Federation of Awarding Organisations crest

What We Do

B2B Services for Organisations Working with UK Qualifications

FAO provides a complete support framework for organisations working with UK awarding bodies — from first conversation through centre approval, quality assurance and long-term workforce development.

Discuss Your RequirementsBecome an Approved Centre

FAO is not a training provider and not an awarding body. We are a gateway and support partner — helping organisations access UK awarding bodies, build the capability to deliver their qualifications, and maintain the quality standards that ongoing approval requires.

01

Centre Onboarding & Approval Support

FAO guides organisations through the complete process of becoming an approved centre for a UK awarding body — from initial qualification selection and awarding body matching through to application preparation, pre-approval support and post-approval readiness. The approval decision rests with the awarding body; FAO's role is to ensure your application and your centre are as strong as possible.

  • Qualification selection guidance
  • Awarding body matching
  • Application preparation
  • Pre-approval support

02

Qualification Access

A single relationship with FAO provides access to a portfolio of regulated UK awarding bodies across engineering, technical, service industries, public safety, science, leadership and more. FAO reduces the complexity of navigating multiple awarding body relationships — one gateway, multiple qualification pathways.

  • EAL — engineering & manufacturing
  • VTCT — service industries
  • Innovate Awarding — multi-sector
  • SFJ Awards — public safety
  • SIAS — science & technical

03

Quality Assurance & Compliance Support

FAO helps centres build and maintain the internal quality assurance systems, policies and documentation that awarding bodies require. This includes IQA readiness, assessment documentation, compliance documentation, EQA preparation and continuous improvement planning.

  • IQA system development
  • Assessment documentation
  • EQA preparation
  • Centre policies & procedures

04

Workforce Development Solutions

For employers, corporate academies and government agencies seeking to build qualification-led workforce development programmes, FAO provides a structured approach to programme design, qualification selection and delivery infrastructure. We help organisations align their workforce development ambitions with UK-regulated qualification frameworks.

  • Programme design
  • Qualification mapping
  • Delivery infrastructure
  • Standards alignment

05

Proposal & Bid Development

FAO supports organisations tendering for government and institutional training contracts that require UK qualification delivery capability. We help build the qualification frameworks, quality assurance evidence and awarding body relationships that strengthen bids for large-scale workforce development programmes.

  • Qualification framework design
  • QA evidence packages
  • Awarding body letters of support

06

Qualification Development

For organisations seeking to develop new qualifications or adapt existing frameworks for specific sector or national contexts, FAO provides qualification development consultancy — working with awarding body partners and sector specialists to design standards-aligned, regulatory-grade qualifications.

  • Qualification design
  • Occupational standards
  • Assessment methodology

07

International Market Support for Awarding Bodies

For UK awarding organisations seeking to grow their international footprint in the Middle East and beyond, FAO provides in-market expertise, centre development and quality assurance infrastructure that enables effective international expansion without the cost and risk of building it independently.

  • Market entry support
  • In-country centre development
  • QA infrastructure
  • Business development

Education Pathways

Progression Routes for Learners and Workforces

Beyond individual qualifications, FAO supports organisations in designing complete education and progression pathways — connecting regulated qualifications, bridging programmes and higher-level study routes into a coherent journey for learners and employees.

This is particularly valuable for institutions and government agencies building national skills frameworks, where qualifications must connect logically from entry level through to professional and higher education.

This service is aimed at organisations planning their qualification portfolio — it is not a learner-facing service.

Discuss Education Pathways
Workforce development programme planning session

Which Service Do You Need?

Most organisations start with a conversation about their sector, learners and objectives. From there we recommend the right combination of services.

Speak to FAOExplore Awarding Partners