The value of CPCAB qualifications

Many tutors are asking questions about the status and value of CPCAB qualifications in the new regulated future particularly in the face of rumours that only HE qualifications or those courses accredited by professional bodies will be recognised or acceptable as part of any grand parenting arrangements or as a recognised training route in the future.

We are confident that the argument for including vocational pathways via accredited qualifications will remain one possibility in the new landscape and to that end have been seeking written assurance from HPC and Skills for Health (the sector skills council responsible for the counselling NOS and sector qualification strategy). Understandably no one can make any promises about the final outcome of the regulation process but Skills for Health has given us the following statement:

“I can now confirm that Skills for Health will be responding to the HPC Call for Ideas¹… Our response will note that we support the use of NOS to underpin standards of proficiency; it will also demonstrate our support for developing educational pathways underpinned by NOS and standards of proficiency and to offer the widest opportunity for entry (to the register) rather than ‘hard wiring’ a particular qualification type to entry to the register.”

CPCAB qualifications are in an excellent position both for any grand parenting arrangements for the HPC register and as a valid pathway into the profession in the future for the following reasons:

1. CPCAB qualifications are statutory qualifications which are on the National Qualifications Framework and eligible for government funding. This means that they are accredited by an awarding body that is approved and regulated by Ofqual – the independent regulator. These qualifications are delivered in approved centres and have rigorous assessment, verification and quality assurance including an element of independent/external assessment.
2. CPCAB qualifications are mapped to the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for counselling which means that they meet the vocational standards of proficiency required by the sector. They also equip learners to meet the training requirements for individual accreditation for BACP.
3. CPCAB qualifications have been endorsed by the Sector Skills Council (SSC), Skills for Health, which holds responsibility for the counselling NOS and for developing the Sector Qualification Strategy for Counselling.
4. CPCAB is the only specialist awarding body in the field and its qualifications are underpinned by a coherent model for practitioner development and training which is based on solid research.

We will continue to argue that statutory accredited qualifications which have been endorsed by the SSC and mapped to the NOS, which are quality assured, externally assessed AND which meet professional body individual accreditation criteria should be given equal weighting to those courses accredited by professional bodies in any regulatory arrangements.

¹The HPC consultation document asking for stakeholder views on titles to be protected, training standards and grandparenting arrangements.