Andy Costello joined the SFJ Awards team as our Qualifications and Assessment Product Manager in September 2023, after having previously worked with our sister organisation Skills for Justice on apprenticeship development over 10 years ago. In between these two experiences, he’s gained a wealth of education sector experience from other awarding organisations and professional bodies.
Andy was keen to join SFJ Awards after his previous experience:
“I’ve been working in the education sector for over 15 years, including with Skills for Justice, so I’m really familiar with the sectors that SFJ Awards operates in. At Skills for Justice, I led on apprenticeship development, but my role also included qualification and standards development.
“Since leaving Skills for Justice, I’ve worked in product development across law, hair and beauty, sports and exercise, digital, ESOl, and other sectors. My most recent role was strategic, evaluating product performance and looking for opportunities to strengthen the portfolio, resulting in 42% growth in income.”
Andy has hit the ground running since he started with SFJ Awards, shaping a number of updates to our products, such as the revised Level 6 Serious and Complex Investigations, Level 2 Fire Sprinkler Installation, and Level 3 Safeguarding End-Point Assessments. He’s also working away on piloting a number of new qualifications that we plan to launch throughout the coming year.
As a leader, we asked Andy to describe what his typical workload looked like:
“I lead the SFJ Awards product team, which is responsible for developing and maintaining qualifications, End-Point Assessment and bespoke products. I allocate work and monitor progress across a number of different workstreams. It’s a varied role and has me working across multiple teams to ensure that the products we build are fit for purpose and provide maximum value to our customers.”
Andy’s role includes a lot of collaborative working across the organisation:
“We definitely work with people that want to do good and our products are often crucial in validating the skills of the protective services.”
When asked if he had any highlights so far, Andy commented:
“The Inspire Justice Awards, which SFJ Awards are a proud sponsor of, was a particular highlight. It celebrates the efforts of those who have a big impact on justice, but don’t always get the recognition.”
In the coming months, Andy has plenty to keep him busy.
“There’s lots on at the moment and some very exciting pilots which may lead to significant new products to support SFJ Awards customers. Also, I’m particularly looking forward to us starting the development of an alternative route in to policing in the next few months.”
Keep an eye out for announcements on our qualification and assessment updates and launches, which Andy is working away on now!
Find out more about our regulated qualifications →
Find out more about our End-Point Assessments →
