If you run a training business and want to offer genuinely accredited qualifications, there are actually two different questions to answer. Do you want to deliver existing regulated qualifications, or get your own training course accredited? This guide walks through both, clearly and honestly.
Two Different Kinds of “Approval”
It is worth understanding this distinction right away, since it changes which process applies to you. The first route is becoming an approved training provider, which means gaining approval to deliver qualifications that an awarding organisation, such as Focus Awards, has already developed. The second route is getting your own existing training course or programme accredited, which means working with an awarding organisation to turn your content into a recognised qualification or endorsed course.
Many training businesses actually want a mix of both, delivering some existing regulated qualifications alongside their own specialist courses, so it is worth understanding how each process works.
How to Become an Approved Training Provider
If you want to deliver existing regulated qualifications, you need to become an approved centre with the relevant awarding organisation. With Focus Awards, this generally involves an initial enquiry, submitting a centre approval application with details of your staff, resources and facilities, and an assessment of your organisation before approval is granted.
Once approved, you can register learners, deliver training, and submit certificate claims, with ongoing support from external quality assurance visits to help maintain consistent standards.
How to Get a Training Course Accredited in the UK
This is where things get more interesting if you already run your own training courses and want them formally recognised. There are actually two genuinely different paths here, and understanding which one suits your needs matters a great deal.
Route One: Endorsement for Non-Regulated Courses
If you want your existing bespoke, specialist or CPD courses formally endorsed, without necessarily becoming a fully regulated qualification, Focus Awards offers a scheme for approved centres to have their own courses endorsed. This route keeps your course as a non-regulated qualification, but gives it recognised backing from an Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation, and the approval process can be relatively quick once your organisation meets the required criteria. You can read more about what this involves on our bespoke qualifications guide.
Route Two: Developing a Fully Regulated Qualification
If your goal is a genuinely Ofqual-regulated qualification, sitting on the Regulated Qualifications Framework, this is a more involved process. It means working with an awarding organisation’s qualification development team to design a course from the ground up, or adapt your existing content, so it meets the required regulatory standards for content, assessment and quality assurance. Focus Awards offers this through our custom qualification design service, which is particularly suited to organisations whose training needs are too specialist for an existing, off-the-shelf qualification to properly cover.
How Much Does It Cost to Get a Course Accredited?
This genuinely depends on which route you take. Endorsement for a non-regulated course is typically a faster, more straightforward process, and generally involves lower costs than developing a fully regulated qualification from scratch, which requires significant development work, regulatory submission, and ongoing quality assurance once it is live. Because costs vary so much depending on the complexity of your course and which route fits your needs, it is best to contact an awarding organisation directly for a proper quote, rather than rely on a single generic figure.
What Is the Ofqual Recognition Gateway?
Ofqual has a formal process that governs how new qualifications become regulated and how awarding organisations gain recognition to offer them. In practice, if you are a training provider rather than an awarding organisation yourself, you will not usually go through this process directly. Instead, you work with an already-recognised awarding organisation, such as Focus Awards, which manages the regulatory submission and compliance requirements on your behalf as part of developing your qualification.
Is Training in the UK Recognised?
This depends entirely on whether the specific qualification is genuinely regulated. A qualification is nationally recognised when it sits on the Regulated Qualifications Framework and is regulated by Ofqual, or by the equivalent regulator in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. You can confirm this for any qualification using Ofqual’s free Register of Regulated Qualifications, searching by the qualification’s title or its unique Qualification Number. We cover this process in more depth in our guide on Ofqual-regulated training qualifications.
How to Find Out If a Qualification Is Recognised
The most reliable way is always Ofqual’s public register, rather than relying on marketing claims from any single website. If a qualification does not appear on the register under a real Qualification Number, it is not a nationally regulated qualification, even if it is described using words like “accredited” or “recognised” elsewhere.
Regulated Qualifications vs CPD Accreditation: What’s the Difference?
This is worth clarifying, since the two are often confused. A regulated qualification has been through the full Ofqual regulatory process described throughout this guide. CPD accreditation is a different concept entirely, referring to organisations that accredit training courses, webinars or self-study programmes as meeting a recognised standard for continuing professional development. CPD accreditation can be genuinely valuable for professional development purposes, but it does not carry the same legal or regulatory weight as an Ofqual-regulated qualification, so it is worth being clear about which one you need before choosing a route. You can read more about how Focus Awards supports professional certification and CPD accreditation.
Is There a Free Route to Training Provider Qualification Approval?
Becoming an approved training provider and getting a course accredited both generally involve fees, since the process requires real assessment, development and ongoing quality assurance work from the awarding organisation. However, the initial enquiry and discussion about your organisation’s needs is typically free, so it costs nothing to explore your options before committing to a full application.
What Happens After Approval?
Whichever route you take, ongoing quality assurance is a genuine, continuous part of the relationship, not a one-off check. Focus Awards’ qualification validation process means every qualification we award goes through rigorous development and quality assurance, both when it is first developed and on an ongoing basis once training providers are delivering it. You can read more about how this works in our guide to qualification validation services.
FAQ
How to become an approved training provider?
You need to identify the right awarding organisation for your sector, submit a centre approval application demonstrating your staff, facilities and resources, and pass an assessment of your organisation before approval is granted.
Is training qualifications in the UK recognised?
This depends entirely on whether a specific qualification is genuinely regulated. Check any qualification against Ofqual’s free public register to confirm its regulated status.
How do I get my training programme accredited in the UK?
This depends on whether you want a non-regulated but endorsed course, or a fully Ofqual-regulated qualification. Both routes involve working with an established awarding organisation, but the process, timeline and cost differ significantly between them.
How to find out if a qualification is recognised?
Search Ofqual’s free public Register of Regulated Qualifications using the qualification’s title or its unique Qualification Number to confirm whether it is genuinely regulated.
Get in Touch with Focus Awards
To find out more or to get in touch, visit our contact page or explore our qualification development services if you need a bespoke qualification developed for your organisation.
You can explore our full range of qualifications on our website at https://focusawards.org.uk/qualification/ or contact us directly at info@focusawards.org.uk or on 0333 3447 388.
