Provider course approval scheme
On behalf of the engineering construction industry, ECITB approves training providers and trainers each year to deliver training to the engineering construction industry. This is an integral part of our commitment to give engineering construction industry workforce the skills it needs to meet the challenges of the future.
ECITB approved training providers that have a technical training licence with the ECITB are able to access and develop training courses against ECITB training standards and submit these for approval by the ECITB, as part of the ECITB’s Provider Course Approval Scheme (PCAS).
The benefits of ECITB course approval
ECITB works together with engineering construction companies to identify the skills and knowledge that the EC companies would like their employees to develop and, as a result, regularly develop and release technical training standards.
Each ECITB training standard details the learning that a delegate on a course in that topic should gain, as defined by industry experts in that subject. ECITB reviews courses submitted for approval against the relevant training standard to check that the course provides delegates with the knowledge and skills identified in the standard.
This means:
- EC companies know an ECITB approved course meets their needs
- an ATP knows their course will meet the needs of their customers, as well as the wider ECI
- delegates attending your course will receive a certificate of training from ECITB
- the course may attract an ECITB grant
- the course can be publicised on the ECITB website
- the approval of a course by the ECITB can be of benefit when selling your course outside the ECI
The ECITB approves training providers to deliver training and assessment for more than 80,000 learners each year. Approved ECITB training providers have access in ECITB’s online system (the membership services portal or MSP) to relevant discipline-specific training standards. Identify which you wish to develop training against.
Provider course approval scheme (PCAS)
1. Identify training standard
There are over 200 ECITB training standards that exist across the range of craft and technical, management and professional disciplines within the engineering construction workforce. The most up to date list of training standards is available here.
ECITB training standards are available to those that have a licensed agreement with us. This means that if you are an ECITB approved training provider you will be able to access the training standards within the MSP.
If you are not yet an ECITB approved training provider, then we can show you the content of a training standard to see if it meets your needs – contact us at programmeadmin@ecitb.org.uk and one of our Product Managers will get in touch with you.
If you are not an ECITB approved provider – and would like to become one, this process can take 4 to 12 weeks, click here to find out more information or, contact us via programmeadmin@ecitb.org.uk
2. Develop your training course
Once you have identified the relevant training standard, you’ll notice it contains learning outcomes, enabling objectives and key learning points (KLPs). Below we have highlighted the types of specific information the ECITB expects you to include in your training from the training standard and outlined training good practice which is expected to be included in your training.
We expect your course content to contain detail that enables it to be delivered by a relevant trainer in the same way each time that it is delivered i.e. we expect it to include a lesson plan and trainer notes alongside the training presentation, delegate notes, practical exercises and consolidation activity etc. We are aware that if you have only one trainer that this may seem a lot, but it is one way in which we maintain consistent standards in our approved courses.
3. Submit your course to ECITB
Once you have developed your course, map your training course materials to the learning outcomes, enabling objectives and key learning points – do this in the training standard. Ensure you map ALL the course materials including the exercises, training presentations, delegate handbook, consolidation activity and knowledge test (for older training standards a mapping grid can be supplied). Also complete the PCAS questionnaire – this provides the reviewers with overall details about your training course: its complete content, length of delivery, mode of delivery, practical rigs required to deliver etc. (download the latest version from the MSP).
When you submit your course for approval, it is initially independently checked by a non-specialist external consultant to ensure the course material includes all the KLPs within the training standard. A specialist ECITB approver then reviews the training content and the independent review to ensure that only courses that cover all of the KLPs and meet the requirements detailed in the PCAS submission guidance are approved.
Contact your ECITB product manager when you are ready to submit your course: Ray Skene for skills and technical and Catherine Lambert for management and professional. They will provide you with a secure link to upload your material too, the product manager will undertake an initial review of your course, checking it meets ECITB good practice and the content maps to all of the training standard content. This may result in some initial feedback and updates in advance of the course being reviewed by the PCAS panel. This step is to optimise the likelihood and speed at which your course may achieve approval.
4. Trainers
At the same time as submitting your course materials, you should also ensure that you have ECITB approved trainers that meet ECITB’s quality and expertise requirements to deliver training in the discipline for your course.
If you need to gain approval for your trainers email us via programmeadmin@ecitb.org.uk and we’ll talk you through the process and send you the forms.
Good practice: when you complete the trainer approval form, make sure you include specific experience and training your trainer has in the discipline they are due to train in – add this into the PAM09 form, tailor the accompanying CV so the experience is clear and also provide all relevant training, qualification and professional certificates at the same time.
5. ECITB Provider course approval scheme panel
The PCAS panel meets once a month and the dates at which it meets are available in ECITB’s online system – the MSP. The experts on the panel that review your course will change in order to make sure that the panel always includes the relevant product manager and those from within the ECITB that have knowledge and expertise in the relevant discipline.
The PCAS panel will review your course against ECITB’s good practice for delivery of training courses and will discuss it content. The output from the panel meeting will be written feedback which you will receive within 10 working days of the panel having met.
6. ECITB PCAS panel feedback
Your course will either be approved, rejected or changes requested. You will only be able to deliver your course after approval has been gained. ECITB is expected to ensure your course meets the training standard that employers are requesting and will work with you to ensure both you and ECITB are satisfied that your course is of the quality expected by employers.
Frequently asked questions
A course submitted to PCAS is copyright of the ATP that has submitted it and should carry the ATP branding along with the ECITB approved provider logo.
The approval panel checks that submitted courses meet ALL of the learning outcomes, key learning points and enabling objectives identified in the training standard – this way ECITB is ensuring the course meets the needs of EC companies.
When you submit a course for approval you have to submit a copy of the training standard and clearly identify on there where, in your course the specific KLPs etc. are included in your course – which slides, which page of the delegate workbook, where in the lesson plan etc.
Every TS also includes the requirement for a consolidation activity such as a knowledge test to ensure the learning is reinforced – it should be clear in the course how this is communicated to delegates and how they receive their feedback. It should also be clear in the mapping how this consolidation activity covers ALL of the KLPs in the TS.
If the mapping is clear and comprehensive this improves the likelihood of approval.
Once approved, this approval lasts for 3 years. You will receive notification of this via email in the form of an electronic letter.
The licence agreement between ECITB and an ATP allows for tweaking and tailoring of courses to meet the needs of your clients in terms of examples and exercises etc. used. The course MUST always meet the requirements stated in the training standards and ECITB asks that if an ATP wishes to update their already approved PCAS course that they gain approval for amendments before delivering a modified course by completing the following online form: PCAS0? https://ecitb.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/ecitb-courses-additions-approval , and submit their updated course materials to pcas@ecitb.org.uk and their product manager.
Approval is provided for 3 years for a course, so if you submitted one then it would be approved for three years. If the training standard on which your course is based is updated you will be notified though an ATP bulletin and in this it will be stated how essential any updates to courses are – this will depend if the update is safety critical, the time frame and the process. ECITB will work with ATPs to ensure this is realistic.
ECITB are keen to support the delivery of provider training courses and so would wish to ensure the minimum disruption to your delivery of an already approved course. The intention of a review of the training standards is to identify potential improvements to what is already there, in relation to ensuring the training standards are fit for purpose for the delivery of courses and the content required by engineering construction employers.
Once approved, your ECITB approved course can be scheduled in the MSP and can be seen in the course finder on the ECITB website alongside ECITB courses that you schedule. ECITB will be happy to work with you to share the positive benefits that the training course has delivered for your clients through news articles etc. you can contact us to discuss.