EAL (Excellence, Achievement & Learning Limited)

At the simplest level, an awarding organisation has three key functions:

1. To develop qualifications that fulfil a known industry need … that means developing the structure, content (or syllabus) and assessment based on nationally recognised standards approved by employers and Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and Standard Setting Bodies (SSBs).
2. To provide external quality assurance and assessment of qualifications to its approved Centres … by supporting qualification delivery, ensuring consistency and encouraging best practice, the awarding organisation ensures learners achieve the standard required by industry.
3. To award certificates to each learner who successfully achieves a qualification … only when the awarding organisation has ensured that the learner has met the criteria will they issue an official, nationally recognised certificate.

Additionally, some awarding organisations offer a range of supporting services, tailored to the needs of their customers and the industries they serve.  Find out more about the full range of services EAL offers.

Yes, there is a vast difference.  These are just some of the ways in which awarding organisations differ, and why your choice of awarding organisation is so important:

1. The level of industry involvement in the development of qualifications … this is essential to ensure that qualifications are real skills needs in the workplace and are recognised by employers and industry bodies.  Some awarding organisations are specialists in certain areas whilst others offer a vast range of qualifications but without the same level of employer and industry input or support.
2. The level of expert support in the delivery of the qualifications … it is worth checking that your learning and assessments will be overseen by an ‘External Verifier’ who is a fully qualified expert with a relevant industry career behind them, and not someone whose background is in another industry entirely.  Whilst you won’t necessarily meet with your External Verifier, they work alongside your learning provider and their level of expertise and input can make the difference between a learning environment that is focused towards helping you embrace opportunities and achieve the highest industry standards or one that just ticks the necessary boxes.  Without expert External Verifier support, both you and your provider are missing out on the chance to improve your performance and achieve the highest industry standards.
3. The quality of learning materials … with relevant learning materials and step-by-step assessment guides, you can understand what you need to do, why, how, and what you’ll achieve as a result.  Some awarding organisations provide full learning support materials which are constantly updated.  Others don’t, and this could mean that the materials you receive from your training provider are substandard.  Not only can this impact on your understanding of what’s involved in your qualification, but it increases the possibility that something vital could be missed along the way.
4. The reliability and flexibility of the systems … can make the difference between you taking exams at a convenient time and receiving the all-important certificate to show your current or potential employers, or waiting while excessive administration and errors hold you back from making the next step forward in your career.

EAL works with a wide range of industry bodies to ensure its qualifications are recognised by employers and provide learners with a stamp of quality that can enhance their career prospects.

EAL collaborates with Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and Standards Setting Bodies (SSBs) including:

• Semta (science, engineering and manufacturing technologies)
• SummitSkills (building services engineering)
• Energy & Utility Skills
• Council for Administration (business skills)
• Skills for Logistics
• Lifelong Learning UK
• Port Skills and Safety.

EAL qualifications are recognised for professional development and grading schemes by organisations including:

• Engineering Council
• Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET)
• Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
• The Welding Institute (TWI)
• Institute of Cast Metal Engineers (ICME)
• Institute of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM)
• Society of Operations Engineers (SOE)
• Scottish Engineering
• Association of Welding and Fabrication Engineering and Training (AWFTE)
• Joint Industry Board (JIB) for electrical contracting
• Joint Industry Board (JIB) for plumbing and heating engineers
• Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA)
• National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC)
• Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers (CIPHE)
• Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
• Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA)
• Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA).

You can find further information in the sectors area of this website.

In most cases, EAL is able to supply replacement certificates for a small administration charge.  Full details are available here.

If you have achieved an EAL qualification, either recently or in the past, you may be eligible to use the ‘EAL Qualified’ logo.  Details of how the logo may be used and the request form are available here.

Yes.  It may also be possible to recognise your prior achievements from another awarding organisation, meaning that there is no need to re-cover old ground as you work towards achieving an EAL qualification.  For more details, please contact our This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Yes, depending on how long it has been since your previous learning and the relevance of your previous learning, it may be possible for your past achievements to contribute towards an EAL qualification.  For more details, please contact our This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .