The Training Quality Standard is an assessment framework designed to recognise and celebrate the best organisations delivering training and development solutions to employers.

The Standard allows organisations to explain their strategy, the approaches they deploy, and the results they achieve, and to submit this for robust assessment with the potential of certification for those meeting the high standards set for capability and performance. The Standard has been created by the Learning and Skills Council to develop a new higher standard for the certification of training providers, including those previously recognised as Centres of Vocational Excellence.

The outcome of a year-long process of research, development and testing, the Training Quality Standard has been designed to reflect employers’ priorities and expectations in sourcing training and development solutions, and the practices of the organisations proven to be the best at delivering them.

The Training Quality Standard has been developed to help employers by:

• creating a quality mark which will highlight the best public and private organisations from which to access training and development solutions;
• and setting a high bar for certification, to trigger a cultural shift among training and development providers, encouraging them to aspire to greater flexibility, relevance and commitment to continuous improvement.

The Training Quality Standard has been developed to help organisations delivering training and development solutions by:

• offering a comprehensive framework through which to evaluate current strategies, approaches and results in delivery of training and development;
• delivering a rigorous, independent assessment against that framework, with feedback given, to inform innovation, learning and improvement;
• and creating an opportunity for certification, allowing the best organisations to stand out in the market, winning new business on the basis of their proven capability.

Certification against the Standard is tough to achieve, so we can be confident in endorsing organisations to employers. Consequently, it is something which organisations can aspire to, and be proud of when they achieve it. For all organisations though, the experience of assessment should be positive and give some powerful insights for developing and improving the way employers are served.