Academy Quality Course for Banks: Programme Audits, Supplier Control and Learner Evidence

Programme Summary

Academy quality is the subject of this one-week training course for heads of learning and development, training managers, academy directors and quality officers, taught at managerial level and ending in an academy quality plan for one bank. Banks spend heavily on training, yet few can show that sessions were well run, that suppliers meet agreed standards or that learning reached the job. The programme moves from standards to programme audits, supplier control and learner evidence, using prepared records from a bank academy and an insurer. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on academy quality to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

Leaders who audit delivery, hold suppliers to written standards and link learning to work results can defend training budgets with evidence. Where training quality is judged by attendance and satisfaction scores alone, weak content and unreliable suppliers continue unseen, and executives question the spend. Banks also carry reputational and conduct exposure when staff are trained by providers whose standards nobody has checked. The programme works on the measures below.

• Training Spend Efficiency: Improves when weak programmes and suppliers are found and replaced on evidence.
• Programme Quality Scores: Rise when audit findings lead to corrected content and delivery.
• Job Application of Learning: Increases when managers follow up and results are tracked.

Principles and Evidence Base

• Kirkpatrick four-level model: A model of reaction, learning, behaviour and results, applied in Session 4 to plan evidence for each programme.
• ISO 10015: International guidelines on competence management and people development, applied in Session 1 to set the quality cycle for training.
• Plan-do-check-act cycle: A loop of planning, doing, checking and correcting, applied in Sessions 2 and 5 to turn audit findings into change.

Intended Participants

• Heads of learning and development who own training standards and budgets.
• Training managers who plan programmes and manage trainers.
• Academy directors who answer to the executive team for results.
• Quality officers who audit processes and report nonconformities.

Typical settings include banks, insurers, payment companies and development finance institutions.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to construct a quality standard for training design and delivery.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose weaknesses in a programme through audit and observation.
3. Participants will be able to evaluate suppliers and trainers against written criteria.
4. Participants will be able to design an evidence plan across the four levels of evaluation.
5. Participants will be able to prioritise corrective actions by impact and effort.
6. Participants will be able to justify an academy quality plan to an executive committee.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Academy Quality Foundations and Standards

What does quality mean for a bank's learning function, and who sets it?

• Learning Function Quality Map
• Quality Policy and Standards Sheet
• ISO 10015 Training Cycle Review
• Stakeholder Requirements Matrix
• Quality Measures Inventory

Day 2: Programme Audits and Delivery Diagnosis

How is the quality of a programme checked, and where does it fail?

• Programme Audit Checklist
• Classroom and Online Observation Form
• Learner Feedback Pulse Analysis
• Content Currency Review
• Nonconformity and Root Cause Log

Day 3: Supplier Control and Trainer Review

How are external providers chosen, held to standard and replaced?

• Supplier Selection Scorecard
• Trainer Qualification Record
• Contract Quality Clause Checklist
• Supplier Performance Review Grid
• Subcontractor Risk Register

Day 4: Learner Evidence and Impact Evaluation

What evidence shows that learning reached the job?

• Kirkpatrick Four-Level Evaluation Plan
• Pre- and Post-Assessment Design
• Manager Follow-Up Observation Form
• Performance Data Link Table
• Impact Evidence Summary Sheet

Day 5: Academy Quality Plan for One Bank

Do the findings join into a plan that an executive committee can approve?

• Applying the Session 1 Standards Sheet
• Testing the Session 2 Audit Findings
• Checking the Session 3 Supplier Scorecard
• Reviewing the Session 4 Evidence Plan
• Completing the Academy Quality Plan

Methodology

The programme is a field-style audit simulation built on prepared records from a bank academy and an insurer: programme designs, observation notes, supplier contracts, feedback results and assessment data. Participants audit a programme, rate a supplier, compare options, plan evidence and defend their findings to peers acting as an executive committee.

• Suggested activity: Auditing a recorded session against a quality standard.
• Suggested activity: Scoring two suppliers against one contract checklist.
• Suggested activity: Planning how a sales programme will show results on the job.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes an academy quality plan for one bank. It holds a quality standard, an audit schedule, a supplier scorecard, an evidence plan and a ranked list of corrective actions. At work it goes to the executive committee for approval and becomes the basis for reviewing programmes and suppliers each cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is academy quality training suitable for managers who have not worked in quality assurance?

Yes. Academy quality is taught through prepared records and templates. You need responsibility for training programmes, suppliers or results, but no audit qualification.

Which models does academy quality rest on in this training?

Academy quality here rests on the Kirkpatrick four-level model for evaluation, ISO 10015 for competence management and people development, and the plan-do-check-act cycle for improvement.

How is the plan from academy quality training used at work?

You take the academy quality plan to your executive committee, use its audit schedule to review programmes and keep its supplier scorecard for contract renewals.