Program Backed
Guides

Read once. Refer back to it when it matters.

Short, practical guides written by the people who audit these programmes. Each one exists because we've been asked the same question enough times to want a link to send.

For candidates · 8 min

How to read a Framework Agreement before you sign

Where the commitments actually live, how to spot vague language that would not survive audit, and the five clauses you should be able to explain back to a friend.

  1. A Framework Agreement has three parts you actually need to read: Schedule A (who's who), Schedule B (what the Provider will do), and Schedule C (what happens if they don't). Skim the boilerplate; read those three like your money depends on them.
  2. Schedule B should name a role type, a placement window in days, a salary floor, and a minimum tenure. If any of those four is missing, the commitment cannot be enforced — flag it before you sign.
  3. Schedule C should name a refund amount, a trigger, a timeline, and a payment method. Watch for clauses that require you to sign an NDA to receive a refund; the framework prohibits that.
Related documentation
For candidates · 6 min

The money-back guarantee, in plain English

What triggers it, what you have to do to keep it live, and the twelve-line letter you send when the placement window closes.

  1. The trigger is the day the placement window in Schedule B closes without you being placed in a role that meets Schedule B's definition. That's it — no discretion, no committee.
  2. To keep it live, you need to have completed the programme requirements in Schedule B and been available for the interviews and roles the Provider surfaced. Keep a simple log; the Provider will keep one too and audit reconciles them.
  3. When the window closes, send a single email to the Provider and copy info@programbacked.com. Reference your Framework Agreement, state the window closed, and request the Schedule C remedy.
Related documentation
For candidates · 10 min

How to evaluate an outcome claim before you enrol

The five questions that separate a real employment rate from a marketing number — and where to find the answers on a Program Backed programme page.

  1. Ask: over how many cohorts? A 96% employment rate over one cohort of twelve people is a number, not a claim.
  2. Ask: what counts as a placement? Roles in the discipline, at or above the salary floor, retained for a minimum tenure. If the Provider counts freelance gigs or unrelated retail work, that changes the meaning of every number on the page.
  3. Ask: how are non-completers treated? The honest answer is disclosed, not hidden. Providers on the framework must show completion rates alongside placement rates.
  4. Ask: what's the median, not the mean? Salary claims should show medians. Means are pulled up by a handful of outliers and misrepresent the typical outcome.
  5. Ask: what does the Framework Agreement Schedule B say the Provider will do about all of this? Because that is the number that is enforceable, and it should match the marketing page.
Related documentation
For candidates · 5 min

What to do when a Provider isn't responding

The seven-day rule, the escalation path, and how to open a case without a lawyer.

  1. If a Provider has not responded to a written request tied to Schedule B or Schedule C within seven business days, escalate to Program Backed at info@programbacked.com with the thread attached.
  2. You will receive a case reference within two business days. The Provider then has ten business days to respond formally. If they don't, the audit team takes over and issues a written finding.
  3. Findings can be escalated once to an external adjudicator. The adjudicator's decision is binding on both the Provider and Program Backed under the Framework Agreement.
Related documentation
For providers · 12 min

Preparing your programme for admission to the framework

The documentation we ask for, the numbers to reconcile before you send them, and the drafting choices that shape Schedule B.

  1. Start with your last four cohorts. Pull the roster, the completion status per candidate, the placement status, the offer letters, and the payroll or employer-confirmation evidence.
  2. Reconcile each headline number on your current marketing pages against those records before you send anything. If a number can't be reconciled, it will need to change before admission — better to change it once, now, than twice.
  3. For Schedule B, decide the role type, placement window, salary floor, and minimum tenure you can defend for the next twelve months. It is easier to widen a schedule at renewal than to narrow one mid-cohort.
Related documentation
For everyone · 4 min

Reading the Program Backed report ID

What the report ID on a programme page encodes, and how to look up the audit history behind it.

  1. The report ID follows the format PB-{discipline}-{provider}-{year}. It is stable across a Provider's participation and is what audit references in its findings.
  2. The framework revision (e.g. 'Framework rev. 2026.Q1') tells you which version of the Standard applied when the report was issued. If a Standard clause changes, an issued report is not re-litigated; the next audit cycle applies the new clause.
Related documentation