About the Provider Course Approval Scheme
The ECITB is committed to providing the engineering construction industry (ECI) workforce with the skills it needs to meet the challenges of the future. Approving training providers and trainers to deliver high quality training to industry is an an integral part of this. The ECITB approves training providers to deliver training and assessment for more than 80,000 learners each year.
Each ECITB training standard details the learning that a delegate on a course in that topic should gain – as defined by industry experts in that subject. The ECITB reviews courses submitted for approval against the relevant training standard to check the course provides delegates with the knowledge and skills identified in the standard.
Approved Training Providers (ATPs) have access to ECITB’s online portal where they can view discipline-specific training standards and identify which they would like to develop training against.
Benefits of gaining ECITB approval for your course
ECI companies know an ECITB approved course meets their needs
An ATP knows their course will meet the needs of their customers and the wider ECI
Delegates attending your course will receive a certificate of training from the ECITB
The course may attract an ECITB grant
The course can be publicised on the ECITB website
Approval can enhance your marketing and how the course is perceived outside the ECI
The process of gaining approval for your course via PCAS
Identify the training standard
There are over 200 ECITB training standards across the range of engineering construction craft and technical, management and professional disciplines.
See our Training Standards Catalogue
ECITB Approved Training Providers can access the training standards within the online portal. If you are not yet an ECITB approved training provider – contact us and one of our Product Managers can show you the content of a training standard to see if it meets your needs.
Want to become an ECITB approved provider?
If you are not an ECITB approved provider please see our page ‘Information for training providers‘. The process can take 4 -12 weeks.
Develop your training course
Within the training standard that you have selected you will see learning outcomes, enabling objectives and key learning points (KLPs). There is specific information the ECITB expects you to include in your training. Please see the lesson plan template, submission guidance and good practice guidance below.
The course content must contain enough detail that enables a relevant trainer to deliver this consistently each time. It should include a lesson plan and trainer notes alongside the training presentation, delegate notes, practical exercises and consolidation activity. If you have only one trainer this may seem a lot, but it ensures we maintain consistent standards across all our approved courses.
Lesson plan template
PCAS submission guidance and checklist
Good practice in writing multiple choice questions
Submit your course to the ECITB
Once you have developed your course, you must map all your training course materials to the learning outcomes, enabling objectives and key learning points in the training standard. This includes exercises, training presentations, delegate handbook, consolidation activity and knowledge test(s). For older training standards a mapping grid can be supplied.
Complete the PCAS questionnaire. This provides the reviewers with the overall detail about your training course – its content, length of delivery, mode of delivery, practical rigs required to deliver etc. Only courses that cover all of the KLPs and meet the requirements detailed in the PCAS submission guidance will be approved.
Once you are ready to submit your course contact your ECITB product manager:
Ray Skene for technical and trade
Catherine Lambert for management and professional
They will provide you with a secure link to upload your material and undertake an initial review to check your course meets ECITB good practice and that the content maps to all of the training standard. This may result in some initial feedback in advance of the course being reviewed by the PCAS panel. This step is to optimise the likelihood and speed at which your course may achieve approval.
Tips on how to map your training course materials
PCAS questionnaire
Gain approval for trainers
At the same time as submitting your course materials, you should also ensure that you have ECITB approved trainers that meet ECITB’s quality and expertise requirements to deliver the training.
Need to gain approval for your trainers?
Please see the section ‘Adding trainers, examiners and training centre staff’ on our page ‘Information for training providers‘ for information on how to gain approval for trainers. If you need further information or have any questions please email:
PCAS panel
The PCAS panel meets once a month to review submitted courses. Panel meeting dates are listed on the ECITB online portal.
The PCAS panel will review your course against ECITB’s good practice for delivery of training courses. Your course will either be approved, rejected or changes requested.
You will receive written feedback within ten days of this meeting.
You will only be able to deliver your course after approval has been gained.
The ECITB must ensure all courses meet the training standards that employers need. If your course is not approved we will work with you to look at the changes needed to deliver this.
Approved courses
Approval is for three years. Engineering construction companies may be able to claim a grant for delegates that complete this approved course.
On approval, the ECITB, can support you with promotion of your course. It can be included within the course finder on the ECITB website and we are always looking to promote success stories from courses, which gives you additional profile.
Read more on promoting and scheduling your PCAS course in our FAQs below.
Provider Course Approval Scheme FAQs
How likely is it a course will be approved? What if I want to modify my course? What happens if the training standard is updated? How should I brand and promote the course?
Find answers to these questions and more in our PCAS FAQs.
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