National Council for the Training of Journalists

The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) was founded in 1951 as organisation to oversee the training of journalists for the newspaper industry in the United Kingdom and is now playing a role in the wider media. It is a self-appointed body and does not hold any statutory powers from central government, meaning students and those seeking to enter the media industry do not have to legally hold one of its qualifications to obtain work as a journalist.

The NCTJ offers accreditation, recognised throughout the industry, for aspiring and junior journalists. The accreditation consists of preliminary exams ('prelims'), which are undertaken either before the candidate begins work as a reporter or shortly afterwards, and the NCE, which is usually taken between 18 months and two years after beginning work on a newspaper. On completion of the NCE, the candidate is regarded as a fully qualified senior reporter by the newspaper industry. However, these courses also provide transferable skills for other industries, such as public relations, publishing, the film and television industries (especially for researchers), marketing, among others or even further study elsewhere. The NCTJ is a level three award.

The NCTJ is a charity for all media with a professional awarding body recognised by Ofqual, an accreditation board, Student Council, focus groups and forums, and the annual Journalism Skills Conference.

NCTJ alumni include Mark Austin, Piers Morgan, Kay Burley, John Inverdale, Reshmin Chowdhury, Geordie Greig and Helen Skelton.

As well as being the examining body, the NCTJ offers short training courses to refresh candidates' knowledge prior to them sitting NCTJ prelims or the NCE, and also for professionals looking for related training.

The NCTJ is also a professional awarding body recognised by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulator Ofqual.

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