The Qualification and Curriculum Authority required national training organisations to ensure that all NVQs had a 'technical certificate' - an examinable taught component. This was to ensure that entrants into the sector had the necessary knowledge to enable them to work successfully. We were commissioned to create this.

Working through Metier, the then NTO for the Arts and Entertainment sector our task was to examine the raft of qualifications (some 2000 of them) to determine if any of them could serve as Technical Certificates, or could be modified to do the job. It became clear none were appropriate and this was outlined in an interim report.

After wide ranging consultation with employers and training deliverers, we were then asked to create an effective framework for a Technical Certificate which would have relevance to all entrants into the sector, and could be delivered cost effectively. We took this through to a successful conclusion: our framework was also used by some universities as a basis for the creation of Foundation Degrees.