers to improve the skills of their workforce.  This pilot programme is a reflection of the kind of support that my Department is providing to safeguard the economic future of employers, employees and our wider society.  I urge employers to contact their relevant sector skills council to explain how this pilot programme could be of benefit to them.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The vocational qualifications (VQs) reform programme is a UK-wide programme of reform to the vocational qualifications system which aims to create a system that:
    is based on learner and employer need;
    has greater clarity and more flexibility and choice for learners and employers;
    fosters the development of a more skilled and productive workforce;
    allows individuals to fulfil their potential; and
    supports greater social justice and opportunity.
  2. The Recognition of Training in Employment Programme announced today will support employers to make choices regarding the use of qualifications that have been accredited by the qualifications regulators, or to have their training accredited through the national regulatory system.  Advice and guidance will be provided by the NI Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).  The programme will be overseen by a steering group comprising representatives from the Department, CCEA, Ofqual (the regulator for VQs) and the Learning and Skills Development Agency.  
  3. The Department expects 10 organisations to receive support through the pilot phase.  Their experiences will help to determine what kind of ongoing support is provided to employers who wish to have their training recognised as part of the qualifications and credit framework.
  4. All media enquiries to Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on telephone 028 9025 7872. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.