QA is the UK's leading tech talent and training organisation
We are specialists in technology – providing a comprehensive suite of talent and training services helping individuals and companies to be winners in the digital revolution.
More than 281,000 people learned with QA in 2021. We deliver services to over 3,500 organisations, representing a significant portion of the FTSE 250. We have leading practices in agile, cyber security, cloud and DevOps – as well as many other technology specialisms. In addition, our deep-rooted vendor partnerships mean that we deliver 70% of the UK’s cloud training and are a Microsoft Gold delivery partner.
We specialise in the people side of technology transformation – our training programmes help businesses to upskill or reskill their existing employees and our talent services are used to identify, recruit and skill-up diverse technology talent.
We acquired Cloud Academy in 2019, expanding our reach into the US. Cloud Academy is a leading digital training platform, featuring guided learning paths, hands-on labs and skill assessments. The platform supports not just our clients and their learners but also our apprentices and consultants on their skills journey, ensuring learning extends beyond the classroom and is embedded in developing workplace skills.
We are passionate about progress because we can see the bigger picture. Plotting the road ahead. Pushing the boundaries of learning. Powering potential.
Apprenticeships Tech specialists Higher education
Trusted and accredited
Training services: Developing your tech staff
For the last 30 years we have consistently invested in our trainers, technology and facilities to become a trusted training and talent partner for global businesses and government organisations. We offer a broad range of courses and training services across multiple subject areasto help businesses develop tech talent within their organisation.
Public schedule
Our broad spectrum of tech training programmes can be delivered in our training centres and via our Virtual Classroom (attend from anywhere). We also offer private delivery for our clients and develop bespoke courses to meet their specific training needs, virtually or at a location of their choice.
Third-party training services
For training that sits outside of our core technology specialisms, we have a network of hundreds of trusted learning partners. We source and book thousands of third-party programmes on behalf of our clients – giving us a combined purchasing power of £25m per year.
Managed learning services
We're also recognised as one of the UK’s leading outsourcing and managed learning service providers – taking on all the administration, sourcing and management of training spend to deliver more efficiently and effectively on the L&D budget.
Talent services: Building your team of tech talent
The technology sector is facing a supply-and-demand dilemma. Talent is in short supply and it often commands too high a price. QA is tackling this problem head-on with our apprenticeships, Technology Specialist Academy and Reskill Academy programmes – and we are succeeding where recruiters cannot. Not only do we find diverse and ambitious talent – we then arm them with the technology skills businesses need to grow.
Apprenticeships
We’ve trained over 30,000 technology apprentices and offer apprenticeships from Level 3 all the way up to masters-degree Level 7. Our programmes use a combination of online, offline and face-to-face learning. We work with organisations looking to utilise their apprenticeship levy to identify the best combination of programmes for them, and recruit apprentices or identify internal staff who can be upskilled.
Technology Specialist Academy
We recruit the best technically minded people, train them in our BCS-accredited 12-week academy, and then deploy them into our clients’ businesses to help meet their digital requirements. By handling the recruitment, training and admin, we reduce the risks and costs of hiring and enable businesses to rapidly scale their technical project delivery capability.
Reskill Academy
We help our clients to look at existing employees differently – identifying those with technology potential and reskilling them for redeployment into new roles. Clients use our Reskill Academy programme to retrain back-office admins and redeploy them as data engineers, or to upskill IT service desk engineers into fully-fledged software developers.
Our clients
What makes us different?
Bold
We believe in taking a position and have the courage of our convictions. We are ambitious and hold ourselves and others to higher standards. We provide insight that contributes to the wider debate. We move quickly. We respond to our customer and partner needs at pace.
Bold
Collaborative
We build trusted relationships by spending time getting to know our learners, customers, people. We provide connected solutions to problems, working across our portfolio of services. We are proactive and engage in solving problems.
Collaborative
Progressive
We believe that energy and dynamism will drive the future success of our business, our learners, students, customers and partners. We embrace and champion change. We constantly challenge ourselves to find a better way. We are highly engaged with our subject and are fascinated with what comes next.
Progressive
Why choose QA for your tech skills needs?
Comprehensive curriculum, high pass rates
Whether you're looking for an individual course or a full certification programme, we offer a complete range of business and IT training, including official courses from professional bodies, leading vendors like Microsoft, and unique QA-authored courses. Our Cloud Academy online platform allows you to practise in hands-on labs, and our pass rate is excellent.
Virtual training and UK-wide learning centres
We offer top-quality virtual classroom and online courses so you can train wherever you are, yet get the best learning experience. We also have 20 learning centres and tech specialist academies, plus a wide network of high-quality partner locations throughout the UK, offering well-equipped, purpose-built training environments.
Award-winning training teams
Our learning professionals are among the best in the world, each with extensive experience and a proven track record of delivering the skills that transform performance and ensure lasting benefits. Whether it's online, face-to-face or virtual classroom training, an apprenticeship or tech consultant academy, we're all working together to ensure the learning experience has the best possible outcome for the learner and the organisation.
Bespoke solutions for your organisation
Whether you're a small business owner wishing to enhance your technical capabilities, or an international corporation looking to transform performance, we can create bespoke digital training for your company. We also have a Managed Learning Service, identifying your organisation's skills gaps and individual employee's career paths, and taking care of all the training, apprencticeships and admin for you.
We win awards
We strive for excellence at QA, and we're fortunate to regularly receive recognition as a tech skills leader in the industry. See the long list of awards we've bagged in the last few years.
QA's awards
Trusted and awarded
People power
Find out more about the people making things tick here at QA.
Meet our executive team Meet our learning experts The QA Spirit Sounds good? Join us!
Passionate about tech sector diversity
The tech sector has a diversity problem. We are taking that problem very seriously. So seriously in fact that we have taken matters into our own hands with a number of inclusion initiatives. Internally, our Diversity & Inclusion champions drive several initiatives to help QA as an organisation to be informed, aware, accessible and inclusive.
QA's locations: Local, wherever you are
We have staff, offices and training centres in the UK, Switzerland and the US.
Find your nearest location
QA: A timeline
- 1985: Three former Intel employees – Mike Cheeseman, Jim Watt and Howard Kornstein – formed QA Training Ltd. The name came from a combination of Queen Anne House in Cirencester, where the company first rented office space, and the term "quality assurance". Shortly afterwards, QA Ltd began to provide technical training for IBM's European staff.
- Early 1990s: IBM acquired 10% of QA Ltd and co-opted Howard Ford to the company's board.
- 1990s: QA's performance was significantly hindered by the effects of the global recession and the Gulf War. IBM reported an unprecedented loss of US$5bn in the last quarter of 1992 alone.
- The company emerged and went on to acquire the training division of CapGemini, enabling it to develop business analysis products and partnerships in several other geographies.
- 2006: QA Ltd was bought by Interquad and became QA-IQ.
- October 2008: QA Ltd acquired Xpertise Group.
- September 2009: QA Ltd acquired Remarc Group.
- October 2011: QA acquired Aikona Management.
- 2014: QA refinanced to the tune of £50m.
- November 2016: QA acquired the Training Foundation Limited (Tap Learning).
- June 2017: CVC Capital Partners Fund VI acquired QA from Bregal Investments.
- July 2019: QA acquired online learning platform Cloud Academy.
- September 2019: CEO William Macpherson retired and was succeeded as CEO by Paul Geddes.
- July 2021: QA announced that it completed the acquisition of Circus Street.
Investor relations and QA's annual reports
QA's 2021 annual report has just been released. Access this report, and our previous ones, here.
Annual reports
Webinar library
How can we help you? Get in touch.
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FAQs
What does QA stand for? ›
Quality Assurance (QA) is a common practice to ensure that the end product of any Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) conforms to the overall and scope-agreed expectations. In this article, we will discuss the basics of Quality Assurance (QA) and its role in software testing.
How many days will it take to learn QA? ›Software QA test training typically takes six to ten weeks, whereas web development training takes anywhere from 12-26 weeks.
Is QA a difficult job? ›The work of a QA specialist involves; verifying product requirements, performing risk assessments, improving the quality of the product, testing, planning, and analyzing test results. It's not too demanding or challenging, though. Unlike other office jobs that are often exhausting and can lead to professional burnout.
What are the top 3 skills for QA analyst? ›- A creative mindset – and the ability to approach a problem creatively.
- Good communications skills, both written and verbal.
- Strong IT skills.
- A meticulous approach to work.
- Ability to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of IT systems.
Excellent communication skills
Software testers need to effectively communicate with clients and those outside of their role, especially when it comes to discussing issues with development. Having the ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical people is necessary.
Highest reported salary offered as Qa Engineer is ₹70lakhs. The top 10% of employees earn more than ₹29lakhs per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping ₹50lakhs per year.
Is QA a good job? ›Yes, quality assurance is a good job.
Quality assurance positions are typically well-paid, have nice career opportunities, and rarely suffer from professional burnout. The role of quality assurance is to uncover critical bugs help to deliver software quickly, which makes this role a key contributor to the team.
QA stands for quality assurance, which gives you a pretty big hint about the job duties that come with this career. QA analysts work to ensure high-quality, standard products in all sorts of industries, from food to medical devices. In the tech world, QA analysts typically focus their work on software testing.
What is the highest salary of QA? ›The salaries of Senior QA Engineers in the US range from $45,320 to $187,200 , with a median salary of $105,000 . The middle 57% of Senior QA Engineers makes between $105,000 and $131,670, with the top 86% making $187,200.
Can I be a QA tester without experience? ›The qualifications that you need to become a quality assurance tester (QA tester) with no experience include a computer-related degree, the ability to undergo training, and computer coding skills.
Can you get a QA job without a degree? ›
Can I work as a QA specialist, engineer, or tester without a degree? Absolutely! Though companies appreciate degrees, you can make the cut without one. Just make sure you build a portfolio, earn hands-on experience in a bootcamp or course, and develop the necessary skills.
How do I pass a QA interview? ›- Research the QA role, particularly for the industry you're applying to work in.
- Research the company you want to work for.
- Investigate the company's QA process.
- Review your QA achievements in previous roles.
- Practice STAR answers to behavioral and situational questions.
If you wish to carry out quality assurance for an organisation, you will need the Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice (RQF). This qualification is the main IQA qualification and will allow you to perform quality assurance within an organisation.
Can anyone become a QA? ›To become a QA tester, you need to earn at least an associate degree, although some might require the completion of a bachelor's degree program. Consider what type of industry you want to work in to narrow down what area of focus you should enroll in.
How can I be strong in QA? ›- #1) Being Passionate about the work that we are doing: ...
- #2) Being creative & innovative: ...
- #3) Ability to put yourself in the customer's position: ...
- #4) Visualizing skill: ...
- #6) Bird's-eye View: ...
- #8) Reasoning and questioning: ...
- #9) Guarding the quality: ...
- #11) Excellent Communication:
This cycle for quality assurance consists of four steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Act. because it analyzes existing conditions and methods used to provide the product or service customers.
What are 4 points of quality assurance? ›The 4 stages in the quality assurance process are: Plan, implement, check, and adjust.
Why should we hire you as a QA? ›Example Answers to Questions
I am an excellent fit for this position because of my past experience in quality assurance for (past company). In this role, I was able to develop and implement a program that improved customer satisfaction rates by 15 percent in a three-month period.
What is the first step of QA? Explanation: Identification of customer need is the first step of QA after which further basic elements of QA are identified. QA depends not only on QC but also on the activities of the entire company.
What is the salary of QA after 1 year experience? ›Quality Assurance Engineer salary in India with less than 1 year of experience to 8 years ranges from ₹ 1.9 Lakhs to ₹ 11 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 3.8 Lakhs based on 5.3k latest salaries.
What is the salary of QA in USA? ›
The average salary for a QA Engineer in US is $98,359. The average additional cash compensation for a QA Engineer in US is $19,941. The average total compensation for a QA Engineer in US is $118,300. QA Engineer salaries are based on responses gathered by Built In from anonymous QA Engineer employees in US.
What is the salary of QA with 10 years experience? ›Senior Software QA Engineer salary in India ranges between ₹ 4.8 Lakhs to ₹ 19.6 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 9.0 Lakhs.
Are QA happy? ›After analyzing hundreds of thousands of employee-generated reviews, CareerBliss found that QA analyst was ranked #2 on their list of happiest jobs.
Is there a future for QA? ›The Demand for QA specialists will rise.
Due to the rising need for test automation, it is crucial for businesses to have a team of experts who can assist them in automating tests. In conclusion, the future of QA testing is still bright because as long as there is software developed, QA testing will always be needed.
The average hourly wage for a Senior QA Automation Engineer in the United States is $62 as of , but the salary range typically falls between $56 and $69.
Who earns more QA or developer? ›A QA Engineer can, on average, earn between ₹1.9 LPA and ₹8.65 LPA. A software developer can, on average, earn between ₹2.15 and ₹10 LPA. A senior software developer can, on average, earn between ₹4.36 LPA and ₹20 LPA.
How much Senior QA make? ›How much does a Senior QA Tester make? As of Jan 21, 2023, the average annual pay for a Senior QA Tester in the United States is $101,328 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $48.72 an hour.
Do QA testers work from home? ›Normally, QA testers work in the manufacturing plant or the office, but work from home QA testers are sent products to their home to test. While work from home QA testers is a general term used in most industries, the specific job duties vary significantly.
Do you need math for QA tester? ›They, typically, work for companies that develop or improve new or existing technologies. To become a software tester, you'll need a degree in engineering, math, or computer science. You can also attend a coding bootcamp or become certified by national organizations.
Does QA require coding? ›Quality Analysts − Quality analysts (QA) evaluate the functionality and entirety of the test. These analysts test the software product after the development phase has been completed. The role of a QA is not as technical as a developer; thus, QA may not need to learn coding or write code.
Is QA tester entry level job? ›
This is an entry level position typically having 0 – 3 years of relevant industry experience. Experience creating and executing system level test plans, test cases and test reports for large/complex…
Are QA paid less? ›Conclusion. The salary of a QA engineer is almost always lower than that of a software developer. Depending on the role, a QA engineer may be hired to test non-software products or software, but they are almost always hired to test software.
How long is a QA interview? ›In general, most QA interviews will take between one and two hours to complete, though there may be multiple interviews over the entire hiring process.
What questions are asked in a QA interview? ›- What is the lifecycle of a Quality Assurance Process?
- Differentiate between Quality Assurance and Testing.
- Differentiate between Test Plan and Test Strategy.
- What do you mean by build and release in the context of quality assurance? ...
- What do you understand about bug leakage and bug release?
A bachelor's degree in a technological field is usually required for most entry-level positions. For more advanced positions, however, you'll often need a master's degree. It's also helpful to have at least some level of experience in quality control, as this should give you an edge over other candidates.
What are some QA best practices? ›- Work closely with your product development team.
- Utilize automation.
- Continuously groom the test suite.
- Hold peer reviews often.
- Integrate agile processes early.
- Prioritize bug tickets.
- Hold exploratory testing.
- Ensure It's A Top-Down Effort. ...
- Define Clear Processes For The Team. ...
- Start The Process Early. ...
- Set Up Quality Gates At Each Project Phase. ...
- Prioritize Transparency. ...
- Leverage Automation.
- Testing shows the presence of defects, not their absence. ...
- Exhaustive testing is impossible. ...
- Early testing saves time and money. ...
- Defects cluster together. ...
- Beware of the pesticide paradox. ...
- Testing is context dependent. ...
- Absence-of-errors is a fallacy.
- Create Separate Teams for Testing Security and Performance: ...
- Talk to End-Users and Simulate Their Environment: ...
- Mimic the Developer Environment: ...
- Focus on Significant Code Changes: ...
- Use a Two-Tier Test Automation Approach: ...
- Run a Regression Cycle:
Apart from these, there are many other challenges that the QA comes across. Challenges around - test coverage, technical skills, collaboration with other teams, utilization of tools, lack of resources, etc. persist in most QA teams and hinder their progress.
What are the four 4 basic testing methods? ›
It is important that everybody understands this. There are generally four recognized levels of testing: unit/component testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing.
How do I become a QA tester with no experience? ›The qualifications that you need to become a quality assurance tester (QA tester) with no experience include a computer-related degree, the ability to undergo training, and computer coding skills.
What are 3 testing strategies? ›The test strategy describes the test level to be performed. There are primarily three levels of testing: unit testing, integration testing, and system testing. In most software development organizations, the developers are responsible for unit testing.
What are the 4 characteristics of a good test? ›- Fast.
- Complete.
- Reliable.
- Isolated.
- Maintainable.
- Expressive.
The four types of quality assurance are pre-production inspection (PPI), during production inspection (DPI), pre-shipment inspection (PSI), and container loading/loading supervision (LS).
What are two goals of quality assurance? ›The goal of Quality Assurance is to improve development and testing processes to prevent defects from arising during the product development lifecycle. Using process checklists, performing project audits and employing best practices are examples of Quality Assurance.