Our values

SQA as an employer

As an employer, we have won many awards including

We’re a certified Disability Confident employer; and we are accredited members of the Race at Work Charter, Happy to Talk Flexible Working, and the Living Wage Foundation.

We enable and foster mutual support and networking among our staff members - there are networks providing support and information on Culture and Ethnicity, Disability, LGBT+ issues. Our largest support group is the SQA Women’s Network, and our newest the SQA Young People Network.

We have also established a Young Talent strategy based around our Young Persons’ Guarantee, which promises that we will make do everything we can to source and recruit, develop, and retain young talent.

Our Joint Engagement Forum is where SQA and the trade unions (Unison and Unite) negotiate, consult and inform one another of issues and opportunities - working collaboratively to find solutions.

People strategy

Our People Strategy centres on being a values-led, learning organisation with people at its heart.

Each aspect of the strategy is made up of activities that support three core drivers:

The outcome of this work is a strategy designed for supporting our organisation based on four aspects:

Embedded equality and diversity

Equality and diversity (E&D) considerations are embedded within all the organisation's decision-making procedures. All committee papers will include consideration of E&D impacts as a standard part of the governance process. We actively consider E&D impacts in new or revised policy or practice, and provide online training in E&D and Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) to support staff.

Learn more about how we promote equality, diversity and inclusion.