Vision, Mission and History

At Gateway Qualifications, we have a vision to provide a gateway to success for all learners and apprentices.

Our mission is to be a major voice in the awarding sector by influencing policy, providing thought leadership, and advocating for our community. We will support learners’ and apprentices’ life and career progression by innovative products and services to foster future skills. Through collaboration and digital transformation, we will build strong relationships and offer excellent customer service.

As an Awarding Organisation, we do this by providing a wide range of Regulated qualifications, Access to HE Diplomas and Apprenticeships to education and training providers.

At Gateway Qualifications we believe:

  • We are all individuals, and will thrive with learning that suits the way we learn.
  • Every learner is different, and we offer a range of flexible products to cater to their needs.
  • Learning champions future success, and the positive experience you have of learning is just as important and life-defining as the success at the end of it.
  • Inspirational learning experiences empower learners, builds their self-esteem, confidence and life skills, and will make them more employable.

Everything we do at Gateway Qualifications is based on these values:

Our Values

Partnership

Working together

Supporting teamwork across the organisation

Communicating, listening, supporting and collaborating

Integrity

Behaving ethically, with openness and honesty

Trusting and respecting each other

Taking ownership of our performance

Originality

Embracing change

Thinking creatively and innovating

Encouraging positive risk taking

Quality

Striving to do things right every time

Taking pride in what we do

Continuously improving

Our History

Our expert teams have been supporting providers and changing futures for more than 30 years.

  • 1982 – Gateway Qualifications ethos is firmly rooted in the Open College Network tradition. First launched in Manchester in 1982, Open Colleges sprang up across the country, with the core aim of providing a credit-based approach to learning
  • 1992 – The Essex Open College Federation was founded, and in the following years this was merged with other Open College Networks in the Anglia, North East London and Hertfordshire areas
  • 2005 – This group became known as OCN Eastern Region
  • 2014 – OCN Eastern Region was rebranded as Gateway Qualifications
  • 2022 – Gateway Qualifications named as Awarding Organisation of the Year by the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB)
  • 2023 – Gateway Qualifications won three Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) awards, including, Individual of the Year, Qualification of the Year and  AO/Provider Relationship of the Year
  • 2024 – Gateway Qualifications won a further two Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) awards, for Qualification of the Year and Learner of the Year.

Our future

We’re always looking forward, knowing we have a strong and reassuring track record based on more than 30 years of experience in the sector.

Our ambition remains the same. We want to empower learners everywhere, whatever their background or ability, by providing learning experiences that inspire personal development.

If you share our vision, contact us so we can work together to change futures.