Building knowledge, skills and credibility to advise social entrepreneurs well

Despite the growing importance of social enterprise support, there has historically been no clear, nationally recognised development route for social enterprise advisers. This qualification has been created to address that gap, providing a professional, values-led standard for those supporting purpose-led organisations.

Developed in partnership with Durham University, a business school ranked in the top 1% globally for research excellence, this qualification brings academic rigour to a field that has traditionally relied on informal or experience-led learning alone.

This qualification is designed for people who support social enterprises professionally and want to do that work responsibly, effectively and with confidence.

It focuses on the real-world practice of coaching social enterprises, supporting learners to develop the judgement, tools and ethical approach needed to work with founders and organisations at different stages from early ideas through to growth and consolidation.

The qualification emphasises practical application, reflective practice and learning through real advisory contexts. Learners build capability by applying learning directly to their advisory work and developing a professional portfolio that demonstrates competence in practice

You can expect 240 hours total qualification time with 38 hours guided learning.