News story

Improvements to Gold Standard Accreditation Criteria Announced

Learning NewsLPI (Learning and Performance Institute)

The Institute of IT Training (IITT) is to improve the Gold Standard Accreditation (GSA) criteria helping training organisations highlight their commitment to staff development and quality to their customers.

The improvements, which will be in place from 1st April 2007, are to help bring training organisations in line with the increasing expectations of purchasing companies for exceptional quality of the training provided.

Recent feedback has highlighted companies seeking training now expect the trainers delivering courses to hold a professional membership as well as their training qualifications.

The new Gold Standard Accreditation criteria bring these expectations to the fore and will help training organisations highlight their quality within the training arena.

The new Gold Accreditation Standards are as follows:

1 To achieve the new GSA all full-time trainers must be professional members of IITT (Associate Member or above).

2 If 20% or more of training is delivered by part-time trainers all part-time trainers must be professional members of IITT.

3 Organisations holding the current GSA have until 1st April 2007 to register all of their trainers as professional members of IITT.

4 Newly accredited organisations can apply for GSA six months after receiving initial accreditation.

Companies holding a new GSA will show potential customers their commitment to the continuous professional development of trainers and highlight the fact they are consciously making steps to help to improve best practice over the IT training industry as a whole.

John Kauffman, Managing Director of QA-IQ says “As the UK’s largest IT Training Provider, QA-IQ is devoted to delivering the highest standard of service to our customers. We continue to support the Institute of IT Training, and have already committed to every full-time trainer becoming a professional member. Gold Standard accreditation represents a cast-iron guarantee to our customers that both organisationally and individually, we are entirely focused on delivering the best in IT training.”

He continues, “It also enables IT training purchasers to easily identify QA-IQ as a quality driven training provider. We applaud this initiative, and the IITT, in continuously raising standards in IT training”.

For further information about new criteria for Gold Standard Accreditation please contact Justine Chadwick or Nikki Symons on 0845 006 8858.