The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) this week launched the first in a new series of schemes designed to show where firms and training providers have achieved excellence in training.

Accreditation of Training Excellence for Firms and Accreditation of Training Excellence for Training Providers are the first two in what will ultimately be a series of five FSSC accreditation schemes.

The schemes are designed to demonstrate that investment in training produces a solid business outcome. Firms and providers that apply for accreditation undertake a self-audit to gather evidence, followed by an external audit. The external audit is conducted by independent auditors appointed by the FSSC.

Successful applicants receive an Accreditation Award lasting three years, after which the organisation will need to be re-licensed. Accredited organisations will be listed on the FSSC website and will be able to use an FSSC Accreditation logo on company materials.

FSSC Chief Executive Teresa Sayers said: “The industry spends around £30m every year on training. Employers want to be sure that their training spend has a positive impact on their productivity. Accreditation is a significant indicator of progress towards improved productivity. The schemes will also help consumers, since the accreditation logos are a useful indicator of organisations which take their training seriously.”

Norwich Union Life was involved in the pilot process for the new Accreditation of Training Excellence for Firms. In providing evidence to meet the standard for accreditation of firms, the FSSC says it was able to demonstrate a 24% increase in self-generated appointments and an overall increase in sales productivity of 27% in just five weeks.

The FSSC plans to launch the remaining three schemes by the following dates: Recognition of Outstanding Trainers (July 2005); Learning Solutions (by December 2005); In-house Exams (early 2006).

More information about accreditation is available at www.fssc.org.uk.