Certiforce has been active in vocational education (MBO) for over 25 years. The establishment of Certiforce was a direct result of discussions with former Minister of Education, Loek Hermans, regarding the value of a certifying institution for the education sector. Over the years, Certiforce has grown into a renowned partner for the education sector in the areas of training, consultancy, and certification. Through its services, Certiforce aims to contribute to the quality improvement of educational and training organizations.
Leon van Belle has been the director and owner of Certiforce for 14 years. At Certiforce, Leon ensures everything runs smoothly. This means that, in addition to managing the company, he also conducts assessments and is involved in providing consultancy, particularly at the board level of vocational schools.
Challenge
Certiforce focuses on certifying exam providers and ensuring the quality assurance of examinations within vocational education. Leon explains:
"Our company has been around for over 25 years now. During this time, we have witnessed many changes, especially in legislation and regulations concerning examinations."
In 2018, for instance, it was mandated that all exam providers must be certified and that the expertise of exam officials within vocational institutions must be demonstrable.
"Our biggest challenge is to remain continuously up to date and to find the right experts who can support our clients in this evolving environment. To achieve this, we use the Skillsly register, which helps us gain insights into the competencies and knowledge of our participants."
Solution
"We chose Skillsly because it offers exactly what we need: a platform that provides clear insights into the competencies of participants undergoing certification. This is particularly important for members of examination committees, as they must have the right qualifications. With the e-portfolios and the Skillsly register, we can document this effectively."
"What truly made the difference is the collaboration with the Skillsly team. They think alongside us and help tailor processes to our needs. They supported us in creating assessment profiles and questionnaires, which enabled us to structure and streamline our assessment process."
"The implementation process also went smoothly thanks to the intensive collaboration with the team in Nijkerk. We worked closely together to optimize the system, and the support from the helpdesk was fantastic. As a result, we were able to integrate Skillsly into our daily operations quickly and efficiently."
Results
The results achieved with Skillsly are impressive, says Leon.
"By automating many processes, our back office has become much more efficient, allowing us to handle significantly more work with the same team."
The continuous education module ensures that exam officials keep their knowledge up to date and remain demonstrably competent.
"Currently, we have about 3,000 participants in our system, and thanks to Skillsly, the process is much more streamlined and transparent."
What Leon has particularly learned from using Skillsly is the importance of clearly and explicitly defining assessment criteria. "The feedback we receive through Skillsly helps us tremendously in refining and improving these criteria."
Skillsly also plays a crucial role in our upcoming project, the National Assessors Register.
"We need a well-functioning register in which the expertise of all vocational education assessors is recorded, and we can rely on Skillsly for that."
"What I appreciate most about Skillsly is not just its technical functionality but also the human aspect. The team in Nijkerk provides excellent service and always thinks along with us. Skillsly is more than just an IT solution for us; it is a partner that supports us in our mission to safeguard the quality of examinations in vocational education."