The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) has been awarded a rating of “good” for its training services by national regulatory service OFSTED.
Inspectors visited the NECC at the end of last year.
They observed teaching, learning and assessment, while also taking into account feedback from students and employers themselves.
The NECC was one of the first training providers in the UK to be inspected under the new OFSTED framework that was launched in September 2015.
The new frameworks asks that good providers must demonstrate their effectiveness in two days or face a lengthier inspection.
Andrew Robson, NECC Head of Training expressed his pleasure that the inspection was a success.
He said: “I’m extremely proud of our training team and the work we do with our students and businesses across the North East. As a membership organisation we understand the needs of businesses and our courses are designed to reflect this.
Mr Robson added: “NECC’s training and educational provision develops highly-skilled employees and ensures businesses benefit from an effective and efficient workforce.”
The NECC is one of the largest independent training providers in the North East.
In a letter announcing NECC’s Ofsted success, Paul Cocker, one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education, Children’s Services and Skills commended NECC on the quality of its training courses saying: “NECC’s training team has been relentless in their focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning, leading to the large majority of apprentices completing their programme within the planned timescales.
“Apprentices receive well-planned off-the-job learning linked to their apprenticeship, which enhances their skills and is suitably applied in the workplace, meeting the apprentices’ and employers’ specific needs.”
Kelly Pattinson is head of quality at the NECC. She said: “The inspection process was challenging but very rewarding.
“We have been focused on driving improvements to the quality of our teaching, learning and assessment to ensure that our apprentices get a valuable and engaging learning experience and achieve their aspirations.
“It was fantastic that Ofsted were able to see so much of this good work during inspection.”
Although apprenticeships are a major part of on-the-job training, NECC are also working with companies across the region to up-skill employees of all ages and experience.