IBD General Certificate and Foundation Examination Date Update

In recent years and despite the covid pandemic challenges, the IBD has transformed and optimised our operations to better serve businesses and professionals. Our digital transformation, with the online learning material and exams, has opened a new chapter.

In the midst of this process, and considering the more than 4000 candidates that annually are taking our qualifications in over 90 countries, we have decided to holistically review the sequencing of the IBD Examination Calendar and optimise it for candidates and their businesses.

The current IBD examination cycles in  May and June each year results in a ‘super peak’ of activity and puts pressure on businesses and limits candidates' availability. The timing of the November examination cycle is also an exceptionally busy time in the industry and also too late for the required examination processes to be completed within the calendar year which feeds into the Awards process.

One of the fundamental changes that we are bringing is to provide multiple open examination cycles that are available for registration so candidates have much more flexibility to choose their preferred examination cycle and also support them in their decision of how long they need to study in advance.

For reasons as detailed above, the other important change is to bring forward the Foundation and General Certificate examinations, previously held in May and November each year, to March and October, starting with the upcoming series in this year’s last quarter.

Candidates will be able to choose to sit the exam in October 2022, March 2023 or October 2023 when registering and have access to the learning material until they are taking the exam.

The third adjustment is to revert to the model that IBD previously used for the General Certificate and Foundations examinations and have each of the examinations on a fixed date.  This is the same model that IBD  follows for the Diploma and Master examinations and is utilised by other internationally recognised learning providers. IBD has a reliable and robust examination platform that allows all candidates to sit the same exam in one day and as candidates have a choice of which examination cycle they can book for, a choice of dates is still available to all candidates, just through a different mechanism.

All these changes are based on a rationale that involves the following benefits:

• For Businesses: May and June are super busy months in production in many global markets. Moving the May exam to March will ease the impact of their staff taking time off to prepare and sit the exam, especially if they also have candidates sitting for Diploma and Master in June.

• For Candidates: They can choose in which session/year they are sitting the exam. They will also have more time to prepare if they wish as they will have access to the learning material earlier and for longer. It also provides clarity for candidates as to when their examination is and also fairness to all candidates in accessing dates that are suitable for them.

These are the new Foundation/s and General Certificate Exam Dates:
 

 
 To confirm also at this stage, the intention of the IBD is to continue with the Diploma and Master examination cycle in June.

Of course, we are always here to help and assist candidates. From the feedback we have received, we believe that the new exam calendar will provide more flexibility as well as a choice of length of access to the learning material for candidates which is a positive.

Deb Kennedy
IBD Chair of  Board of Examiners