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October 2017: On Thursday 19 October Leader in skills development City & Guilds, and global chefs’ network Worldchefs scooped the top award for innovation of the year at the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) annual conference.
The pair won the award after collaborating to create an innovative new online tool that allows chefs to earn a globally recognised professional certification without even having to leave the kitchen. The tool was developed by Digitalme, a City & Guilds Group company that specialises in digital credentialing.
Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Managing Director of City & Guilds, said: “We’re delighted to be recognised by FAB for innovation in our work with Worldchefs on this global culinary certification tool. The award is an important acknowledgement of the success of the Worldchefs certification and the benefits it is already bringing to the culinary industry.”
“Technology is transforming the way people learn and develop their skills globally and we believe that digital credentialing is the start of a revolution in the way skills are recognised across the world. The culinary industry is leading the way and I hope that many more industries realise the potential of digital credentialing over the coming years.”
In 2016, Worldchefs and the City & Guilds Group created the new digital platform which allows chefs to be fully recognised for their experience gained whilst working in the industry. Using the tool, participants can verify their expertise at nine different levels which include professional cook, master chef, master pastry chef and culinary educator.
The Worldchefs Global Culinary Certification is a first in the culinary industry and enables experienced chefs, cooks and culinary educators, as well as students who are embarking on their careers, to have their skills and experience validated by the industry professionals at Worldchefs whilst earning the stamp of quality that the City & Guilds brand assures. It is available to employers, training institutions as well as individuals.
The certification uses a digital currency, called ‘open badges’, that has been developed by DigitalMe, and allows chefs to showcase their skills and experience online, on social media and job sites, giving employers instant information on what individuals have achieved.
Chris Kirk, Managing Director of Digitalme, said: “We are so proud to have helped City & Guilds and Worldchefs win this FAB award for innovation. The tool we created together is already helping people and organisations across the culinary industry to truly articulate the huge range of skills they have at their disposal which would have otherwise been invisible to them. With this anyplace and anytime assessment and recognition model, we can play a part in tackling the global skills shortage that the culinary industry faces with portable and trusted recognition that moves across borders.”
“The Worldchefs certification focuses on closing the gap between the skills employers in the culinary industry need and the skills they can see – by helping individuals to clearly promote when they have met the standard and creating a trusted forum to share and have these validated online.”
John Clancy, Director of Education at Worldchefs, said “We are extraordinarily honoured that our work on the global recognition tool has won the FAB Innovation of the Year Award. For every hardworking and aspiring chef across the globe, the Worldchefs certification offers a unique – and much needed – solution. It makes it easier to get skills validated, to grow careers and to help raise professional culinary standards globally. We are delighted to see the certification gain such meaningful industry recognition for these goals and look forward to continuing to certify chefs from Ecuador to Sweden to Taiwan.”
If you would like to find out more about the Worldchefs global certification please visit www.worldchefs.org/certification.
If you would like to find out more about the power of digital credentialing visit the DigitalMe website http://www.digitalme.co.uk/
ENDS:
Notes to Editor
- The City & Guilds Group (cityandguilds.com) is a global leader in skills education. Approximately two million people are currently working towards City & Guilds qualifications, which are offered in more than 20 industry sectors.
- The City & Guilds Group operates in 80 countries, with regional offices in Malaysia, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Dubai, South Africa and New Zealand. City & Guilds is incorporated by a royal charter and its president is HRH The Princess Royal. Any surpluses made through its work is reinvested into education or used for student support programmes.
- Digitalme, A City & Guilds Group Business, offers digital credentialing services to help organisations and individuals realise their potential by making all skills visible – digitalme.co.uk.
- The Open Badge Academy (OBA) is an online marketplace and evidenced-based assessment platform, developed by Digitalme, that enables organisations to offer people opportunities to discover, evidence and gain recognition and endorsement, using Open Badges, for the in-demand skills they need to transition into employment and progress in their career – openbadgeacademy.com.
- Open Badges is a global, open digital credentialing (certification) standard for the recognition of formal, informal and non-formal development – https://openbadges.org .
- Worldchefs is a thriving global network of more than 100 chefs’ associations, founded nearly a century ago, in October 1928 at the Sorbonne in Paris, with the venerable August Escoffier as first Honorary President Worldchefs is a global authority on food, establishing impact through leadership and action in three core areas:
- Education: providing ongoing world-class professional development across all culinary levels and creating the world’s first global culinary certification
- Events and competition: providing a gateway to global networking and learning opportunities
- Feed the Planet: delivering humanitarian and sustainability initiatives which create better lives, better food and better futures for all of our communities across the planet through advocacy, partnerships, and passion.
