NOCN
Awarding Body Services in Scotland, Awarding Organisation Services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Network Partnerships in Europe and Worldwide. In addition it delivers Apprenticeship End Point Assessment services in England.
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported an operating surplus of £1.8 million and total unrestricted reserves of £5.6 million for the year ended 31 July 2025. The trustees confirm that the group remains a going concern with adequate resources to meet liabilities as they fall due over the next 12 months. Reserves are held within the stated policy range of £5.5 million to £8.1 million to ensure financial resilience.
What the accounts disclose
“The aim of the policy is to keep the Group's balance sheet unrestricted reserves in the range of £5.5m and £8.1m. Equating to approximately 4 to 6 months of projected operating expenditure.”
Year-over-year changes
- Reserves position vs the charity's own policy moved from "below" (FY2024) to "within" (FY2025).
What the charity says about itself (2022)
“The Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit which have over the last few years resulted in a decline in the workforce of around 9%.”
“If we look at the industry churn and growth together, the numbers of new recruits required each year is 92,000, in addition to closing the Covid-19/Brexit gap of 9%.”
“The decline in apprenticeship starts, from around 18-20,000 three years ago to less than 11,000, for the operational workforce at Level 2, arising from the implementation of the government’s policy on new Apprenticeship Standards and the Levy.”
“In construction, there have only been 6,592, from 47,569 total achievements across both frameworks works and standards (Department for Education, 2022).”
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/07/2025)
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (31/07/2026)
Trustees
- Simon Charles Perrymanchair
- Adrian Toomey
- David Peter Wilkins
- Judith Anne Marriott
- Kay Dickinson
- Mark James Froud
- Michaela Joanne Wain
- Paul John Allman
- Stephen Evans
- Steven John Mulholland
- Timothy Brownridge
Income and spending
| Financial year end | Income | Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 31/07/2025 | £20.1m | £19.6m |
| 31/07/2024 | £19.1m | £18.4m |
| 31/07/2023 | £16.5m | £16.4m |
| 31/07/2022 | £15.3m | £14.9m |
| 31/07/2021 | £14.8m | £11.9m |
Common questions
Is NOCN financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported an operating surplus of £1.8 million and total unrestricted reserves of £5.6 million for the year ended 31 July 2025. The trustees confirm that the group remains a going concern with adequate resources to meet liabilities as they fall due over the next 12 months. Reserves are held within the stated policy range of £5.5 million to £8.1 million to ensure financial resilience. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Armstrong Watson Audit Limited.
Funders of similar charities
| Funder | Similar charities funded | Amount to them |
|---|---|---|
| THE ORP FOUNDATION | 1 | £50k |
| 10 % For The Ocean | 1 | £3k |
Charities like this
- NCFE
- JTL
- SKILLS AND EDUCATION GROUP AWARDS LIMITED
- OPEN AWARDS
- FIRST RUNG LTD
- OPEN COLLEGE NETWORK LONDON REGION
Side by side with its peers
| Charity | Income | Top pay band | Staff >£60k | Reserves vs policy | Fundraising cost | Going concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOCN | £20.1m | — | — | within | — | no doubt |
| NCFE | £49.5m | — | — | unclear | — | no doubt |
| JTL | £38.7m | £180,001 - £190,000 | — | within | — | no doubt |
| SKILLS AND EDUCATION GROUP AWARDS LIMITED | £3.0m | — | 0 | above | — | no doubt |
| OPEN AWARDS | £2.7m | — | — | unclear | — | no doubt |
| FIRST RUNG LTD | £2.3m | — | — | within | — | no doubt |