CfA

About the sector

As an occupational group, it is difficult to determine the exact size of the workforce involved in delivering customer service, but labour force data puts the figure at over 2.1 million individuals involved in sales and customer service in the UK.

Employers across all sectors are giving increasing attention at strategic and operational levels to the quality of service they deliver to their customers. This employer focus on customer service is being driven by the demands of customers for a better and more individualised service.

With the 2012 Olympics fast approaching, customer service provision within the UK will be under greater scrutiny than ever before. The importance of providing excellent customer service across the UK, for organisations and UK as a whole, cannot be underestimated.

National Occupational Standards

A suite of standards has been developed to cover customer service-related job functions. These standards also include standards for contact centres. For further information, please visit customer service standards pages

Qualifications

A wide range of both vocational and academic Customer Service qualifications are available within the UK and internationally, including a number of NVQs/SVQS and Apprenticeships, as follows:

• NVQs/SVQs in Customer Service at levels 1, 2, 3 and 4
• NVQs/SVQs in Contact Centres at levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
• Apprenticeships/Modern Apprenticeships in Customer Service at levels 2 and 3
• Apprenticeship in Contact Centres at levels 2 and 3
• Modern Apprenticeship in Contact Centres at level 3

Further details of these qualifications can be found on the qualifications pages

Contact

For more information on Customer Service work undertaken by CfA, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or call on 020 7091 9620.