ASA Adjudication on Tradeskills4U Ltd
Tradeskills4U Ltd
Mitre Court
Fleming Way
Crawley
West Sussex
RH10 9JY
Date:
25 July 2012
Media:
Internet (on own site)
Sector:
Education
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A11-174842
Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated of which two were Upheld and one was Not upheld.
Ad
The website www.tradeskills4u.co.uk made various claims for their electrical training courses and training facilities.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the claims:
1. for the Green Domestic Electrical Solar PV Installer course, which stated "This 22 day solar PV training course is structured to allow you, as a new entrant into the electrical industry to become a Solar Panel installer and enter what is becoming an exciting new industry" and "This course package is suitable for anyone who wants to become a Registered Domestic Electrical Installer and a Solar Panel Installer who has little or no electrical installation experience" were misleading and could be substantiated, because he believed the qualifications mentioned were only suitable for practicing electricians and not new entrants;
2. "This course package is suitable for those with little or no electrical installation experience wanting to become a Domestic Electrical Installer" for new entrants courses which included City and Guilds qualifications 2391-10 and 2391-20 was misleading and could be substantiated, because he believed those qualifications were advanced (Level 3) and should only be undertaken by people already working as qualified electricians, electrical engineers or a supervisor or team leader in a related role; and
3. "Training is a serious business and with your career at stake you need to be sure your training provider is accredited. Check out our Accreditations below," along with the list of companies, was misleading and could be substantiated, because he believed those organisations and certification bodies did not accredit training companies, but simply approved companies to offer certain qualifications to eligible learners.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
1. Tradeskills4U said their course packages were designed to allow candidates with little or no experience to gain the required skills and knowledge to take the follow-on qualifications. They said all the courses in their 22-day Green Domestic Electrical Solar PV Installer course had specific entry requirements which, if not met, meant the candidate could not progress with the qualification. They said the overwhelming majority of trainees who went on the course passed; that many had had little or no experience before coming to Tradeskills4U and that many were now practicing Solar PV installers with full MCS accreditation. They said it was the nature of vocational training that the level of knowledge of candidates with little or no experience at the beginning would grow as they progressed through the courses. They said MCS accreditation, to which the description of the 22-day course package referred, was something that students could choose whether or not to pursue, and that it had no relationship to the entry requirements for the course or candidates' suitability for it.
2. Tradeskills4U said the claim stated that it referred to the course package. They said the package was designed to be taken over a long period of time; that, by the time a candidate took the 2391-10 qualification, they would be working in the industry and that their website stated that the 2391-10 was a difficult qualification intended for people working in the electrical industry. They said they had a duty to ensure all candidates entered on to the qualification met the entry requirements set by City & Guilds. They said prerequisites were generally advisory only, and that although the qualification was intended for experienced personnel working in the electrical industry, City & Guilds did not state formal entry requirements. They said it was within Tradeskills4U's remit and function to assess whether a candidate was sufficiently experienced and capable of taking the qualification, and that they allowed those whom they considered met those criteria to go forward. During the investigation, Tradeskills4U withdrew the 2391-10 qualification from their Gold 30-day course package.
3. Tradeskills4U supplied copies of certificates and other documentation which related to the organisations listed on their website. They said that, to deliver proper accredited qualifications, a training organisation needed to be both approved and accredited, and that they had gone through a detailed approval and accreditation process with each of those organisations. They said they listed the organisations to give trainees confidence that the courses they offered were recognised externally and not created in-house, and because the accrediting organisations required Tradeskills4U to show their logos. Where their links simply related to membership, however, they agreed to list those organisations under a separate "Membership" heading in their future advertising.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA noted that the course, although described as a 22-day solar PV training course, comprised five three-, four- and five-day short courses which together made up the 22 days. We noted that the descriptions of four of the short courses stated that they were suitable for those with little or no electrical experience or did not state that candidates needed to be practicing electricians. However, we noted that the description of the five-day BPEC Solar Panel Installation course stated that it was "designed to provide experienced electricians [sic] the necessary skills for basic design, installation, commission and servicing of Solar PV systems ... It is important to note that candidates will be required to register on a competent persons scheme and also develop a QMS manual before they can gain MCS accreditation. We will provide you with certification of competence in Solar PV installation but these other accreditation [sic] will be need [sic] to be gained independently". We considered that the description which preceded the descriptions of the individual short courses, which stated "This 22 day solar PV training course is structured to allow you, as a new entrant into the electrical industry to become a Solar Panel installer and enter what is becoming an exciting new industry," suggested that new entrants without experience could complete a 22-day course at the end of which they would be able to work as qualified solar panel installers. We welcomed the amendments Tradeskills4U had subsequently made to explain more clearly that students progressed through the courses and what the package of courses was designed to provide and to state that MCS accreditation was something students could choose whether or not to pursue. Nevertheless, because it was not the case, when the complainant originally saw the ad, that new entrants to the electrical industry without experience could complete a 22-day course at the end of which they would be able to work as qualified solar panel installers, because the five-day BPEC Solar Panel Installation course was for experienced electricians only, we concluded that the claims were misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).
2. Upheld
We noted that the course descriptions that related specifically to the City and Guilds 2391-10 and 2391-20 qualifications stated "The 2391-10 Qualification is intended for personnel working in the electrical industry" and "This qualification is intended for experienced personnel working in the electrical industry" respectively. We also noted, however, that the description that introduced the Domestic Electrical Installer: Gold 30-day course package, which included the 2391-10 qualification, stated "This course package is suitable for those with little or no electrical installation experience wanting to become a Domestic Electrical Installer". We considered that suggested that new entrants with no electrical installation experience could complete a 30-day course at the end of which they would be able to work as qualified domestic electrical installers. We also noted that, after the course description, text stated "What's next? - After completing this qualification we recommend: ... City & Guilds 2391-20 Certification of Electrical Installation". We considered that suggested that, after successfully completing the 30-day course, individuals could then go on to take the City & Guilds 2391-20 Certification of Electrical Installation. We noted that Tradeskills4U believed that prerequisites were generally advisory only and that City & Guilds did not state formal entry requirements, but that, nevertheless, City & Guilds stated that the certificates were for qualified electricians working in the industry. We welcomed the action Tradeskills4U had subsequently taken to withdraw the 2391-10 qualification (and therefore the requirements that related to it) from their Gold 30-day course package. Nevertheless, because it was not the case, when the complainant originally saw the ad, that those with no electrical installation experience could complete the 30-day course, including 2391-10, and then be able to work as qualified domestic electrical installers and go on to take 2391-20, because those courses were for experienced electricians only, we concluded that the claims were misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).
3. Not upheld
We noted that Tradeskills4U had supplied certificates and other documentation and had explained the approval process. We considered that, in the context of an ad for training courses which listed examination and certification bodies, readers were likely to understand "accreditation" as referring to whether Tradeskills4U was permitted to run courses devised or examined by those bodies. We also noted that Tradeskills4U had agreed to amend their advertising to list separately those bodies where their links related to membership only, rather than to them running courses devised or examined by them. Because we considered Tradeskills4U had supplied evidence which showed they were permitted to run courses devised or examined by those bodies listed under the heading "... Check out our Accreditations below", and because they had agreed to amend their advertising to list separately those bodies where their links related to membership only, we concluded that the claim was not misleading.
On this point we investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.45 and 3.50 (Endorsements and testimonials) but did not find it in breach.
Action
We welcomed the action Tradeskills4U had taken to amend their ad. We told them it must not appear again in its current form and that their ads must not suggest that courses were suitable for candidates with no electrical experience if that was not the case.
