Cogent is working on “Gold Standards” for all the key job roles right across the sector. The Gold Standard will define the skills required and will specify the appropriate training or education to enable the skill needs to be met.

Cogent employers have said that they want training in ‘bite sized chunks’ not as whole qualifications and Cogent is developing an industry credit framework made up of units of training or qualifications from which individuals and companies can ‘pick and mix’ to meet both employee and employer needs.

These units will be agreed by industry and provide the building blocks to full qualifications encouraging much wider participation in learning.

Individual learner records will capture training progress and Cogent is also developing a Passport scheme to provide easy access to the training records

Joanna Woolf, added: “In our view this is critical to upskilling the existing workforce, the central ambition of the Leitch Review of skills which is driving the government’s education agenda.”