NCFE Approved Training Centre

Making the right decision for your future!

Helpful considerations to help you choose the right training for you

• How is the training certified?

There are a lot of providers who certify their own training, which is all very well but means very little. It is important for you that your certification is from a recognised body that is a quality assurance organisation and governs the membership by setting high ethical standards. In hypnotherapy, this will be crucial in the long term when the industry becomes regulated. Check if the diploma or certification is a formally recognised vocational qualification. In order to offer these you know the training provider has to reach a high standard that is monitored.

The Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD) award is the highest-level, externally verified, vocational award in hypnotherapy currently recognised by the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH), as measured by its Level 4 classification on the Government's National Qualification Framework (NQF).
   
By ensuring that a course meets these criteria, it is able to offer students the externally awarded Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD) jointly issued by NCH and NCFE.  NCFE, formerly the Northern Council for Further Education, is a registered educational charity and officially recognised as a National Awarding Body by the Government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
   
The HPD is classed as a "Level 4" vocational qualification on the National Qualifications Framework, defined as follows,
 
Level 4 qualifications recognise specialist learning and involve detailed analysis of a high level of information and knowledge in an area of work or study.  Learning at this level is appropriate for people working in technical and professional jobs, and/or managing and developing others.  Level 4 qualifications are at a level equivalent to Certificates of Higher Education.  (The Qualifications & Curriculum Authority)
By comparison, this is the same level as a Level 4 NVQ, BTEC Professional Diploma, or a university Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE).  The National Occupational Standard units have been correlated against the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) by Skills for Health.
 
Many people in the hypnotherapy profession now consider the HPD to be the current "gold standard" in training.

In NLP, the Institute is the only provider in the UK to provide a formally recognised vocational qualification for NLP, also accredited by the NCFE to level 3 for NLP Practitioner training. This is important for those who intend to practice professionally as the alternative health industry moves increasingly towards greater regulation. The training is also validated internationally by The Society of NLP, the first and largest NLP certification, training validation and quality control organisation in the world for NLP, which trains and approves trainers worldwide. Check it’s website for approved trainers.

• Who is delivering the training?

Check that the trainers are officially certified to provide the training and are experienced in their field. Ask for their credentials and qualifications. There has been a lot of press recently about people certifying themselves as NLP or hypnosis trainers and then running courses. Anyone can call themselves a trainer in NLP or hypnosis but this may not mean they are certified by appropriate bodies to do so. Always check. Also make sure the person who is delivering the training is the certified trainer that is approved by the school and the training hasn’t been subcontracted out to someone who does not have the relevant credentials. Check that the trainers hold professional indemnity insurance for their profession and that they have an NHS provider number if they are practicing therapy.

• What is the selection criteria for students to be accepted for the course?

This is important for a profession like hypnotherapy as students need to have a mature and ethical attitude to the training and the profession. The learning environment created by the group must feel safe to develop these skills. Respect for confidentiality and a professional integrity is a MUST!

• What is the assessment criteria for certification?

This is usually a good indicator of the quality of training. There are many correspondence courses that do not assess the experiential qualities that are important in NLP and Hypnotherapy. There are also courses that give everyone the certificate irrespective of ability. A good assessment procedure means you will earn your certification through ability not just attendance or payment. Did you know that you can buy doctorates on the internet, but these mean very little!

• What is the internal and external verification process of the learning provider?

This usually indicates how confident you can be about the quality control of the training. Is the school, college or institute recognized as a training centre by any professional external body such as the NCFE or is it just calling itself a school, college or institute for marketing purposes?

• Is the learning provider registered for career development loans with the Department for Science and Education?

This is useful to know from a financial funding point of view as well as an indication of provider status.

• Is the learning provider VAT registered?

This may appear to make the training more expensive than a provider that isn’t registered (and nobody likes paying tax). However, from a training provider point of view it usually means that they have a turnover to warrant being VAT registered, and would suggest that they have been running courses successfully for some time.

• What is the size of the group?

Useful if you want personal attention and quality feedback.

• What is the work commitment outside the training sessions?

Again, a good qualification will get a good balance between experiential and academic learning.

• What is the real cost of the training?

When comparing different providers, make sure certification fees, assessment fees, learning materials, VAT, travel and accommodation are all taken into account. Also check the duration of the course and what accredited certifications are included.

• What support is there for students on completion of the initial training?

This is important to know in terms of ongoing professional development, practice groups, supervision and internet forums for discussion and advice.

• What is the quality of the training venue?

This is important as this is the learning environment and you must feel comfortable in it in order to maximise your learning. Also if you are travelling from away, how easy is it to get to? How close is the venue to reasonably priced quality hotels?

• How can you substantiate the claims you are making?

This question is more for organisations that are selling the earning potential of people who do their course. The advertising authorities have come down hard recently on providers that do this, however it is still out there. Success at anything is always dependent on a variety of personal factors and cannot be guaranteed by any skill training alone.
 
These questions have been compiled by students to help people to make a good choice when selecting the right training institute to deliver the quality training they want. This is an important investment which may lead to a new career or a new skill base that can change your life, so this is a good place to start in helping you make a good decision.