The British Quality Foundation has stood for Excellence in Industry for over 30 years and continues to promote best practice, collaborative working and exceptional standards. All our certifications are carried out by licensed training providers who have been through a rigorous approval process and who are regularly audited to maintain our high standards.
The BQF Academy offers a range of certificated pathways recognising practical application of a range of Business Excellence tools and techniques.
BQF are proud to rigorously uphold the standards for each certification and, in collaboration with their Academy partners, have pushed the envelope of what Business Excellence means in a modern world.
BQF are proud to recognise the efforts of our certified professionals at all levels in our published Certification Register.
Training agnostic
We care about what you know
We do not expect you to have been trained by BQF to get a BQF certification; we just need to know you know your stuff and have successfully implemented a project in your chosen subject. Our rigorous certification process ensures you have the knowledge and real-life skills to be successful.
Continuous progression
Work your way through our learning pathways
The BQF certification pathway is a progressive set of steps towards official mastery in a topic and come in four levels across all our certifications. You can certify at any level or chose to progress through them as your career develops.
We require proof of implementation at all levels of certification.
Proof of application
We care about your real-life achievements
All our certifications require proof of implementation as well as an understanding of the theory and show that recipients have the ability to lift and shift the tools and techniques into new environments. Candidates are required to present and be evaluated on the implementation of real-life projects which have delivered clear business benefits.
Transparency
We hold ourselves and our license holders to account
We require our certification holders to be regularly re-evaluated to maintain their active status and you can look up anybody who has a certificate in our Certification Register to check their status.
All our licensed certifiers (Associates and Partners) are regularly audited to ensure our high standard is maintained.
BQF have 4 Levels of Practitioner Certification
These levels build on each-other. Practitioners can work through each level consecutively or jump in at a higher level if they meet the required standards (body of knowledge). You can see a full list of our certifications and the bodies of knowledge here.
Associate
6 months’ relevant experience
Playing a role in an initiative, understanding basic tools with coaching support
Practitioner
6 months’ relevant experience
Owning an initiative, using a range of tools with confidence, delivering a clear sustainable outcome in a small area
Advanced Practitioner
2-4 years’ relevant experience
Leading initiatives with multiple complexities, dealing with ambiguity by using advanced tools and delivering measurable sustainable outcomes
Master Practitioner
4 + years’ relevant experience
Using experience and knowledge to coach, teach, mentor and support others to deliver sustainable outcomes, deploying strategy and embedding a culture
How our certification process works
All our certifications require proof of practice as well as proof of knowledge, there are generally two steps to a BQF certification which are carried our partners or associates:
- An exam
- A portfolio review once you have completed your project
Pricing
Pricing will vary depending on the partner/ associate and you will need to get a quote from them, but our guide prices are:
- Associate £350
- Practitioner £450
- Advanced £650
- Master £poa
- Bundle (for people wishing to certify in multiple disciplines) £poa
- Reactivations £75 - £125 depending on level, free with individual, gold and platinum membership
Please note, that membership discounts do not apply to certification fees.
Maintaining your active status
We are passionate about rewarding people who keep their skills up to date and fresh. This is why we introduced the concept of active and inactive certification holders. Whilst your certification does not expire, we do ask for proof that you are regularly using and enhancing your skills to maintain your active status, this allows you to showcase to your employers, your clients and your community that you are continuing to add value and make things better.
What you will get
On being certified, you will receive a link to your digital certificate and e-mail badge which you can share on social media. These are clickable and link back to our digital credentials to prove the authenticity of your certification. You will also be listed as active on our certification register which is openly available on our website.
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