Is your course accredited?
Unfortunately, when it comes to online courses, not all courses are created equal. Despite the time and effort that you may have dedicated to building upon your existing knowledge or learning a new skill, not all courses are recognised in the same way by employers or other educational institutions.
At Footstep Training, all of our courses are accredited with Future Quals and Active IQ – regulating awarding organisations who have been approved by Ofqual (the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation which regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England and report directly to Parliament).
Ofqual was set up in April 2010 under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and works to ensure that any approved qualifications:
1.) reliably indicate the knowledge, skills and understanding students have demonstrated
2.) that assessments and exams show what a student has achieved
3.) people have confidence in the qualifications that they regulate
By ensuring that all of our courses meet Ofqual’s strict criteria, the inherent value of Footstep Training’s courses can be maintained. Our certificates are nationally recognised, and therefore employers, academic institutions and colleagues will all understand the time, effort and dedication that you have put into successfully completing a course.
Although there may be some useful online courses out there that aren’t accredited (for example, if you want to learn a little more about a hobby, etc. and don’t need any certificates gained to be recognised by anyone other than yourself!), I would strongly recommend that you check to see whether the course that you are interested in has been accredited before signing up – we want the time and effort that you put into learning to be recognised and celebrated, possibly with a small fanfare and some cake (that’s the way I like to celebrate completing a course, anyway!)
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