I sent an enquiry to Edexcel asking why at present the BTEC Level 3 is not accredited towards the PI licence by Ofqual. At the moment the only acceptable qualification is an EDI qual. This is the reply:

Dear David,

It is Ofqual, not the SIA that has accredited the EDI qualification (the SIA does not accredit qualifications).

The required qualification for licensing (when it begins) will be a QCF qualification, and will not be the current EDI qualification, but a replacement that will be offered by various awarding bodies, each of which will use the same title. This qualification will likely be available early next year.

We will review the API qualification in due course and if there is a good match against the SIA core competency qualification, we at Edexcel will ask the SIA for exemptions to be granted for people who have taken it, as we have done in other sectors when licensing has been introduced. (EDI will doubtless make the same request to the SIA for their Professional Investigators qualification.)

The outcome of our exemption request will depend upon the match between the API qualification and the SIA document, and the result will either be:
(1) full or partial exemption from training and assessment or
(2) full or partial exemption from training but not assessment or
(3) no exemption.

I hope this helps, but if you need further information, please get in touch.

Regards,

Roger Field