City & Guilds opens temporary Functional Skills assessment centres

@cityandguilds Learners will be supported with discounted coach travel from @nationalexpress

City & Guilds has opened temporary testing centres to enable learners to complete their Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills assessments and achieve their qualifications and apprenticeships.

The global leader in skills development has also partnered with the UK’s largest coach operator, National Express, to provide learners with discounted travel to enable them to get to the centres.

Whilst the vast majority of learners have been able to take their qualifications over the past nine months, despite the impact of the pandemic, there are a number of learners who have not been able to do so. Many of these are because their centre is also a workplace, such as care homes with vulnerable residents, where it would have created an unacceptable risk to allow exam assessors onto the premises. 

David Phillips, Managing Director City & Guilds and ILM, said, “We are acutely aware of the significant impact that being unable to complete their Functional Skills qualification is having on some learners. We have been working hard with our customers, the regulators and other stakeholders to come up with a range of solutions to allow them to take their exams as quickly as possible.”

“One of these solutions, which we have begun to roll out is to open testing centres across the UK. We will begin with three trial centres which opened their doors on 10 December.  These facilities allow learners the opportunity to come to a Covid-secure environment to take their exams and progress with their careers. I’m delighted to add that National Express are also playing a part by offering learners a 15% discount on coach travel with National Express to get to their examinations.”

Tom Stables, managing director, National Express UK & Germany: “National Express has the largest national network of scheduled coach services offering great value, reliable travel to hundreds of destinations – with added covid-secure measures in place.

“We’re pleased we can help those individuals whose education has been set back by the pandemic to be able to safely get to the assessment centres and progress with their careers.”

City & Guilds opened the first two testing centres in London and Birmingham and will be opening another in Bristol in January. The centres will be able to offer examinations for to up to 100 students per day. Anyone who wants to book to take the exam should email [email protected]

Learners will be provided with the National Express discount via City & Guilds when they book their examination.