From 1 October 2020, the price of an Apprenticeship Framework certificate in Wales, claimed and issued via the Federation’s online ACW system, will increase by £3.00 to a new cost of £25.00 per Apprenticeship completion certificate.
The reasons for this modest increase is that the Federation has been providing a high quality and efficient certification service since 2012 at the original charge of £22, with no previous price increases.
In addition to the actual certification service itself, the Federation also: –

• provides and maintains the secure IT platform on which ACW is hosted
• developed and enhanced the ACW software over the last 8 years, in line with regulatory requirements and customer feedback
• offers a highly rated online and telephone customer services facility
• provides comprehensive, user friendly online support and guidance materials, which are regularly updated in line with current legislative and quality requirements
• uses rigorous quality control processes to ensure all certification claims are processed correctly and within agreed SLAs
• undertakes routine audits of its member bodies, who certificate on their behalf
• maintains an online current library of all “live” Framework documents and links to previous archived versions.

 

We acknowledge that the economic situation is tough for everyone at the moment, and there is no good time to increase prices, but The Federation itself is a registered charity and provides all of the above services at no cost to the public purse. However, as the designated Certifying Authority in Wales, the Federation must be able to continue to manage and deliver the service on an economically sustainable basis.
Like many businesses, in the face of the current economic challenges, the Federation has already taken extensive steps to reduce its own fixed costs but in order that we are able to continue to fulfil our statutory duty, and maintain a high quality certification and support service to training providers, employers and Apprentices, a small price increase is now necessary.
The new certification price of £25 will be implemented from 1st October. The ACW system will be updated to reflect this change and all tokens purchased on, or after 1st October 2020, will be charged at £25 each.

The Federation would like to invite you to an introductory session to the Central Payment System.
 
This is a free event designed for your administrators of the ACW system. The morning will contain a demonstration of the Central Payment System, a question and answer session and an update on general ACW news.

 

The details are as follows:
 

Date:

Monday 10 February

 

Time:

10:30 to 12:30

 

Venue:

City Hall

Cathays Park

Cardiff

CF10 3ND

 

If you would like to book a place at this event please email ruth.davies@fisss.org as soon as possible. If you are unable to attend this event but are keen to receive training please let Ruth know and we will try to arrange an alternative for you.

 

 

 

 

To prepare for the introduction of the new ACW Central Payment System on 25th February 2014 your organisation need to nominate one person to register as a Finance User on the system. This Finance User should be someone with the authority to make purchases by credit/debit card or by BACS transfer. Your Finance User will be responsible for ensuring payments are made for your apprenticeship certificates from 25th February 2014.

 

Once you have identified who should be your Finance User can you please ask them to complete the Finance User Registration form.

 

Once the registration process is complete we will email the Finance User login details for the Central Payment System. These details will allow them to pre-purchase certificate credits for use on ACW and give them access to reports which will detail candidates paid for through the new system.

 

Please register a Finance User as soon as possible to ensure your organisation is ready to certificate candidates through the new Central Payment System from 25th February 2014.

 

 

If you have any queries about who should be your Finance User or any other questions about the new payment system please contact the Support Team at acwcps@fisss.org or on 0844 326 7565.

 

 

Soon, applications for Welsh Apprenticeship certificates will be made to a central point instead of to one of 25 certification bodies.

 

The Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards is the certifying authority for Apprenticeships in Wales and hosts Apprenticeship Certification Wales, acwcerts.co.uk, to whom applications for certificates and payments will be made with effect from Tuesday 25th February. The assessment of applications will continue to be carried out within ten days by the certification bodies.

 

This change will generate greater consistency in terms of how applications and payments are received, providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ for individual applicants, employers, training providers and colleges.

 

Payment will remain the same (£22 per certificate) and will be made with the application. There will be two options for paying through the Central Payment System, either:

 

1. Pre-pay by credit/debit card or BACS transfer – this option will allow you to bulk buy credits for certificates that will be added to a balance on the ACW system, and deducted when candidates are submitted.

 

2. One off payment (pay as you go) – This option will allow you to use a credit/debit card to pay for the certificate when you submit the Apprenticeship certification claim for approval.

 

Only one person within the training organisation will be authorised to purchase credits for Apprenticeship certification and will be assigned to the Finance User role. This person should have the authority to make purchases by credit/debit card or by BACS transfer. Before your organisation can submit any learners for certification through the Central Payment System your Finance User will need to complete a registration form.

 

We hope to have the registration form available next week for you to begin registering on the new ACW Central Payment System. We advise that you register as soon as possible to minimise any disruption when the Central Payment System is implemented. Guidance documents will be available soon to help you with the cross-over to the new payment system.

 

We will be sending you regular emails and system notifications to keep you up to date with registration, guidance and any other information you will need to use the new ACW Central Payment System.

 

If you have any queries please email the ACW Central Payment System team on acwcps@fisss.org or call 0844 326 7565.