Member Article

Birmingham?s Skillsfirst Awards Achieves Top 20 Success

Birmingham based Skillsfirst Awards has moved into the top 20 awarding organisations for the amount of qualifications it has awarded to learners and apprentices, just two years since the company was set up.

Skillsfirst Awards now ranks as the 20th highest awarding organisation for the number of learners it has certified across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having awarded 77,850 qualifications between October 2011 and September 2012. The statistics are calculated as part of quarterly reports submitted to Ofqual, the regulatory body for qualifications, examinations and assessments.

There are 144 recognised awarding organisations in the UK, which demonstrates Skillsfirst Awards’ achievement to be ranked so highly, especially considering the company was only launched in 2010. The organisation celebrated its second birthday earlier this year.

Adding to the organisation’s achievements, Skillsfirst Awards has increased the number of certificates it has awarded by 55%, from 49,950 in October 2010 to September 2011, through to the current level of 77,850 for the same period between 2011 and 2012.

Managing Director Myra Wall said: “It’s great to see Skillsfirst Awards sitting within the top 20 of awarding organisations for certifications. This demonstrates that we’re doing something right to keep up with much larger and more established organisations, and our customers are choosing to use our qualifications to train and develop employees or apprentices.”

Skillsfirst Awards works with training providers, further education colleges, employers and learners to develop qualifications across a wide range of sectors including retail, health and social care, and hospitality and catering.

The organisation has also played a key role in the development of apprenticeships, working with a number of national businesses to offer a range of qualifications to new and existing staff.

Since opening in 2010 Skillsfirst Awards has picked up a wealth of well-known regional and national clients, including Bournville College, Busy Bees Children’s Nurseries, Allied Healthcare and Key Training.

To find out more about Skillsfirst Awards, visit www.skillsfirst.co.uk or call 0121 270 5100.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by SkillsFirst .