Defence Awarding Organisation: Centre Day 2025

3 March 2025
defence
A man in a suit presenting to a diverse group of civilians and military personnel.

A man in a suit presenting to a diverse group of civilians and military personnel.

The roll out of a new qualification management system (QMS) has been hailed the highlight of this year’s Defence Awarding Organisation (DAO) Centre Day.

The event drew 50 representatives from across defence for a series of updates, topical workshops, and networking. This included the unveiling of the much-anticipated QMS, that brings new efficiencies to the management of:

  • compliance
  • the qualification lifecycle
  • learner records and certification

With a move to e-certification, the new system also significantly reduces the time learners wait to receive qualifications.

DAO’s Responsible Officer, Mr Brendan Vanner, said:

“As an awarding organisation, our priority is always the learner and their accreditation. The DAO is glad to provide our awarding centres a means to strengthen their accreditation processes through the QMS and ultimately improve the provision of qualifications to our learners.”

Established in 2014, the Defence Awarding Organisation (DAO) sits within the Defence Academy’s Learning Capability and Development Group. It is an Ofqual-registered awarding body providing accreditation of military training courses with nationally recognised qualifications.

Since its launch, DAO has awarded 98,190 qualifications to military personnel and civil servants across the tri-services, through 18 awarding centres. Notably, the Royal Navy Submarine School was the first to become an awarding centre under DAO and remains one of its key contributors today.

The DAO Centre Day is to become an annual event in the MOD accreditation calendar.