23 Jan 2012
From 23 January 2012, a new online certification service will be run by the Alliance, in conjunction with SSCs and SSOs, and will be known as Apprenticeship Certificates England (ACE). Apprentices or training providers/employers, who act on the apprentice's behalf, will be able to request Apprenticeship certificates using the ACE online system. The implementation of the new ACE online system will replace the current paper based system which will be phased out.
The Alliance will sit in the middle of a hub and spoke model where the SSCs/SSOs will receive requests for certificates from apprentices or from training providers/employers, who act on the apprentice's behalf, via the ACE online system. The SSCs/SSOs will then be able to issue Apprenticeship certificates, providing the requirements of the particular Apprenticeship framework have been met.
Apprentices will receive a new certificate approved by the Minister of State for further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, which at his request includes either bronze, silver or gold foil seals:
- Bronze - this seal appears on the certificate issued to apprentices who completed an Intermediate Apprenticeship.
- Silver - this seal appears on the certificate issued to apprentices who completed an Advanced Apprenticeship.
- Gold - this seal appears on the certificate issued to apprentices who completed a Higher Apprenticeship.
The ACE online system is a development from MA Online, which is already used for Scottish apprentices by providers throughout the UK. This tried and tested online system is both popular with users and easy to use. Some of the key benefits are:
- ACE will store all the evidence of achievement an apprentice needs to claim an Apprenticeship certificate electronically. The ACE online system means the days where requirements to store paper evidence are over.
- Individual apprentices will be able to use the ACE system to request their own certificates if they want to.
- The Alliance will monitor the performance of the SSCs/SSOs through a quality assurance process designed to ensure a consistent certification service. The quality assurance process will include a standard appeals system and complaints process.
ACE will include a web-based training system and a fully downloadable PDF manual.
A charge of £22 will be collected by the SSCs/SSOs per certificate, which will be used to cover the cost of administering the system.
Until the 31 March 2012 we can accept requests via the paper based system, however those requests will be printed on the old style certificates and will be charged at £50.00 per certificate and registration (if not already registered) . From 1st April 2012 onwards all requests have to be via ACE and no paper based requests will be accepted.
The new registration fee of £28.00 will be charged up front (using our current MA on line system). The certification fee of £22.00 will be charged when claiming the certificate via the ACE system. The new pricing structure will be introduced on Monday 30 January 2012.
If you require anymore information please contact Ian Lockhart at [email protected]
REGISTERING CENTRES
Learning providers, training providers, employers and other centres will need to register themselves on the system via an online registration form; this can be done by asking them to visit www.acecerts.co.uk/index.php/register_centre and completing the information and contact details.
Once they have completed this process:
• Each SSC/SSB will need to log on to ACE and under “Submitted Centres” will see a list of centres awaiting approval;
• Select each individual centre and change their status from “Submitted” to “Enabled” to approve the centre;
• Each SSC/SSB will then need to telephone / e-mail the contact at that centre and issue their username and password for ACE***.
If any SSCs/SSBs do not understand or need assistance with this process, please telephone or e-mail the ACE Team on the contact details at the bottom of this note.
*** It is important to note that this individual will be granted an “administrator” account which can then be used to grant other user accounts within that centre; however, the SSC/SSB will need to stipulate when registering the centre initially, how many additional user accounts can be created by that centre - we recommend this figure is set to a minimum of 5 (the reason being that once it is set, it cannot be changed).
TRAINING MATERIALS
We have created two PDF user manuals for the system; one for bodies (e.g. SSCs/SSBs) and one for providers (e.g. training providers, learning providers, employers, etc.). In addition to this, there is also an online eLearning Tool which provides a range of “How to” videos tailored for both bodies and providers.
Both the user manuals and eLearning Tools can be accessed by visiting www.acecerts.co.uk/tutorials. There is also a link to these materials on the ACE home page.
CONTACT DETAILS
If you have any queries relating to any part of ACE, please get in contact with us by either telephoning 0844 573 2560 or e-mailing [email protected].
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