We exist so career investments come with something in writing.

Why we exist

Career-outcome programmes — bootcamps, employment placement programmes, professional conversion courses — have become one of the largest discretionary investments a working adult makes. They are marketed with numbers: employment rates, salary uplifts, days to placement. Those numbers rarely appear in the contract the candidate signs. When they do, they sit alongside broad discretion for the provider to change curriculum, timelines, and placement obligations after the money has moved.

Program Backed was built to close that gap. Every programme on the framework is required to convert the numbers it advertises into contractual commitments, publish the terms of those commitments in a form the candidate can read before they enrol, and submit its placement claims to independent review.

Who we are

Program Backed LLC is a US company, registered in Delaware, and operates independently of any training provider on the framework. The company was founded by people who had spent their careers on the other side of the transaction — placement, admissions, and compliance — and who watched candidates repeatedly enter programmes on the strength of marketing that the contract did not back up.

We do not receive commissions from providers for placing candidates. We do not receive per-enrolment fees. Providers pay a framework participation fee that funds the verification, agreement infrastructure, and independent audit — the same fee whether a candidate enrols or not. This is the only revenue relationship between us and any provider on the framework.

What we actually do

1. We turn claims into commitments

Before a programme is listed, the provider submits its outcome claims — employment rate, median starting salary, median placement window, refund terms — and each is written into a framework agreement Schedule. If the provider will not put a claim in writing, the claim does not appear on the programme's page.

2. We hold the agreement between candidate and provider

When a candidate enrols, Program Backed presents the framework agreement, records the signature, and holds the executed copy. The candidate always has a version they can re-download. The provider cannot vary the terms after signature without the candidate's written consent.

3. We audit the numbers

Placement outcomes are reviewed on a rolling basis by a team independent of the commercial side of the framework. Providers that cannot substantiate a claim are required to correct the public number and, where the misstatement affected a candidate's decision to enrol, honour the refund terms in Schedule C of the agreement.

4. We administer refunds when the commitment is not met

If a candidate is not placed within the window written into their agreement, Program Backed administers the refund per Schedule C. Refunds are not discretionary — they are the contractual consequence of the provider's own written commitment.

How the framework is funded

What we are not

• We are not an accreditation body and do not issue academic qualifications.
• We are not a government regulator. Where a programme is separately regulated (e.g. by Ofqual, AAT, ISTQB, or a professional body), that regulator's standards apply in addition to ours.
• We are not a lender. We do not extend credit or income-share agreements to candidates.
• We are not a recruitment agency. Providers place their own candidates; we verify that the placement happened.

Talk to us

If you are a candidate considering a programme, a provider interested in participation, or a journalist or regulator with a question, write to info@programbacked.com or use the contact page.