EAL-qual-logo

EAL is the specialist skills partner and awarding organisation for industry. We are committed to investing in the industries we serve and the careers of the people working within them. Through industry partnerships and years of experience supporting our core sectors, we have built unrivalled knowledge and understanding of employer skills needs. As a result, EAL’s skills solutions and qualifications are respected and chosen by employers to deliver real career benefits for all our learners.

Collaboration is the cornerstone of everything we do. Our long-term partnerships with employers, professional bodies and our parent organisation Enginuity help us offer qualifications and skills solutions that are fine-tuned for the needs of our sectors.  For our learners, this delivers added value and underpins their careers in industry.

Through our External Quality Assurance Service, we work hand in hand with our recognised Centres to support the highest standards in training and qualifications delivery. For employers, this approach delivers a value-added service and assurance that their learners achieve the standards required by their industry. Our Centres can also rely on their dedicated EAL External Quality Assurer (EQA) as a trusted partner for expert support and guidance.

In the last ten years, 1.3 million people in the UK embarked on an EAL qualification in schools, academies, university technical colleges (UTCs), colleges, universities, private training facilities and workplaces across the UK. Many thousands more industry employees have benefited from bespoke EAL solutions designed for companies to credit the achievements of their employees.

Our industry expertise, coupled with our commitment to quality and unrivalled service levels, means thousands of employers – from blue-chip, household names to small and micro companies – opt to use EAL services to develop the skills of their employees.

EAL is part of Enginuity – the Enginuity Group which is a not-for-profit organisation responsible for engineering skills for the future of the UK's most advanced sectors.

What we do


  • 1. Quality assure delivery and assessment
    … building on our Centres’ strengths to achieve  industry standards and excellence in vocational learning
    • offer unrivalled support and expertise to our recognised Centres through our External Quality Assurance Service
    • ease the operational burden and encourage best practice by providing comprehensive, high quality support materials
    • ensure the flexible provision of registration services and assessments – both online and offline – to meet a variety of needs
    • invest in fast, reliable systems to assist in quality assurance and Centre operations, specifically through our advanced Smarter Touch portal.
  • 2. Develop qualifications
    ... that meet the current and future skills needs of employers and learners in our core industry sectors
    • assess employer demand, drawing on labour market information
    • align our qualifications to National Occupational Standards
    • continually refine the focus and content of qualifications via industry consultations and employer focus groups
    • invest in developing and maintaining industry-relevant qualifications for our sectors through our Industry Support Programme.
    • working closely with the apprenticeship Trailblazer development groups in aerospace, automotive, electrotechnical and rail to ensure high quality, rigorous qualifications are available to employers and learners.
  • 3. Represent employers
    … making sure the views of employers in our core sectors are heard on policy affecting vocational qualifications
    • lobby opinion formers and decision makers on skills issues
    • take part in professional forums and sector interest groups
    • convey the impact of policy change on qualification delivery and skills development
    • host policy seminars and round table events that facilitate discussion on key issues
    • give a voice to employers on key issues relating to apprenticeships as lead sponsor of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships (APPG).
  • 4. Award certificates
    ... to each learner who achieves a qualification
    • issue nationally recognised certificates – for which we guarantee a 24-hour turnaround from request to despatch
    • provide a summary of unit achievements to support learner progression
    • offer the 'EAL Qualified' logo for achievers to demonstrate their skills to future employers and customers.
  • 5. Obtain accreditation
    ... from the regulators, as well as approval for Apprenticeships and funding
    • gain the backing of employers and industry bodies
    • satisfy regulatory requirements in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
    • meet standards for Apprenticeship frameworks and funding eligibility.
  • 6. Promote qualifications
    ... creating awareness of their value with business and learners
    • work with Centres and support their development
    • develop employer awareness and promote uptake of qualifications
    • generate interest in sector careers and qualifications among potential learners, their parents and influencers.

Diversity and Inclusion


We strive to be an inclusive place to work for all our colleagues and we want everyone to feel valued and that they can be themselves at work.

We recognise that when people are comfortable at work, they will perform at their best and provide the very best service to our internal and external customers.

We understand the benefits of having a diverse workforce and aim to embed equality, diversity and inclusion in all of our activities.

Our Aims Are That:

  1. We create an inclusive and respectful working environment where everybody feels valued, treated fairly, safe, comfortable being themselves at work and like they belong.
  2. All of our colleagues understand the importance of diversity and inclusion, role model inclusivity and our leaders challenge the status quo, ensuring everyone has a great employee experience.
  3. We attract and develop people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse skills to help us deliver our business plan, serve our customers and innovate for the future of the sector and we are recognised by the Engineering sector as leading in inclusive practices.

Our 3-year Inclusion Strategy Focuses on:

Culture and Leadership:
Ensuring our policies, procedures and practices enable an inclusive culture where people can maximise their potential and thrive. This includes colleague education, awareness and leadership training.

Attracting Talent:
Ensuring our recruitment and selection approach is inclusive, removing barriers and attracting diverse talent.  This includes looking at where we advertise, the methods we use to recruit and ensuring our recruiting managers are training in inclusive hiring.

Inclusive Services:
Seeking to minimise bias when developing our products and delivering to customers.

Collaboration and Influence:
Sharing best practice within the sector, influencing others to be inclusive and sharing our progress and D&I journey to support others.

Our Approach:

We are excited to be working with The Clear Company using their Clear Assured accreditation standard as our framework for action.  This framework will direct and measure progress as we move along our inclusion journey, supporting us to ensure we create long term culture change and impact.
We’re pleased to be a  Disability Confident Committed Employer and are working towards becoming a Disability Confident Employer by ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible, anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required and supporting existing employees who acquire a disability by making reasonable adjustments.
In 2021, we’re proud to have made a commitment to become a Menopause Friendly employer and will be introducing menopause awareness, guidance and support to our colleagues across the Enginuity Group.
We’re also members of  Tech Talent Charter (TTC), supporting the UK tech sector to drive change and improve inclusivity.

Who we work with


EAL works closely with professional institutes and industry bodies in the sectors we serve to ensure we are providing the best possible qualifications for learners and employers in the UK. Our industry partnerships, amongst others, include:

 

  • 1CIBSE
  • 3imarest
  • 4ni
  • 5icme
  • 6niceic
  • 7soe
  • 8f1-in-schools
  • 92gta-england
  • 9industrial-cadets
  • imeche-logo2

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