The Awarding Bodies - NCFE

Awarding Bodies are organisations that are authorised to make awards, certification, or award qualifications

Listing Awarding Bodies

WhichCollege.ie provides an overview of awarding bodies operating in Ireland, the UK, and internationally. While many postgraduate qualifications are issued by organisations with statutory authority, a wide range of professional bodies also grant their own awards linked to advanced study. Although most Irish courses lead to qualifications from domestic awarding bodies, some programmes result in international or non‑Irish awards, depending on the institution or field of study.

A number of Irish institutions act both as education providers and as awarding bodies in their own right. This includes the Irish universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), which have the authority to confer postgraduate qualifications.

An academic award (whether a degree, diploma, or certificate) is granted when a learner successfully completes a recognised programme of higher education at undergraduate or postgraduate level. These awards are issued by designated awarding bodies and are aligned with the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The NFQ distinguishes between major and non‑major awards, with the latter covering minor, special‑purpose, and supplemental awards.

Major awards represent the primary qualification type at each NFQ level and correspond to substantial learning achievements. Examples include an Honours Bachelor Degree at Level 8, a Master’s Degree at Level 9, and a Doctoral Degree at Level 10.

Recent legislative changes have streamlined Ireland’s qualifications system, reducing the number of statutory awarding bodies. The responsibilities previously held by organisations such as the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), the National Council for Vocational Awards (NCVA), Solas, Teagasc, CERT, and Bord Iascaigh Mhara have been consolidated under the awards councils FETAC and HETAC.

Below, WhichCollege.ie outlines the awarding bodies responsible for certification across Ireland and the UK.

young female student sitting with a laptop on her lap smiling

NCFE is a UK national awarding organisation. They design, develop and certify diverse, nationally recognised qualifications and awards.

Recognitions

NCFE is a registered educational charity. Their product catalogue includes a wide range of general and vocationally related QCF qualifications in a variety of subject areas. In addition, they offer as well as Competence Based qualifications/NVQs, and Functional Skills qualifications.

The qualification regulators for England, Wales and Northern Ireland recognise them as an awarding organisation. The regulators include:

The Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) in England
The Welsh Government in Wales
The Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland

Qualifications

NCFE offer over 500 UK accredited qualifications. These range from Entry Level up to and including Level 4 as well as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ), Functional Skills, Apprenticeships and Traineeships.

Partners

The organisation works collaboratively with a number of training providers. This is in order to offer flexible and innovative solutions in the changing environment of training and education. Their partners include:

Vision2learn
Learning Curve Group
NCC Resources
Oxford University Press
The Pacific Institute
The Skills Network
Working Knowledge
Hallmark Education
Reed NCFE

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