Entry Level Qualification
CiLCA is a practical, entry level qualification for the sector, available to all local council sector staff and councillors. The qualification provides a broad knowledge of all the aspects of a clerk’s work including roles and responsibilities, the law, procedures, finance planning and community involvement.
CiLCA has been tailored to meet the occupational standards for clerks and chief officers of a local council, approved in 2012 following consultations across the sector.
To see a full CiLCA syllabus download the CiLCA Portfolio Guide Digital 2022 (English) or CiLCA Portfolio Guide Digital 2022 (Welsh language)
Find out why your local council staff should become CiLCA qualified here.
CiLCA Certificate Requests
You might be aware that PKF recently informed clerks that one of this year’s intermediate audit requirements involves demonstrating proficiency in using GPOC by presenting their Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA).
PKF state that the request is for evidence that the clerk held the relevant qualification at the date the General Power of Competence (GPC) was adopted. Acceptable forms of evidence include the certificate or a screenshot of the qualification in the SLCC account area here.
While alternative forms of evidence are considered acceptable, the SLCC strongly recommends that clerks maintain a copy of their CiLCA certificate for documentation purposes.
We’ve received an influx of requests for replacement CiLCA certificates, so we appreciate your patience as we address these requests. Replacement certificates are available from £15 depending on your awarding body and can be requested by by completing the replacement certificate form found here and sending to [email protected].
We aim to respond to requests with 5 working days, however, please be aware that your request will then need to be handled by your awarding body which can then take approximately 4 – 6 weeks to be processed. Please note: Unfortunately, there have been many changes to the awarding bodies for CiLCA (some of which are no longer in existence). Regrettably, due to this in a number of cases it might not prove possible to replace a certificate.
CiLCA is awarded by the national awarding body, Ascentis, at Level 3 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) which is similar to AS/A levels, NVQs Level 3 or BTEC Nationals.
| Entry Requirements | Minimum of 12 months in post, and completed ILCA / ILCA to CiLCA course or attended training for clerks run by a county association |
| Learning Pathway | CiLCA consists of two main parts with separate costs:
Training – attend an Introduction to CiLCA webinar to find out if this qualification is right for you, then contact your County Association who will provide CiLCA training. Alternatively, click here to view SLCC’s available training Qualification – enrol via SLCC (the link at the end of this page) |
| Duration | 12 months |
| Cost | Training: Introduction to CiLCA webinar (SLCC) – members £50 + VAT, non-members £75 + VAT Building your Portfolio course (SLCC) – members £250 + VAT, non-members £300 + VAT Qualification: £450 (non-vatable) (Fees usually increase annually) |
| CPD Points | 20 |
CiLCA Training
CiLCA Qualification
Important: Please ensure that, when you register for CiLCA online, you login and register for yourself and not on behalf of someone else. If you have a colleague who wishes to register for CiLCA please ask them to set up a user account here.
