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ISO 21001 certification

The certification helps educational institutions position themselves competitively by confirming the quality of their offerings in accordance with international standards. The standard focuses on learners’ needs and takes into account the institution’s entire environment.

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Conformity Mark ISO 21001

ISO 21001 certification as a competitive advantage

Many educational institutions face regional or even national competition. TÜV NORD CERT offers ISO 21001 certification so that you can position yourself favourably with your target groups as an educational service provider. The certificate signals to potential customers that the quality of your training courses meets internationally recognised standards.

In terms of content, ISO 21001 focuses primarily on the needs of the learners - at the same time, however, it also considers the teachers and the entire social, economic and ecological environment of your organisation. Thematically and conceptually, the standard is orientated towards the relevant topics of educational institutions, regardless of the type of learning service.

The standard also contains tips for the successful and practical implementation of the requirements.

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Target group

  • All organisations and companies involved in vocational training and lifelong learning (from early childhood education to adult education)
  • Academies and higher education institutions
  • In-house training and further education
  • All types of teaching and learning methods

Advantages and benefits of ISO 21001 certification

The ISO 21001 certificate is an effective and confidence-building tool to:

  • make your own educational organisation more competitive in the context of its educational mission, vision and goals
  • demonstrate constantly increasing effectiveness and efficiency by means of consistent processes and suitable evaluation tools
  • demonstrate the application of international best practice solutions in education management
  • stimulate excellence and innovation.

  • Identification as a quality provider through successful certification
  • More success when applying for public contracts
  • Better starting position for accreditation in accordance with the Accreditation and Authorisation Ordinance for Employment Promotion (AZAV)
  • International marketability
  • Process optimisation (P-D-C-A)
  • Clearly defined and documented processes
  • Development of internal quality capability
  • Motivation of staff and active involvement of staff in change processes

  • Transparency/comparability of offers
  • Transparency/comparability also across national borders
  • Reliability of the programmes
  • Information on assessment criteria for learning opportunities
  • Optimised processes
  • Improved learning environment
  • Provision of resources, including trainers, with sufficient competences

  • Transparency/comparability of offers
  • Transparency/comparability also across national borders
  • Reliability of the programmes
  • Information on assessment criteria for learning opportunities
  • Optimised processes
  • Improved learning environment
  • Provision of resources, including trainers, with sufficient competences

Your advantage through certification with TÜV NORD

Educational organisations of all sizes can provide proof that they meet the requirements of the internationally topical education management standard ISO 21001 through certification by a competent certification body such as TÜV NORD CERT:

  • fulfil the requirements of the internationally up-to-date education management standard ISO 21001.
  • are able to consistently deliver training services that meet customer requirements and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
  • focus on increasing customer satisfaction.
  • Manage risks and opportunities and thus achieve continuous improvement in their own performance.

The most important information for you at a glance

ISO 21001:

  • is a modern management system standard, especially for educational organisations
  • has a high-level structure and is therefore compatible with other management system standards, such as DIN EN ISO 9001
  • has a risk-based approach
  • is flexible in its application (comparable to DIN EN ISO 9001)
  • has specific requirements for documentation
  • has an approx. 80% textual correspondence with DIN EN ISO 9001, 20% are education-specific topics
  • ISO 21001 is accredited by the DAkkS.

The audit process for ISO 21001 certification

1

Step 01

Enquiry & quotation

2

Step 02

Commissioning TÜV NORD

3

Step 03

Audit stage 1: Determination of readiness for certification

4

Step 04

Audit stage 2: Certification audit

5

Step 05

Issue of the certificate

6

Step 06

1st and 2nd surveillance audit

7

Step 07

Recertification audit

Frequently asked questions

FAQ on ISO 21001 certification

For certification to be successful, the requirements of the standard must be met with regard to both the training services and the management system.

This includes, among other things, requirements relating to

  • Context of the organisation
  • leadership
  • Risk, communication and personnel management
  • Development, planning, control and implementation of the concept and educational services
  • Monitoring, measuring, analysing, evaluating and improving

 

Educational organisations of all sizes can provide proof that they meet the requirements of the current international standard ISO 21001 through certification by a competent certification body such as TÜV NORD CERT:

  • fulfil the requirements of the current international education management standard ISO 21001.
  • are able to consistently deliver training services that meet customer requirements and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
  • focus on increasing customer satisfaction.
  • manage risks and opportunities and thus achieve continuous improvement in their own performance.

  • No, Annex A is normative and must be used for early childhood education; it can be excluded for all other areas, e.g. adult education.
  • All other annexes are informative.

  • The scope describes the boundaries and applicability of ISO 21001; it must include all educational products and services offered to learners. The educational organisation must also consider the following aspects: External and internal issues, as well as requirements of interested parties

  • The focus is on the documentation, implementation and continuous improvement of the management system. The content of the educational product/service is not part of the audit.

Climate change – additions to management system standards

In a joint declaration in February 2024, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) explained the additions to various management system standards. The statement emphasises the importance of taking climate change into account in the various management systems.

Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the respective standard are affected. The additions are intended to ensure that climate change issues are considered by the organisations in addition to all other aspects in connection with the effectiveness of the management systems.

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