NCFE (formerly the Northern Council for Further Education) is an awarding organisation and registered educational

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

providing qualifications in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, in the United Kingdom. NCFE is regulated by

Ofqual The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is a non-ministerial government department that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England. Colloquially and publicly, Ofqual is often referred to as the exam "watchdog ...

in England, and recognised by

Qualifications Wales Qualifications Wales ( cy, Cymwysterau Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for the recognition of awarding bodies and the review and approval of non-degree qualifications in Wales. It was established by the Qualifications ...

and the

Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) is a Non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Education (Northern Ireland). Its function and purpose is described in Part VIII of the Education (NI) Order 1998. CC ...

in Northern Ireland. Working in vocational and technical learning, NCFE is responsible for the design, development and certification of a broad range of

qualifications Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional expe ...

and awards that are nationally recognised. The qualifications NCFE provides range from

Entry Level Entry Level is the lowest level in the National Qualifications Framework in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Qualifications at this level recognise basic knowledge and skills and the ability to apply learning in everyday situations under di ...

up to Level 7 and span a wide range of sector specialisms. NCFE is also a registered end-point assessment organisation (EPAO), whilst also providing pre- and on-programme support for

apprenticeships Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

History

The Northern Union of Mechanics' Institutes (NUMI), NCFE's founding organisation, was established in 1848. NUMI's first report proclaimed its objective to "become a centre from whence the elements of knowledge and civilisation shall go on with an unceasing progress, conferring intellectual, scientific and moral blessings throughout the length and breadth of the Northern Counties." In 1920, NUMI was succeeded by the Northern Counties Technical Examinations Council (NCTEC) and, for the following 61 years, was responsible for providing

examinations An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verb ...

and

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

s to schools and technical colleges, where it was backed by 9 northern local education authorities. In 1981, the NCTEC combined with the Northern Advisory Council for Further Education (NACFE), and became the Northern Council for Further Education. In the 1990s, the education sector became independent from the government and NCFE became a national company, and thus were no longer known as the Northern Council for Further Education, but simply as the standalone NCFE. Over the past decade, NCFE has acquired brands including CACHE and Skills Forward that have now been integrated into NCFE, strengthening the organisation's offer in healthcare, early years and skills diagnostics and assessment. NCFE has also invested in Campaign for Learning, a charity committed to the development of family and lifelong learning.

Recognition

The charity has been selected on more than one occasion as a Times Top 100 Company in the Not For Profit (NFP) category NCFE's first entry into the Top 100 came in 2007 in the Small Companies category, but the organisation has risen through the ranks each year: * 2007 – 77th (Small Companies) * 2011 – 30th and 2* Accreditation (NFP) * 2012 – 60th and 1* Accreditation (NFP) * 2013 – 15th 2* Accreditation (NFP)

Qualifications

NCFE offers a broad range of qualifications that cover an array of sector specialisms from

right up to Level 7. New awards in a variety of sectors are frequently introduced in order to keep up with the changing education landscape, the evolving labour market, and to tackl
skills gaps
NCFE also provides further solutions to support learning as part of its end-to-end offering for learners and educators, including resources and guidance, CPD qualifications and innovative skills assessment tools.

Technical Education

NCFE's Technical Education offer provides learners ages 14-19 with a range of technical and vocational qualifications to help them progress through their chosen subject specialism. These include V Cert Technical Awards, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) and qualifications and resources to help build bespoke study programmes. T Levels are another technical qualification that NCFE offers, having won government contracts to design and award nine T Level qualifications for rollout between 2020 and 2023.

Apprenticeships

NCFE's

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

offer spans pre-programme support (including initial assessment), on-programme qualifications and resources, on-demand and remotely invigilated assessment for Functional Skills, and an end-point assessment (EPA) service.

Learning for Work

For those aged 19 and above, NCFE offers lifelong learning opportunities helping individuals to develop and retrain across different sectors, through continuing professional development (CPD), regionally focused learning, traineeships, and reskilling and retraining provision.

Partnerships and collaborative working

NCFE partnerships and collaborations include:

Fika

NCFE partnered with the mental fitness app Fika to launch the sector's first ever mental health fitness mobile app, to improve mental fitness in the further education sector.

WorldSkills UK

NCFE collaborated with WorldSkills UK to create the Centre of Excellence programme to advance vocational learning practice.

Association of Apprentices

NCFE was a founding partner of the Association of Apprentices (AoA) which was created in 2019 in an effort to help boost the number of apprentices staying on and completing their programme.

References

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External links

Official website
Education in the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Educational institutions established in 1848 Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom Examination boards in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Tyne and Wear 1848 establishments in the United Kingdom Vocational education in the United Kingdom