Certification Framework
The skills- and competency-based model behind IIoET certification across the four domains.
- Reference
- IIOET-FWK-0009
- Version
- 1.0
- Issued
- 8 October 2026
- Approved by
- Board of IIOET Limited
- Classification
- Public
1. Purpose
IIoET certifications are competency-based credentials awarded by IIoET against its own published standards. Each certification states what a practitioner can do in a defined area of practice, is awarded only on assessed evidence, and is kept current through continuing professional development. Certifications give practitioners, particularly those early and mid-way through their careers, a recognisable and portable benchmark of competence that employers can trust.
IIoET certifications are distinct from any chartered or protected title, and holding one does not imply that IIoET holds or confers chartered status. They are also distinct from membership grades, as explained in section 9.
This framework sets out the model that every IIoET certification follows: how certifications are structured and levelled, how their syllabi are written and approved, how candidates are assessed, how certifications are kept valid, and how appeals and malpractice are handled. Individual certifications are published under this framework as their standards are approved.
2. Principles
Every IIoET certification assesses what a practitioner can do, not only what they know. Each is built from a published competency standard that anyone can read. Assessment is evidence-based, fair to candidates from every background, and secure against malpractice. Certifications are designed for the convergence between domains as well as within them, and are reviewed regularly so that they keep pace with the technology.
3. Certification levels
IIoET certifications are offered at a small number of levels, each related to a level of responsibility in the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), so that a certification and a membership grade can be read against a common scale. There are three levels: Foundation, Practitioner and Advanced.
| Certification level | Related SFIA level | Intended for |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Level 2, Assist | Entrants and early-career practitioners, including those on the Emerging Careers Pathway |
| Practitioner | Level 3, Apply | Practitioners applying established methods with growing independence |
| Advanced | Level 4, Enable | Experienced practitioners who lead or assure work in the area |
Core certifications at the foundation level are designed in particular to rebuild the first rung of the career ladder, giving entrants a credible way to show employers what they can do before they have the experience that automation increasingly denies them.
4. Pathways
IIoET will offer a certification pathway in each of its four domains. Each pathway is built from one or more certifications, each with its own syllabus and level. Each pathway opens with certifications at Foundation and Practitioner level, and adds an Advanced certification once the Practitioner standard is established. Each syllabus is published on iioet.org when it is approved under section 5, and no certification is offered until its syllabus is published.
Artificial intelligence
Indicative scope: AI assurance and governance, AI risk management, the security of models and AI supply chains, and the responsible deployment of AI in regulated sectors.
Quantum
Indicative scope: quantum readiness for organisations, post-quantum cryptography and migration planning, and the foundations of quantum computing, communications and sensing.
Blockchain
Indicative scope: distributed ledger architecture, smart contract security and assurance, digital assets, decentralised identity, and the regulation of decentralised systems.
Cyber security
Indicative scope: security architecture for emerging technology, AI in offence and defence, cryptographic transition, and resilience and assurance.
IIoET may also develop certifications that span domains, for example on cryptographic transition, which draws on quantum, cyber security and blockchain practice. Such certifications follow the same model.
5. How syllabi are written and approved
5.1 Each certification has a published syllabus that states its purpose, the level, the competencies a candidate must show, the knowledge that underpins them, the assessment method and the conditions of award.
5.2 Syllabi are written by a development group of subject experts, including Fellows and practising members in the domain, with input from employers and, for foundation certifications, from educators and early-career practitioners. Members of a development group declare any conflict of interest, including any interest in training providers.
5.3 A draft syllabus is reviewed by people who were not involved in writing it, and is published on iioet.org for comment for six weeks before approval.
5.4 Syllabi are approved by the Standards Committee, acting for the Board. Each approved syllabus is published on iioet.org and kept under version control.
5.5 Each syllabus is reviewed at least every two years, and sooner where changes in technology, law or practice make that necessary. Candidates are told which syllabus version they were assessed against.
5.6 Where a syllabus draws on SFIA, it refers to SFIA levels and skills by number and name only and does not reproduce SFIA descriptions.
6. Assessment methods
6.1 Each certification uses the assessment methods best suited to the competencies it covers. Methods may include practical tasks completed under observation or in a controlled environment, scenario-based examinations, the assessment of a portfolio of work, and professional discussion with an assessor. Knowledge-only examinations are used only alongside a method that tests application.
6.2 Assessments are designed, set and marked to published criteria. Examinations are reviewed for validity and fairness before use, and results are analysed after each sitting.
6.3 Assessors are qualified in the domain, trained in the assessment method, and declare conflicts of interest. No one assesses a candidate they have trained, unless the method has been designed to manage that conflict.
6.4 IIoET makes reasonable adjustments for candidates who need them, without lowering the standard being assessed.
6.5 Remote and online assessment is used only where its integrity can be assured. Online examinations are remotely proctored, with identity checks before the assessment and recording throughout. Practical assessments take place in controlled environments provided by IIoET or an approved assessment centre.
6.6 IIoET may approve training providers to deliver courses aligned to a syllabus. Approval of a training provider does not delegate the award of the certification, which remains with IIoET.
7. Validity and recertification
7.1 Each certification is valid for three years from the date of award.
7.2 A certification is renewed by showing continued competence, normally through relevant continuing professional development recorded under the Continuing Professional Development Policy (IIOET-POL-0008), with at least ten hours of activity relevant to the certification in each year of its validity. Advanced certifications are also renewed by reassessment, normally a professional discussion with an assessor.
7.3 Where a syllabus changes significantly, IIoET publishes a transition period during which holders can move to the new version.
7.4 A certification that is not renewed lapses. A lapsed certification may no longer be claimed or displayed as current.
8. Digital credentials
Each certification is awarded with a digital credential that the holder can share and that anyone can verify. IIoET issues credentials through Credly. A credential shows the certification, its level, the syllabus version, the date of award and the expiry date. Credentials are revoked if a certification lapses or is withdrawn. IIoET also maintains its own verification service on iioet.org.
9. Relationship to membership grades
9.1 A certification attests competence in a defined area of practice. A membership grade attests the overall level at which a practitioner works across their domain, and carries the obligations of membership, including the Code of Conduct (IIOET-COD-0005) and the CPD requirement.
9.2 Certification does not require membership, and membership does not require certification. A certification does not confer a membership grade or designatory letters.
9.3 Under the Membership Grades and Admission Framework (IIOET-FWK-0006), a current IIoET certification is accepted as evidence towards the skills it covers when a candidate applies for an assessed grade, but it does not by itself establish the SFIA level of the grade.
9.4 Certification holders who are not members are nonetheless expected to observe the standards of conduct set out in the Code of Conduct while acting under their certification, and agree to do so as a condition of award.
10. Appeals
10.1 A candidate may ask for a review of a result within 14 days of receiving it. A review checks that the assessment was conducted and marked correctly.
10.2 A candidate who remains dissatisfied may appeal within 28 days of the review outcome on the grounds that the assessment was not conducted in line with this framework or the syllabus, in a way that affected the result. Appeals are decided by people with no involvement in the original assessment, and the decision is final within IIoET.
11. Malpractice
11.1 Malpractice includes cheating, impersonation, the unauthorised use of assessment material, the misuse of artificial intelligence tools where they are not permitted, and the false claiming of a certification. IIoET investigates suspected malpractice by candidates, assessors and approved training providers.
11.2 Where malpractice is found, IIoET may void a result, withdraw a certification and revoke its credential, bar a candidate from assessment for a period, or withdraw approval from a training provider. Members involved in malpractice may also be referred under the Complaints and Disciplinary Procedure (IIOET-PRC-0007).
12. Organisational certification
This framework covers the certification of individuals. IIoET’s organisational certification scheme is separate. Its rules are set out separately in the Organisational Certification Scheme Rules (IIOET-SCH-0016).