21.01.2008

Thatcham training leads the way for employers

Body repair training provider, Thatcham, has become one of the first organisations to achieve the recently introduced ‘new standard’ from the Learning and Skills Council in the UK. The ‘new standard’ is a voluntary assessment framework for training providers and highlights excellence in the two areas that employers say are most important to them; namely provider responsiveness to employer needs and provider excellence in a particular vocational area.

The standard presents employers with a credible employer-endorsed mark of customer service, and will supersede Thatcham’s existing CoVE status. Building on the foundations developed through the CoVE programme, the standard will ensure that specialist provision is embedded across a whole provider, not just specialist excellence in one discipline.

A key development of the standard, from previous accreditation schemes, is that it is not attached to public funding. In addition, accreditation for the standard is verified by employers using criteria that reflect their needs. This is a positive move for the further education sector as training providers aim to respond better to the needs of employers.

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