When looking into training courses, it’s essential to find the perfect one for you. So researching the different options available is vital. From City & Guilds to EAL, apprenticeships to training courses, with so much information, it can be challenging to understand it all.
You may find different accreditation schemes available depending on your chosen course type, budget and location, so the question you’ll ask is, “Which is the best choice?”
Common Questions
Comparison
C&G
LCL
EAL
Best Option?
City & Guilds, LCL (formerly Logic Certification), and EAL operate as awarding bodies for various trade courses throughout the UK. No one is necessarily better than the other. Ultimately, your qualifications will be accepted by employers and the industry regardless of which awarding body they came from. The most important thing is finding a training course that’s the right fit for you.
Common Questions
- What qualifications do you need?
- Which training provider should you choose?
- How much should the training cost?
Finding the answers to all these questions can be mind-boggling, leaving you more confused than when you started.
If you’re unsure what qualifications you need to begin your desired career, look at our Domestic Gas and NVQ Level 3 Electrical course pages for more information. And, if you’re wondering which training provider to go with, we will, of course, recommend ourselves.
However, if you’re here to find out what City & Guilds, LCL Awards, and EAL are, how they differ, how they’re similar, and which one you should go with, keep reading.
Comparison
These three companies are just some of the certification bodies in the UK, and there is often a lot of confusion over whether you need to have a qualification from a particular body. The simple answer is no.
The most established or well-known isn’t always the right choice. The most important thing is finding the right training course for you, and different training providers will deliver the course under different certification bodies. For example:
- City & Guilds offer Installing, Testing and Ensuring Compliance of Electrical Installation Work in Dwellings (2397).
- EAL has Installing, Testing and Ensuring Compliance of Electrical Installations in Dwellings.
- LCL offers a Domestic Electric Installer certificate.
These training courses have different setups and course breakdowns, but they all result in qualifications required to undertake electrical work on domestic properties in the UK.
City & Guilds
City & Guilds is a vocational assessment and accreditation provider with qualifications suitable for colleges, training providers and employers. Covering 28 different industries, City & Guilds have thousands of qualifications and are recognised worldwide.
City & Guilds is well established and probably the most recognised of the three, with the City and Guilds of London Institute founded in 1878. C&G was established to ensure a good standard of technical education.
EAL
EAL is a “specialist skills partner and awarding organisation for the industry”. Working with recognised training centres, EAL ensures a high standard of training and qualifications. Over the last decade, 1.3 million people in the UK have embarked on EAL qualifications, with many undertaking bespoke training to allow employees to credit their achievements.
EAL work closely with its centres and provide a dedicated EAL External Quality Assurer for support. The Engineering Industry Training Board was founded in 1964, and EAL was introduced in 1992.
LCL
LCL, formally known as Logic Certification, has a network of over 200 approved centres throughout the United Kingdom. They issue certificates in gas heating, oil heating, energy efficiency, plumbing and electrics. More recently, they’ve also developed industry qualifications for renewable technologies – recognised by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Registration Bodies.
In 2004, LCL initially only delivered certification of competence for the ACS (Accredited Certification Scheme).
The ACS is the qualification gas fitters must obtain before registering with the Gas Safe Register. Since then, LCL has grown, responding to industry and centre requirements. As a result, they now offer awards in various areas of building services engineering (BSE).
Which one is better?
City & Guilds, EAL and LCL are all certification bodies, ensuring students complete accredited training courses and gain legitimate qualifications. Though the course titles and setup may differ depending on which certification body your training centre follows, the result should be the same.
Regardless of which accreditation body your training provider is with, you will need to undertake a course that enables you to gain your desired qualifications.
For example, you’ll need an ACS qualification to apply for Gas Safe registration to become a legal and qualified gas engineer. You can do so by completing our Domestic Gas Training Course.
You will need an NVQ Level 3 in electrical training to seek employment as an installation electrician. In addition, the training course should lead you to register for a competent persons scheme and apply for your ECS Gold Card.
