The IEP is the international membership organisation for employability professionals – the people who support others gain work, progress in work, and retain work. Its goal is to promote excellence in employability services worldwide and its vision is to ensure that employability professionals everywhere are the best they can be. Corporate Affiliate Partners, which now includes NOCN Group, support the IEP and show a commitment to championing employability as a recognised profession.Corporate Affiliate Partners, which now includes NOCN Group, support the IEP and show a commitment to championing employability as a recognised profession.

NOCN Group offers a wide range of regulated qualifications, end point assessment for Apprenticeship Standards, assured short courses, competence cards and tests, and short online courses in its specialist areas of construction, engineering, manufacturing, green skills, health & social care, preparation for life & work, education, and management.

Shelley van Kooten, NOCN Group’s Sector Manager for ‘Skills for Work & Life’, says:

“As a truly independent, charitable organisation, we have the freedom to develop ‘skills solutions’ that directly address economic and social issues, rather than just meet commercial targets. Employability has always been a key agenda for us whether that is through the development of specific qualifications or taking it into account in the development of wider solutions such as Apprenticeship End Point Assessment. Our focus is always on long term career pathways and ensuring that people can develop skills that are fit for the future.

“The Institute of Employability Professionals is an important stakeholder for us and we are looking forward to building further relationships with members to understand their needs and offer them skills solutions to address these needs.”

NOCN Group chief executive Graham Hasting-Evans adds:

“Opening up access to employability skills is absolutely critical to improving social mobility and inclusivity. We can take somebody from not being able to read and write to working at management level. What is often not understood is that skills are not the same as education. Skills are about the workplace and should therefore fit within the overall economic strategy for the country. Its even relevant to tech and the green agenda as so many of the skills we need for the jobs of the future do not currently exist. Employability is about more than just foundation skills – it’s about enabling people at all stages of their career and life to adapt to the ever-changing environment.

“We are continually lobbying government to ensure that people have equal access to these skills and will continue to do so with the new government to get and keep employability at the top of the agenda.”

Find out more at https://www.myiep.uk/