IED to approve Autodesk professional training

The IED undertook an in depth evaluation of around 80 Autodesk design courses and has now awarded Approved status – confirming adherence to the institution's professional standards in content and course delivery. The next phase of the roll-out is for IED, working alongside Autodesk EMEA education and training distributor KnowledgePoint, to provide certification of Autodesk's network of Authorised Training Centres (ATCs) across the UK. Once certified, each ATC will receive a certificate from the IED, stating that it is an approved training organisation, and that it is providing approved and authorised Autodesk courses. Linda Copestake, manager of the City of Bristol ATC and also a member of council at IED, says: "At the Bristol facility, we are looking forward to working with KnowledgePoint to ensure we achieve this new level of certification." And she adds: "Having IED accreditation will give the training centre and the individuals who pass Autodesk certification exams here a still greater level of industry credibility." Students who are successful in achieving certification from Autodesk at these ATCs will also receive an additional certificate from the IED, stating they have completed an IED-approved training course. "The work we have carried out in approving [Autodesk's] training and certification programme will help raise awareness of the benefits to students, employees and employers across the UK," comments Libby Brodhurst, chief executive of the IED. "At the same time, it provides further reassurance to those groups that an independent third party has verified the quality of the courses and taken the time to ensure that they are aligned to the needs of industry today," she adds.