We have been looking through your website, and understand that the Level 3 Award for Professional Investigators have 2 different awarding bodies: Edexcel and ABI Academy.
There are two awarding bodies that offer a Level 3 Award in Professional Investigations: Pearson and Industry Qualifications (IQ).
Education Development International (EDI) merged into Pearson some years ago and the EDI Level 3 Award for Professional Investigators has now ceased to accept any further enrolments.
Please can you tell me the difference between these two?
The qualifications, mentioned above, should all be to the same standard as they are all regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). Both requires the learners to produce a, Surveillance Portfolio.
Our company of about 9 is looking to sit this exam to be compliant with SIA’s requirements to gain a SIA Private Investigation license.
A large number of national organisations are taking the Level 3 Awards for Professional Investigators in anticipation of mandatory licencing from the Home Office / S.I.A. The syllabus has been set down from the S.I.A and they have confirmed that the, above mentioned, qualifications will be accepted as the, “Proof of competency”, for licencing, when / if it arrives.
Organisations that are adopting the draft British Standard 102000 are also ensuring their operatives have the qualification as it meets the training and continuous professional development requirements for staff competency (Set out in BS102000) in: Conducting investigations, conducting interviews, searching for information and preserving evidence, surveillance techniques, understanding and working to relevant laws and standards and providing reports.
Does everyone need to sit this exam or are individuals such as accountants exempt from having to sit the exam?
The following are exempt from Professional / Private Investigator Licences: Market research, Credit referencing agencies, Solicitors, Accountants provided they are members of their appropriate body, Journalists, Enquiries made solely of publicly available information, Enquiries made with the consent of the subject of the enquiry or where the enquiry is incidental.
We would like to know further information about this and the best deals you can offer. If you could get back to me regarding this it would be most appreciated.
If you have a group of ten a 10% discount is available, upto 20% off for 20.