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Published On: 27th Jul 2006 11:15
Do you want to get certified for the work you do in your call centre?
Let Call Centre Helper guide you through some of the key qualifications and courses available to British call centre staff today.
Perhaps you’re looking to find a professional qualification that will help take you up the management ladder. Or maybe you’ve been out of call centre work for a while and want to take a refresher course.
Edexcel is one of ten academic bodies accredited to teach and assess the new National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) Levels 1 and 2 in “Contact Centre Operations”. These are known as SVQs in Scotland.
The qualifications replace the old NVQ “Call Handling” suite. They have a new unit structure and updated content.
They also use a less bureaucratic assessment strategy. This includes the use of expert witnesses.
There is also a focus on new ways of collecting evidence, including paperless logbooks, and cross-awarding body recognition of qualifications for the accreditation of prior achievement (APA) through an e-skills database.
In other words, if agents move from one call centre to another that doesn’t use the same awards body, they won’t have to start their NVQ programme all over again.
To support in-company training in contact centres, the UK Call Centre Association (CCA) introduced an accreditation scheme in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University.
Accreditation for contact centre advisors and representatives comes in two forms.
The first is the “CCA Professional Certificate”. This is typically awarded after successfully completing a company’s induction training.
The second is the “CCA Professional Diploma” (CPD).
This is awarded based on credit points gained through:
Once the Professional Diploma has been gained, it must be kept ‘current’ by undertaking a minimum of 12 hours of CPD per year. Each CPD credit point is equal to one hour of learning.
The Service and Support Professionals Association (SSPA) offers two levels of qualifications for front-line technical support staff.
These are:
Level 1 focuses on basic skills.
These include:
Level 2 focuses on more advanced skills.
These include analytical skills, problem-solving and troubleshooting.
Senior technicians at Level 2 are often required to mentor entry-level staff. This helps demonstrate their interpersonal and teamwork skills.
NCFE, formerly known as the Northern Council for Further Education, is one of the UK’s fastest-growing awarding bodies.
Its qualifications can be taken through centres across the UK. These include schools, colleges, adult education centres and training providers.
The NCFE Levels 1 and 2 “Certificate in Contact Centre Techniques” may be of particular interest to call centre staff and people looking to enter the industry.
Level 1 can be useful for people interested in starting a career in contact centres. It can also act as a taster or refresher course for people who have been out of the industry for a while.
Level 2 provides formal recognition of the knowledge, understanding and skills required to work in a call handling situation.
The e-skills UK “Contact Centres Pathway” programme is designed to support new entrants into the contact centre industry.
It combines vocational training with “Skills for Life” training and assessment.
The programme is aimed at people entering the contact centre industry for the first time. It is also suitable for people returning to the sector after a break in employment.
The programme targets learners who need sector-specific competencies.
It also covers:
It is currently available exclusively from City and Guilds.
e-skills UK has also developed the “Contact Centres Diploma for Adults”.
This was developed alongside leading contact centre employers, training providers and the Tyne and Wear Learning and Skills Council.
The programme is designed for people already working in contact centres. It provides work-based training and development. This is particularly aimed at new recruits and people aspiring to team leadership.
The programme helps staff develop the specific skills required for their roles. It is designed to help them develop these skills as quickly as possible.
It also provides a way for people over the age of 25 to access funding for ongoing development.
Institute of Customer Service (ICS) member organisations have access to three ICS “Professional Awards” in customer service.
The awards cover:
They are designed to help customer service practitioners develop their personal effectiveness.
To achieve an award, individuals must demonstrate that they meet the Institute’s requirements in four key areas:
Individuals use the ICS’s “Passport to Learning and Achievement in Customer Service” to build a picture of how they meet the award requirements.
They do this alongside a designated coach. The coach also takes part in the assessment process. A final assessment is then carried out by an ICS accredited assessor. This focuses on the individual’s ability to deliver a fully rounded service to customers.
As well as running an NVQ programme for Levels 1 and 2 staff (see section on contact centre agents and support staff), Edexcel has also been accredited to run the new Levels 3 and 4 qualifications for “Contact Centre Professionals”.
Aimed very much at team leader level and above, these two qualifications have – like the “Contact Centre Operations” qualifications – been designed to allow greater flexibility for both the employer and candidates.
There is also a streamlined assessment and portfolio production process, which makes the qualification a lot more manageable to both administer and undertake.
The CCA’s accreditation scheme with Nottingham Trent University is also available for team leaders/managers and middle/senior managers.
For the middle tier (team leaders/managers), a “Diploma in Team Management” is awarded on successful completion of training that has been accredited for a minimum of 40 university credit points.
And to spur earners on, an interim award – the “CCA Higher Diploma” – can be awarded oncompletion of training that has been accredited for a minimum of ten university credit points.
Interestingly, individuals can achieve their university credit points simply by passing an accredited in-company training programme. They don’t, in other words, need to go for on-site training at Nottingham Trent.
As well as its Levels 1 and 2 qualifications (see section on contact centre agents and support staff), SSPA also runs a “Certified Support Professional” accreditation for supervisors entitled CSP-S.
This particular qualification focuses on team lead/supervisory skills for those tasked with managing a team of front-line support staff.
Do note, however, that SSPA is not a training provider. Instead, it prefers to refer its members to third-party providers who map training to the SSPA’s own competencies.
The City of Sunderland College “Foundation Degree in Service Management” is a two-year, part-time course aimed at those who want to improve their chances of becoming a manager.
The course is highly practical, so participants can expect to work on case studies, projects and presentations – both as an individual and as part of a group.
But the great thing is that the part-time nature of the course makes it easier to combine with existing job commitments. (Note: Most participants should normally have at least a Level 3 qualification – be that a National Certificate or Diploma, NVQ or another relevant form of accreditation.)
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) offers a range of postgraduate studies through its Lancashire Business School. These courses are aimed at call centre managers.
Options include:
The courses are available in “Contact Centre Management”. While the PGCert takes a year to complete part-time – embracing one-day workshops and tutorials – the PGDip is a two-year part-time course.
Both qualifications are suitable for contact centre managers, customer service managers, operations managers and team leaders.
What’s more, on completion of the Certificate, candidates will receive the letters ACCP (Associate Contact Centre Professional), while completion of the Diploma will offer up the letters FCCP (Fellow Contact Centre Professional).
The MA programme is again part-time and takes place over the course of a year. Applicants must already hold a “Postgraduate Diploma in Contact Centre management” to undertake this course.
Those looking to get on the MBA course, meanwhile, should have a minimum of two years relevant and appropriate work experience.
More senior managers that want to undertake the CCA Nottingham Trent University accreditation scheme can apply for one of three awards: a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert), a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) and a Masters degree.
Again, through accredited in-company training, participants can achieve their PGCert by gaining 60 postgraduate credit points.
For the PGDip, they’ll need a further 60, and for the Masters degree, another 60 again.
Rather, there would need to be some involvement of university tutors – although not necessarily from Nottingham Trent University – to ensure that the learning outcomes were appropriate: especially for a Masters level qualification.
Jonty Pearce walked into his first call centre in 1989 and has been hooked ever since. He founded Call Centre Helper in 1989.
He is an Engineering Graduate with a background in marketing and publishing. In 2020 he won the AOP Digital Publishing Award for The Best Use of Data.
He writes and speaks on a wide variety of subjects - particularly around forecasting and scheduling. His in depth knowledge of forecasting algorithms has earned him the nickname "Mr Erlang."
Connect with Jonty on LinkedIn
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30th September 2026
