Accredited Training and Academic EducationOil and Water, or Perfect Complements?

Working with Professional BodiesKing’s College London – 17th June 2011

Helen Southall University of Chester

Background – The NTI

• 2 academic staff seconded from CSIS– Later, 50% share of 1 administrator

• Originally part of a national, government-funded scheme– Targets and focus for funding were on ‘skills gap’ re. low-

end ICT training. Brokered training delivered by FE colleges– Other targets related to contact with SMEs– Funding ended in 2006; most NTIs closed down

• Chester NTI chose to move to higher-level training – Accreditation is a slow process, so other funding sources

(e.g. JISC) and support from institution essential in interim

Background – The NTI

• Since May 2007 the NTI has trained in excess of 500 delegates at OGC & Apple accredited courses

• Delegates have included many from the NHS, Civil Service, local authorities, armed forces, Police, courts, H.E., and other public services

• Other delegates principally from banks and manufacturing, plus company directors and many freelance contractors

Becoming an ATO for PRINCE2®• PRINCE2 certification is frequently demanded in project management

(and other) job adverts– Also useful to organisations tendering for project management contracts

• ATO status is essential– Cannot legally claim to offer PRINCE2 training, use copyright materials, or book

PRINCE2 exams without it

• Badge of quality– Anyone can offer ‘project management training’– Only ATOs can offer ‘PRINCE2 project management training’ and be listed on the OGC

web-site

• Benefits including access to a pool of accredited trainers, ATO meetings and newsletters, BPUG, exhibitions, contact lists

PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries || The Swirl logo™ is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce

Becoming an ATO for PRINCE2• The accreditation process

– Slow, expensive and frustrating (especially if starting from scratch)

– Nothing is taken for granted. Being part of an HEI is (rightly) not an advantage. Management procedures and marketing materials are carefully vetted. Materials are accredited on a slide-by-slide basis.

– Trainers must all be individually accredited• High level of relevant hands-on experience is a pre-requisite• This means existing university lecturers won’t necessarily be

eligible• There are also significant timetabling issues

• Despite the frustrations, when we achieved accreditation we were genuinely ready to run our first course. Not always the case in HEIs!

Some Pitfalls (and Advantages)• The torture never stops...

– Not a one-shot deal; all ATOs (and trainers) are re-inspected annually• This is actually quite helpful, e.g. in providing justification for the required administrative

support

– Substantial annual fees relating to the ATO itself, and individual ‘products’ and trainers associated with the ATO

– Regular updates to PRINCE2 itself mean compulsory re-writing and re-accreditation of teaching materials

• High overheads– High course fees

• Lots of specialist commercial competitors– Large market

• Potentially, lots of hassle dealing with unusual or foreign administration and finance procedures– Potentially, lots of delegates, including new overseas markets

So.... Oil and Water?• Professional qualifications such as

PRINCE2 don’t plug comfortably into HE ‘levels’

• Differences of emphasis...– Academic courses

• Transferable skills, learning how to learn, critical thinking, flexibility, long courses, lasts a lifetime

• Coursework, short exams, support, presumption that students will pass until proven to fail

– Professional certification (e.g. PRINCE2)• Short, intense, high-pressure course• Learning (& retrieval in exam conditions) of

knowledge, jargon, standard methods, specific information on who does what and when

• Regularly re-tested; it is presumed that this ‘version’ will go out of date within 5 years

• Pressure from employers (and already-qualified) to make sure exams aren’t ‘too easy’

• Issues re. dyslexia, ESL etc

...or Perfect Complements?• What did delegates ask for?

– Ongoing mentoring and support with implementation– Complementary academic qualification

• What can we offer?– Difficult to compete head-to-head with commercial

training companies; our overheads are too high and short courses aren’t (yet) our core business

– However, continuing to offer only 3-year degree courses doesn’t meet delegates’ needs, and funding changes mean that it’s not a realistic option anyhow

• M.Sc Programme & Project Management– Based on Chester’s award-winning Work-Based &

Integrative Studies degrees– The missing link after (or before) the 5-day

professional course– Unlike training companies & non-ATO universities, we

can provide both professional and academic aspects in-house

Conclusions• Courses which command high fees are not a short cut to high profits

– Obtaining and maintaining ATO status is expensive• There is a lot to be said for belonging to an exclusive club• There is even more to be said for being unique in an exclusive club...

– ‘the only active ATO within a university’– We regularly get business because of this, even from clients who

aren’t particularly interested in academic courses• Quality is critical

– HR course bookers, business people, freelance project managers (i.e. typical delegates) are willing to pay high fees for good quality – but they will also complain loudly and effectively if they don’t think they’ve received it• An indication of what to expect from students paying up to

£9000 / year from September 2012?

Contact DetailsHelen SouthallBusiness & Curriculum Development ManagerNTI

h.southall@chester.ac.uk

01244 512191http://www.chester.ac.uk/business/nti