How to choose the right qualification solution for your industry

Choosing the right qualification solution for your industry is crucial to ensuring effective training, professional development, and closing skills gaps. But with so many options available, how do you know which one is the best fit? What factors should you consider to make the right decision? And how can you ensure your chosen qualification aligns with your business goals and industry needs?

By exploring what makes a qualification truly effective, its learning outcomes, the way it is assessed, and how it’s delivered—you can make a confident, informed decision. If you're looking for a reliable, industry-aligned solution, get in touch with our team today to discover how we can transform your organisation.

Start with the skills gap

Every qualification begins with a clearly identified skills gap. This can be something you, as a business or learning provider, have recognised within your teams or something we’ve identified through market analysis and industry insight. Whether bespoke or open-market, effective qualifications are built around these gaps, ensuring the learning is relevant, timely, and impactful.

At Kaplan Assessments, we collaborate closely with clients to design qualifications that meet sector-specific requirements, often responding to emerging trends, regulatory changes, or shifts in professional competencies.

Understand the components of a qualification

A high-quality qualification is made up of clear learning outcomes and an effective assessment methodology. This means knowing exactly what knowledge or skills the learner should gain and how that progress will be tested.

Assessments are a key part of this structure. They ensure that learners can demonstrate their knowledge and competence in line with the intended outcomes, whether through multiple-choice questions, written responses, practical application, or case-based scenarios.

Qualifications may be:

• Ofqual-regulated, meaning they are standardised and available on the open market.
• Bespoke accredited, designed specifically for one organisation or group, and not available publicly.

Both pathways ensure rigorous quality assurance and meaningful impact, but they serve different needs.

Choose the right format for your sector

While qualifications vary by industry, the way in which content is delivered and assessed should reflect real-world applications. For example:

• In accountancy, multiple-choice assessments can be used to test regulatory knowledge and numerical accuracy.
• In healthcare, practical demonstrations and case-based written assessments ensure skills can be applied in high-pressure, real-life environments, as set out by the General Medical Council.
• In data and technology, coding simulations and scenario-based tasks are increasingly used to reflect on-the-job requirements.

Each format supports different learning outcomes, and choosing the right combination is critical for both learner success and business value.

Leverage technology

Technology plays an important role in qualification delivery and assessment, offering flexible learning options and efficient marking tools. For instance, online platforms can host learning content, provide progress tracking, and offer remote invigilation for assessments.

However, while mobile learning supports accessibility in training, secure assessments typically require more controlled environments to maintain integrity and meet regulatory standards. That’s why online assessments are usually delivered via secure platforms under supervised conditions, rather than mobile devices.

Consider scalability and future-proofing

If your organisation is expanding or adapting to industry change, you need a qualification solution that can grow with you. Kaplan Assessments works with clients to ensure qualifications can be scaled across teams, regions, or departments as needed. This includes consistent delivery, reliable assessment methods, and robust feedback mechanisms.

Measure what matters

A well-designed qualification does more than just deliver content—it provides clear insight into learner progression and organisational impact. Through structured assessment strategies, aligned to learning outcomes, you’ll be able to track success, benchmark performance, and demonstrate value.

Final thoughts

Whether you’re addressing a known skills gap or anticipating future needs, choosing the right qualification is key to building capability and confidence in your workforce. At Kaplan Assessments, we specialise in creating both regulated and bespoke accredited qualifications—grounded in learning outcomes, backed by robust assessment methodology, and designed with your business in mind.

Want to build a qualification tailored to your sector? Kaplan Assessments offers tailored assessment services designed to meet the specific demands of your sector. Get in touch with us today to learn more.