The British Franchise Association (bfa) has announced the first tranche of successful candidates to achieve the status of Qualified Franchise Professional (QFP). The brand new qualification, which was launched at the beginning of 2010, provides formal recognition of an individual’s professional knowledge and experience in franchising.

The individuals are involved in a variety of sectors, representative of the breadth of the association’s membership but all have demonstrated their commitment to professional development and ethical franchising. Professional advisors to the industry as well as franchise owners, directors, managers and franchisee support staff will all be able to benefit from the learning and recognition that the QFP provides.

Linked to the bfa’s seminars and key events, the QFP has been introduced in association with The Franchise Training Centre, incorporating a number of their workshops together with the bfa’s own core learning events. The qualification is proving to be a valuable tool in the training and retaining of staff, offering a beneficial addition to people’s skill sets. Through attending a number of prequalified events and seminars, individuals will gain points towards their QFP – over a period of up to three years. Before achieving the qualification, all candidates must accumulate the appropriate number of points and attend an interview with the expert panel.

Andrew Quail, panel member and head of quality standards and compliance at the bfa, explained: “We are delighted to see the first round of successful candidates achieve QFP status – it is testament to their hard work and commitment to ethical franchising, something which the bfa is constantly striving to uphold. We firmly believe that the QFP will form an important step in the evolution of the franchising sector over the coming years, offering people a tangible way of representing their adherence to ethical practices.

The achievements of this first group are something for the industry and us as an organisation to be proud of.”

The initial group of recipients of the QFP is as follows:

Simon Bartholomew
Shirley Hughes
Mark Scott
Brian Duckett
Paul Monaghan
Iain Martin
Rory Waterer
Caroline Davis
Alan Wilkinson
Kevin Noble

In order to retain their QFP status individuals must demonstrate Continuous Professional Development by attendance at further events in order to obtain the minimum points required to maintain their qualification.

The British Franchise Association (bfa) is the voluntary self regulating governing body for franchising. Since its inception in 1977 the association has worked to develop and continuously improve the standards of good practice in franchising and to acknowledge franchisors who meet these standards. The franchise sector in the UK is now worth more than £12 billion to the economy through 36,900 franchise owners working with more than 890 brands.