Feature Article – What’s the real difference between Part A and Part B of the Training Quality Standard?

Reproduced below is the feature article from our January 2009: Achieving the TQS Newsletter. The article is about the different parts of the TQS.

I see a lot of applications. In quite a number of cases Part A and Part B have been written by different people without reference to each other.

Since the two parts of the application deal with different perspectives, that isn’t necessarily an issue, but sometimes the Part A and the Part B documents are contradictory. Sometimes they deal with the same material. In some cases individual Part Bs, written by the same organisation, say quite different things.

I have even seen one organisation’s application where A0 and B0 were exactly the same. Text had been carried forward from Part A to Part B.

It’s worth getting your application writing team together to think about the differences between the two parts of the standard and to make sure every one knows what belongs in Part A and what belongs in Part B before you actually start writing.

What are the different parts of the standard about?
When you are writing Part A you are considering how you help all the employers with whom you work. You are looking at how you work with your direct employer customers across all parts of your organisation.

Tip: Look inwards at your existing customer relationships.

When you come to think about Part B of the TQS you need to think not just about your organisation and your customers but also about sectors.

Each sector has numerous components. These encompass:

• local
• regional
• national perspectives.

In some cases international perspectives will also need to be included.

When you come to think about Part B, don’t just consider your individual employer customers in a sector. Look more broadly.

Tip: Remember that a sector sits outside your organisation. You are trying to build links with it.

Do you need to be involved at all four levels?
No, you don’t need to work with a sector at all four levels. (Local, regional, national and international)

You do need to know how the whole sector works and you do need to know what you are doing to help each sector with which you work.

Getting things right
Write about your work with your customers in Part A. Think about how you help them. Find your success stories and use them judiciously as you write.

When you come to think about Part B start with the Sector Skills Council’s “footprint” statement and then decide how you help the SSC to fulfil its objectives at the local, regional, national, and where appropriate, at the international level.

Beware of writing too much about your own customers here, unless the points you are making are linked to the work of the sector.

Remember that when a Part B application is submitted for assessment, it is sent to the relevant Sector Skills Council for review.

If what you have written does not state clearly how you support the work of the SSC, then you cannot expect the SSC to report favourably on the application.