About BETA

An awarding body sets the standard a person has to meet and stands behind the card that says they met it. For each machine category, BETA writes the standard, approves the training centres and instructors who deliver it, reviews every test they send in, and issues a card to each operator who passes.

BETA keeps the register of those cards. Anyone can check a card on it, free of charge, by scanning the QR code or typing the registration number.

BETA is run by BETA Qualifications Ltd, a private company limited by shares. Decisions to approve, suspend or withdraw a centre, to apply a sanction, or to decide a malpractice case are made by a quality committee of at least two people, not by one person alone. For a decision about a particular centre, at least one member must have no connection with it.

Nobody at BETA audits or decides on a centre they own, work for or are paid by. Anyone at BETA with an interest in a centre declares it, and takes no part in approving, auditing or reviewing results from that centre.

Anyone who disagrees with a decision can appeal. The last stage of an appeal is a panel that includes an independent plant training specialist who does not work for BETA. How complaints and appeals work.

Centres are audited at least once a year, and more often where an audit finds problems. BETA keeps operator and test records for six years after a card expires, so that a past card can still be confirmed and a complaint or appeal can be looked into.