The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) are part of a second tranche of employers to achieve awarding body status, announced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
The MoD is the first public sector body to join McDonald’s, low-cost airline operator Flybe and Network Rail in a scheme that enables organisations to have their own staff training accredited nationally.
The REC and MoD are joined by the Professional Lighting and Sound Association and City College Norwich.
More than 30 other employers have also already had their training accredited through working partnerships with existing awarding firms, including Fitness First and Transport for London.
The MoD will initially trial a ‘survival French’ course, among other languages targeted for inclusion in the programme from the autumn onwards.
Commander Andy Cropley, commanding officer of the Defence School of Languages, said: “The linguistic skills attained by soldiers through intensive language courses merited national recognition.
“The specific languages and contexts for which we train have hitherto made this very difficult to achieve but now we have the ability to ensure that military language skills, at whatever level, are understood by those outside the services,” Cropley said.
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Ken Boston, chief executive at QCA said employers were demanding a more flexible and focused system of qualifications.
“By becoming awarding bodies themselves, these employers are in a position to offer their staff high-quality training that is specifically work-based, but provides the long-needed recognition of employee learning that can be valued throughout their working lives,” he said.
