1. WORKING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN ABC AWARDS and EMFEC MEMBERS Cathie Smith Director of ABC Awards

2. What is EMFEC/ABC Awards Group? EMFEC is 100 years old – and was an awarding organisation ABC started in 1998 – in 2002 became a limited company with charitable status Wholly-owned by EMFEC – FE sector- owned AO

3. Overview of ABC Awards’ portfolio Ofqual regulated AO All qualifications are now on QCF and are by definition, regulated Award on average 35,000 qualifications per year

4. Qualifications and Sectors Over 600 qualifications Entry level to Level 6 – 14 + Apprenticeship components Diverse range of qualifications in11 sectors Rationalisation process

5. Centres 900 approved centres 500 active Mix of FE Colleges, Universities, Private Training Providers, Employer organisations

6. Other stakeholders 250 moderators and external examiners Sector Skills Council network Employers Professional Bodies Other associations

7. Highest performing sectors As at February 2013 1.Motor Vehicle 2.Design and Craft 3.Practical Languages 4.Counselling 5.Animal Care 6.Retail

8. Working within a policy context Employability Enterprise Apprenticeships Study Programmes/Traineeships FE Loans

9. Other activity Employer engagement Higher Level Apprenticeship development Innovation Code development work Partnership with our centres Responding to market/customer demand

10. Centre Satisfaction Survey (1) Quantitative –Overall rating of ABC Awards – 8.24/10 –Areas for improvement – website/support materials –Selection of AOs – favourable net balance towards ABC –Functional Skills –Encouraging further use of ABC Awards - marketing

11. Centre Satisfaction Survey (2) Qualitative –Overall rating – 8.75/10 –Recommendation of ABC – 81% very likely –Strengths – administration, customer service, practical portfolio –Areas for improvement – communication/marketing/focused business development

12. Business Development Recruitment – 5 staff Customer-focused approach Support with new initiatives eg study programmes

13. Proposal Use EMFEC’s policy team and ABC Awards National /regional/local emphasis Set up working group to explore development/packaging opportunities Redefine existing qualifications and/or develop new products in partnership

14. Discussion What do you want from your awarding organisation? What can we do to help you? How do we take this forward? Timescales?

15. Contact details Cathie Smith cathies@abcawards.co.uk Tel: 0115 854 1632 Mob: 07875 381937