A qualification proves you know the job. Accreditation proves you’re a professional.
Accreditation builds on the standard and puts your standing on the NBSA's verified national register.
Accreditation extends the qualification with four areas every great adviser does instinctively.
Professional relationships
Trust, boundaries, adapting to the client in front of you, reflecting on what works.
Developmental practice
Moving clients from discussion to action; balancing support with challenge; evaluating impact.
Referral networks
Knowing the limits of your expertise and signposting well, within the wider ecosystem.
Enterprise & economic context
Applying real knowledge of enterprise and growth environments in advisory work.
Maintained, not one-off
Accreditation is a living credential. Accredited advisers complete CPD each year, logged with an annual verified declaration, and their current standing is visible on the register. Specialist Credentials recognise deep expertise in named areas, shown as badges on the register profile, so commissioners can match advisers to need (see Specialist Credentials).
Join the pilot cohorts
Ahead of the official September launch, a first group of combined and local authorities are being invited to put cohorts of advisers through the new qualification and accreditation, by the levy-funded apprenticeship route delivered with ALM. The cohorts test the delivery model, prove the new qualification in practice, and help shape the updated national Standard before it is formally set.
Taking part now means your advisers are among the first on the register when it launches, and your authority helps decide what the national Standard becomes.
Founding membership of the Alliance opens with the full launch later in 2026. Pilot authorities are the first invited.