Frequently Asked Questions

In the Netherlands, Europe. IBCT is registered as a foundation at the Chamber of Commerce of Netherlands and has its official statutes with the foundation profile under the number of KVK30248256. Part of the Chamber of Commerce rules in Netherlands is making all essential information of registered bodies, such as the office address, a copy of the rental contract, PO box, contact details, the Board, the persons who can legally act on behalf of the organization and notarial act available to the public via their website. 

IBCT is a full member of INQAAHE (The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education), a worldwide association of nearly 200 organizations. IBCT is found to meet the INQAAHE’s Criteria for full membership.
Check the INQAAHE’s website.

No, Board members, trainers, consultants, and advisors are volunteers since IBCT is a not-for-profit organization. They are only entitled to receive limited compensation for their expenses from IBCT. However, the office staff is fully paid. 

According to the bylaws of the foundation, volunteers and master trainers can receive a maximum exemption of 25-75% (depending on the efforts exerted) of their gross membership costs and/or (re)certification costs. 

IBCT is the world’s leading professional certification body for HRD practices. We provide the following HRD-related certification services:

• Qualifying and Certifying Trainers, based on our international and state-of-the-industry standards (this is our main bag! Please visit our page of trainer certification to know more)
• Certifying training facilities, centers, and companies.
• Certifying training materials, packages, and programs.
• Conducting specially tailored train-the-trainer programs according to the client needs
• Providing professional HRD consultations such as training needs analysis, program design & development, leadership development, organizational development, and many other HR-related domains.
• Conducting HR conferences and seminars
• Carrying out HR Research
• Developing and producing educational training materials, movies, and manuals.

IBCT strictly keeps the privacy of its trainers and clients. We highly respect the intellectual rights (of training) materials.
For starters,  we follow the strict Dutch laws in this regard. IBCT and its members comply with these laws even in countries where there are non-or less strict laws. IBCT members violating copyrights legalization lose their certification status. Meanwhile,  IBCT follows the GDPR of the EU. In July 2017, IBCT adjusted its privacy policies to comply with the new European laws. Our training partners outside the European Union are requested to follow the GDPR if possible.

Our services are available to all kinds of organizations (governmental agencies, business organizations, and NGOs, others). We have great experience in serving the higher educational institutions.

The IBCT applies the following Admission requirements, Conduction Rules & Achievement Policy for IBCT train-the-trainer programs:

• Participant should pass the admission Interview to Join the Program.
• A minimum of 100% full attendance of all the training sessions are required to receive the IBCT certificate.
• Participant must achieve, at least, 50% of each examination section to pass the program and get licensed by IBCT.
• For participants who could not achieve one section of the examination, they will be granted two chances to re-do the same examination section within following 6 months. If they fail after the second chance, they must attend the entire program again.
• For participants who could not achieve two sections of the examination, they will be granted only two chances to re-attend the program.
• For participants who achieve the program with the minimal passing rate, they will be on probation for 6 months. In the meantime, they will receive their certificates and licenses normally. For more details about the probation status, please consult your senior trainer.

The real capability of IBCT is demonstrated by its international intellectual capital. IBCT has a pool of Certified Trainers and HRD consultants who got state of the art train-the-trainer training in addition to a large pool of university professors and experts in the field of  HRM, quality assurance, leadership and change management and many other fields.

Since training-of-trainers is a very intensive and demanding specialism with relatively low demand in the market, the return on investment is usually uncertain. Therefore, going on a partnership with IBCT in this regard is highly appreciated by our train-the-trainer partners. We provide our partners with our world-class TTT training packages, certification exams and/or master train-the-trainers to qualify and certify their trainers. Hens, you as a partner, will have no more wasted time and money-consuming activities in developing performance standards, training materials, examinations or finding qualified master-trainers. At the same time, through such partnerships, IBCT achieves its goals as a not-for-profit organization seeking the noble aim of standardizing more trainers on the international standards across the globe.

First, trainers may display their certification status and level by putting the credential AT, CPT or CT/HRDC after their name. As long as trainers stay certified they may use the IBCT quality seal on their printed and virtual matter (e.g. on your business cards, website or LinkedIn profile). IBCT Certification provides clear evidence of the investment you have made in your Training and Talent Development career and represents a concrete milestone in the profession.

Second, institutes or Certified Training Centers that certified their center, facilities or training programs may use the certification badge or quality seal on their printed and virtual matter (e.g. on your business cards, website, brochures, social media, etc.) as long as trainers stay certified.

Certified trainers, institutes with certified training programs and certified training centers can use the specifically developed IBCT quality seals and badges as proof of their accreditation. Authorized users must use these logos with due diligence, based on the guidelines.

Our train-the-trainer programs mainly are held in IBCT Certified Training Centers, IBCT Certified train-the-trainer partners and could be also held on the customer site after the approval of the clients’ training facilities. IBCT train-the-trainer partners and focal point are spread over multiple continents, check our partners’ page.

IBCT welcomes applications from training professionals who are:

• Qualified and certified by IBCT.
• Conducting skills training on different subjects on a regular basis and sharing on a voluntary basis the results with the IBCT via the MyEvaluation link.
• Signed the volunteer train-the-trainer agreement with IBCT.
• Committed to conduct TOT programs exclusively with IBCT and form no competition to the participants, focal points in the region or to the IBCT. This to guarantee a safe and trusted learning environment and to comply with our Code of Conduct.

IBCT experts follow our selection criteria while interviewing candidates who want to join our train-the-trainer programs. IBCT interviewers usually ask various questions to assess the candidates’ readiness to join the TOT training under the following sections:

• Motivation
• Teamwork Skills
• Coping Abilities
• Positive Attitudes
• Personal Traits 

No. IBCT is acknowledging all kind of online educational activities for continuing education and to maintain your certification. However, to qualify for certification the Board is sure that professionals need to attend face-to-face training programs, via our focal points and certified train-the-trainer partners, to acquire the appropriate skills and become certified as training and talent development professionals.

Basically, there are 5 main requirements to complete your recertification process:

1. Completing your three-year professional development plan through our e-Planner tool.
2. Submitting of a reflection report depicting a complete training experience you went through the last three years; a full explanation of the components of this report, including the submission procedure, is available in our online system.
3. Pass the written examination. This will be emailed to you after step 2.
4. Demonstrate recent customer satisfaction in your role as training professional and provide a letter of recommendation from a local director.
5. An interview with one of the appointed Board member of your region.
   Click here to have your access to our Online Recertification System to know more.

1. To keep your certification status valid, you are encouraged to stay current in the Training and Talent Development profession and recertify every three years. IBCT trainers may utilize exclusively, during the recertifying cycle, the online recertification system with access to:

   • e-planner tool, a smart electronic system that was developed to allow our certified trainers to simply and effortlessly plan their professional development activities for the coming three years based on the IBCT competency model.

   • The reflective report facilitator will smartly guide and facilitate certified trainers to professionally report on a major learning experience they went through during the past 3 years of certification.

   • A great selection of online on-demand crash courses, which certified trainers may choose from, to support them in strengthening their career development. By 2020, studying and passing, at least one crash course, became one main requirement for attaining eligibility for recertification.

2. You may expect e-badges, a certificate and social media promotion after recertification.
3. The Board provides advice and support to its members through senior consultants.
4. You are allowed to ask for a credential letter from the Board to support applications and election procedures.

The Center Certification fee varies according to several factors. Please note that IBCT in a not-for-profit foundation and requires the running costs only for its certification services. please contact us to get more details.

For the full differences, we refer to the standards, please visit the materials certification page. However, the main differences can be outlined as follows. The first level, training materials certification, focuses mainly on standardizing and certifying 2 components of a training package, the trainee’s and trainer’s guides only. But the second level, certifying training packages, focuses on standardizing the full training package, which means supportive media, examination method and tools are included in addition to the above-mentioned training guides. With the certification of a training program, the highest level of certification, IBCT checks and audit will cover all elements of the training program, starting from the training needs analysis to the impact of the training at the work environment, career and/or organization results.

The fee of training materials certification varies according to several factors, such as duration, complexity of the subject matter, language, etc. Please contact us to get more details. However, IBCT always requires the basic running costs of all certification types because of its not-for-profit nature.

Please visit our training materials certification page and fill in the online form and specify the form/level of materials certification you want to inquire about. We will reply you with all the required details within two working days.

The Lead Auditor (Chair) must be trained in accordance with the requirements of IBCT, the Code of Conduct, and the Guidelines of Good Practice (GGP) of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE). During a preparatory consultation, the process supervisor explains the framework and the procedure of the assessment and the attitude expected of the auditor during the discussions. The process supervisor also ensures that the audit team is calibrated by going through the interpretation of the standards, the judgments, and the decision rules. Prior to the consultation, the audit team examines the information file of the training program compiled by the Institute. During the meeting, the team members share their first impressions, formulate questions for the (virtual) site visit, and agree on a working method for the site visit.

The institution may withdraw the application during the entire assessment process, up to the moment when the IBCT Board has taken a final decision. The administrative handling starts with the submission of the advisory report by the lead auditor to the Board. In all cases, this leads to the publication of the advisory report. If the institution withdraws the application for presentation of the advisory report by the Lead Auditor to IBCT’s Board, IBCT will not publish the advisory report.

 Residual fees apply if the application for a certification for a new training program is withdrawn, in 2017-2020:

• prior to expert reviewing activities: 25% of the total fee.
• prior to (virtual) site visits: 60% of the total fee.
• after site visits: 100% of the total fee.

Certification audits are planned especially for a client. IBCT appoints a process supervisor, recruits expert reviewers, schedule meetings, travel preparations, site visits, etcetera. It is therefore not just possible to move/cancel a certification audit. If you still want to move the audit, we advise you to do this as early as possible. The IBCT process supervisor can then try to find alternative data or experts who can take over the tasks. If this is the case, the audit will be moved at the actual additional cost. If we can’t find anyone to be a substitute, the costs will still have to be passed on. If the audit is canceled the following residual fees apply:

• prior to expert reviewing activities: 25% of the total fee.
• prior to (virtual) site visits 60% of the total fee.
• after site visits: 100% of the total fee.

The study load is quantified based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Twenty-eight study hours are 1 EC. The study load of each training program is expressed by the institutional board in credits (ECs).

The audit team’s assessment is based on the institution’s own vision and choices, thus doing justice to the training institution’s autonomy. The audit team asks itself whether there is sufficient support from trainers, trainees, the labor market, and society. The team then checks whether the vision has been translated into an appropriate education policy, which is effectively implemented and the results of which are systematically monitored. It must be visible to the auditors how reflection on evaluation results and follow-up of developments in the social context result in improvements, adjustments, and development of the program. The institution provides transparent information for trainees, employers, and other social actors with regard to the quality of the training programs.

A fraternal judgment takes place in the team of auditors. In doing so, equal justice is done to the different perspectives on quality represented in the team, including the trainee’s and trainer’s perspective. The panel strives for consensus in its judgment.

The verdict would be one of the followings:

• Certified
• Conditionally Certified
• Not Certified