Applications open Assessed quarterly · next round October 2026
Partners · delivery under licence

Carry the Standard in your country

The Foundation does not deliver. It licenses — one national operator per territory, accredited training centres beneath them, and consulting partners alongside. Every route is granted, audited and revocable.

Apply to partner Compare the routes
4 TERRITORIES LICENSED 5 OPEN ONE LICENCE PER COUNTRY
The three routes

Three routes to deliver the Standard

What separates them is authority — how far down the page a partner's signature reaches.

Route Authority granted Term
National licensee
Exclusive

Runs the programme in one country: recruits and manages training centres, localises delivery, sets local fees within the Foundation's ceiling, holds the national brand lock-up.

Assess and invigilate
Accredit centres nationally
Cannot award, or change a competency
5 yr
Renewable
Accredited training centre

Teaches and invigilates under a national licensee. Accreditation covers trainer qualification, facilities, invigilation and candidate records — per site, per persona.

Teach and invigilate
Cannot examine its own trainees
Cannot accredit others
1 cycle
Expires with v1.x
Consulting partner

Advises organisations on workforce adoption mapped to the Standard, and certifies its own consultants at Professional tier.

Advise and map to the Standard
Cannot assess or issue
2 yr
Renewable
The Foundation

Never franchised: the Body of Knowledge, the examination, the accreditation criteria and the marks.

Awards every grade, alone
Permanent

The quality regime is the offer. Scheduled audits, unannounced secret-shopper exam sittings, statistical review of pass rates, and revocation of accreditation for breach. Rigour protects every licensee's price.

How a licence is granted Licensing note · v1.0

Granted on capability, not on cheque size

Applications are assessed quarterly against four tests. A territory stays open until an applicant passes all four — we would rather leave a country unlicensed than licence it badly.

TEST ONE
Delivery capability

Trainers, venues, invigilation and records — evidenced, not promised.

TEST TWO
Capitalisation

Funded to run three years without depending on exam revenue.

TEST THREE
Public-sector reach

A credible route to ministries and national skills instruments.

TEST FOUR
Independence

No vendor ownership that would compromise the Standard's neutrality.

Decisions are minuted, and an unsuccessful applicant is told which test failed. Reply within five working days
Partner application One licence per territory

Apply to carry the Standard

National licensees, training centres and consulting partners all start here. We assess capability, capitalisation and public-sector reach before granting — and we grant one national licence per territory.

Applications are assessed quarterly; the licensing team replies within five working days. Individuals looking to earn a Passport should start in their national programme instead.

What a licence carries

Exclusive national delivery rights, the country brand lock-up, and the operator entry in the register.

The current Standard, the item bank, invigilation tooling and every cycle's change note.

Audit, secret-shopper sittings and revocation powers — the rigour that protects your price.

Territories open
AE QA KW BH OM + open