CfA

What is ACE?

ACE is the Apprenticeship Certificates England system that has been developed by the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils in their role as the Apprenticeships Certifying Authority for England. The system will be run by the Alliance who will sit in the middle of a “hub and spoke model” where the SSC’s and SB’s (CFA) will receive the electronic requests for certificates and will issue certificates on their behalf, providing all requirements of the frameworks have been met.

From the 01st April 2012 ACE online will be the only approved system for Apprenticeship Certification requests and no paper based applications will be accepted after this date.

Who will be using ACE?

Apprentices, learning providers or employers who act on behalf of apprentices in England only will be able to request certificates using the ACE online system.

How will ACE work?

Centres will be asked to register with the CFA. Once registered with the CFA, centres will receive a login and password with a .pdf user manual. Web based training will also be available from the Alliance.

What are the different certificate designs for?

Apprentices will receive a new certificate approved by the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, which at his request includes either bronze, silver or gold foil seals:

• Bronze: This seal will appear for apprentices who complete the Intermediate Apprenticeship
• Silver: This seal will appear for apprentices who complete the Advanced Apprenticeship
• Gold: This seal will appear for apprentices who complete the Higher Apprenticeship

How much will this cost?

There will be no charge to register onto the ACE online system. The cost of certificates has been set at £22 per certificate. This will need to be paid to the CFA. This charge has been set by the Alliance to cover the CFA and Alliance costs to run the certification system.

Advantages of using ACE?

ACE will store all the evidence of achievements an apprentice needs in order to claim an Apprenticeship certificate. As a centralised system, it can be accessed by multiple users as many times as required and all evidence of achievements can be stored centrally for easy access. It is also an end to the old paper based system used by SSC’s and SB’s.

What are the other advantages to using this system?

In addition to requesting certificates, learning providers and employers can put details of their apprentices onto the ACE online system at an early stage of their training and add evidence of their achievements as they progress. This will prevent people having to put on all the evidence needed to issue an Apprenticeship certificate when apprentices have finished all the elements of the framework. This will support the collation of Labour Market Information (LMI) and also help us gain a more informed idea of apprenticeship numbers and success rates. The ACE online system will be used to simplify current administrative requirements.

How do I register my centre?

Please fill out the centre registration form with your details and return to the CFA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Once your centre details have been confirmed, a login and password will be emailed to you with a manual on how to use the system. For more information, please call us on: 020 7091 9620