WOPEC

What WOPEC does

WOPEC (Wales Optometry Postgraduate Education Centre) is an academic unit of Cardiff University's School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, founded in 2009 and self-described as the only dedicated optometry postgraduate education centre in the world. The organization delivers GOC CET/CPD-accredited postgraduate education and continuing professional development to optometrists, contact lens opticians, dispensing opticians, optometry students, and allied health professionals, with course content aligned to LOCSU Clinical Pathways (MECS, Glaucoma, Cataract, Low Vision, Paediatrics, Maculopathy, Hydroxychloroquine, and MOLES). The product portfolio spans distance-learning modules with MCQ assessments, practical workshops and OSCEs at venues such as Newmedica Nottingham and Birmingham, specialist CLO modules distributed via ABDO, regional Ireland and Northern Ireland course variants sold direct, and a part-time distance-learning MSc/PgDip/PgCert in Clinical Optometry through Cardiff University.

The underlying platform is a web-based e-learning system with practitioner self-service enrollment via QR codes and unique LOC-issued access codes, a personal practitioner dashboard, video content, automated CPD point submission to the General Optical Council, and payment processing via Secure Trading for Ireland-fee transactions. Two-factor authentication is offered via Google Authenticator, and MailChimp is used for practitioner newsletters. The technology is purpose-built for clinical education delivery rather than a general-purpose LMS, and is differentiated primarily by domain specialization and LOCSU-pathway alignment rather than by proprietary AI or data assets.

WOPEC operates a hybrid revenue model. In England, online LOCSU courses are free to practitioners whose Local Optical Committee is a LOCSU member contributing to the levy, with revenue flowing via the LOCSU/LOC infrastructure; in Wales, access is channeled through HEIW's Y Ty Dysgu platform at no direct cost to practitioners. In Ireland and for certain specialist or international courses, WOPEC sells access codes directly at £30–£70 per course. Assessment events and OSCEs carry associated fees, including a £125 cancellation charge. The organization serves three countries (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland) plus a Sub-Saharan Africa Low Vision course, reaching practitioners primarily through the LOC network, HEIW, ABDO, Specsavers Clinical Performance Consultants, and the WOPEC website.

Name

WOPEC

Legal name

Wales Optometry Postgraduate Education Centre

Website

https://wopec.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

WOPEC is the world's only dedicated optometry postgraduate education centre, embedded within Cardiff University. It delivers GOC-accredited LOCSU-aligned courses, regional variants for Ireland and Northern Ireland, and an MSc in Clinical Optometry to optometrists and eye care practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optometry Postgraduate Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAGAN

Schools of Optometry

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Medical & Health Sciences Universities

SECONDARYEDAOAJAK

Ophthalmic/Optometric Assisting

Education/Vocational, Technical & Trade Education/Healthcare Allied & Clinical Support Training

Keywords

• Optometry education
• Postgraduate optometry
• Continuing professional development
• Clinical optometry training
• Distance learning optometry

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. LOCSU Course Access (England): No charge to practitioners for online courses provided their LOC is a LOCSU member and contributes to the LOCSU levy. Practical elements or accreditation assessments may have fees. This creates a commission-style model where LOCs fund practitioner access.
2. Ireland Practitioner Courses: Direct fee-based course access for Irish practitioners: Acute Eye Care for Ireland (MECS) at £50, Cataract Ireland at £35, LOCSU Glaucoma at £30, LOCSU Low Vision at £70, LOCSU Paediatrics at £45. Practitioners pay directly to access courses.
3. Assessment and OSCE Fees: Practical assessments and OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) have associated fees. Cancellation without proper notice (5 days before event) may result in exam fees of £125 being issued.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WOPEC is a specialist postgraduate education centre for optometrists, dispensing opticians and contact lens opticians, delivering LOCSU-aligned clinical pathway courses (MECS, Glaucoma, Cataract, Paediatrics, Maculopathy, Hydroxychloroquine, MOLES, Low Vision), accredited postgraduate degrees (MSc, PgCert, PgDip in Clinical Optometry), and CPD-accredited short courses via a combination of online distance learning and in-person practical assessment events held at Cardiff University.

Product overview

WOPEC (Wales Optometry Postgraduate Education Centre) is the only dedicated optometry postgraduate education centre in the world, based at Cardiff University's School of Optometry and Vision Sciences. The platform offers a comprehensive portfolio of educational products including: LOCSU courses (MECS, Cataract, Glaucoma, Paediatrics, Low Vision Theory, Maculopathy, Hydroxychloroquine, and MOLES) for extended primary eye care services in England; regional courses for Ireland and Wales; Contact Lens Optician specialist modules; short courses like Refraction Techniques for the Practitioner; and a full postgraduate program (MSc, PgCert, PgDip, or individual modules) in Clinical Optometry. The platform also delivers in-person assessment events (OSCEs and practical assessments) and peer discussion sessions. Courses combine online distance learning lectures with MCQs, practical workshops, and face-to-face assessments. All LOCSU courses are GOC CET approved and award CPD points.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LOCSU MECS (Minor Eye Conditions Scheme) LOCSU-aligned online distance-learning course plus practical assessment enabling optometrists to be accredited to deliver the Minor Eye Conditions Scheme in community practice.
• LOCSU Glaucoma
• LOCSU Cataract
• LOCSU Paediatrics
• LOCSU Low Vision Theory
• LOCSU Maculopathy
• LOCSU Hydroxychloroquine
• LOCSU MOLES
• LOCSU Eyecare Services for People with Learning Disability
• MSc in Clinical Optometry
• PgCert / PgDip in Clinical Optometry
• WOPEC Practical Assessment Events (Glaucoma, MECS, Cataract)
• Cataract Ireland
• Acute Eye Care Ireland
• Glaucoma Repeat Measurement Ireland
• PEARS Northern Ireland
• MECS 2 Module
• CLO MECS (Contact Lens Optician MECS)
• CLO Glaucoma
• LVSW Accreditation
• Low Vision for Sub-Saharan Africa
• Ocular Foreign Body Workshop
• WOPEC PGT Glaucoma
• WOPEC PGT MECS

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, major and minor.

• LOC Support Unit (LOCSU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWOPEC LOCSU training courses support implementation of extended primary eye care services across England. WOPEC trains and accredits LOCSU Lead Assessors who organize local events and assessments. Courses include MECS, Glaucoma, Cataract, Low Vision, Paediatrics, Maculopathy, Hydroxychloroquine, and MOLES pathways. LOCSU members receive free course access for practitioners.
• Cardiff University School of Optometry and Vision SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWOPEC is based within Cardiff University's School of Optometry and Vision Sciences. This partnership provides access to academic facilities, expert faculty, and integration with the MSc in Clinical Optometry programme. The institution is recognized as a centre of excellence for teaching and research.
• Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContact Lens Opticians wishing to access MECS and Glaucoma courses contact ABDO for information on the ABDO-WOPEC CLO training and accreditation programme. ABDO acts as the channel for CLO access to WOPEC courses.
• Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWales-based practitioners access training through HEIW using the Y Ty Dysgu learning platform. HEIW has access to practitioner data for recording, analysing, and reporting on training and education provision. WOPEC forwards Wales practitioner data to HEIW for public task purposes.
• NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe LOCSU Glaucoma course has been peer reviewed by the NICE guideline development group. Course content is aligned with NICE guidelines for glaucoma referral filtering and ocular hypertension monitoring. This provides regulatory endorsement and ensures clinical best practice alignment.
• Local Optical Committees (LOCs) NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWOPEC lists over 80 Local Optical Committees across England that distribute course access codes to practitioners. LOCs organize peer discussion events and assessments locally. WOPEC provides Find My LOC functionality linking to each LOC's contact details.
• College of OptometristscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMany WOPEC modules are accredited by the College of Optometrists for higher professional qualifications. WOPEC postgraduate pathways align with College-accredited higher qualifications. Students are referred to College for Professional Higher Qualifications information.
• SpecsaversmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSpecsavers employs optometrists who undertake WOPEC Glaucoma and MECS assessments. Clinical Performance Consultants coordinate training and assessments for Specsavers practitioners. Specsavers can issue WOPEC course codes for LOCSU courses to their employed optometrists.
• General Optical Council (GOC)coreOthersWOPEC automatically submits for GOC CET/CPD points upon successful completion of approved lectures and workshops. Practitioner surname, GOC registration number, and episode C-number are provided to GOC for point allocation. Assessments do not receive GOC CPD approval.
• NewmedicaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNewmedica provides venues for WOPEC practical assessments in Nottingham and Birmingham. Independent eye clinic provider hosts Glaucoma and MECS OSCE assessments at their facilities, enabling WOPEC to deliver hands-on assessment components.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Local Optical Committee Support Unit (LOCSU): LOCSU is WOPEC's closest strategic partner and the commissioning body for extended primary eye care services in England. Comparable because it shapes the LOCSU clinical pathways that WOPEC's course library is built around, and it indirectly funds access through the levy model.

Direct peers

• Aston University — School of Optometry: Aston University's optometry school offers postgraduate taught programmes and CPD for optometrists, competing for UK practitioners seeking MSc-level qualifications and College of Optometrists higher qualifications. Like WOPEC, it is based in an academic optometry department with both clinical and teaching functions.
• University of Manchester — Optometry Department: Manchester's optometry division delivers postgraduate optometry modules and clinical training serving a similar North-of-England practitioner audience to WOPEC's LOCSU-aligned courses. Comparable in structure as a university-based postgraduate optometry education provider.
• Glasgow Caledonian University — Department of Vision Sciences: Glasgow Caledonian's Vision Sciences department provides optometry CPD and postgraduate education, particularly relevant to Scottish and Northern Ireland practitioners — a regional peer competing for the same regulatory-mandated CPD demand.
• Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO): ABDO is both a partner (running the ABDO-WOPEC CLO programme) and a peer in dispensing optician CPD/training, including low vision accreditation pathways. Comparable as an allied optical profession body delivering accredited continuing education to a partially overlapping practitioner base.
• City, University of London — School of Health & Psychological Sciences (Optometry): City University London runs an optometry postgraduate portfolio (incl. ProfDoc and CPD modules) and is the closest direct UK competitor to WOPEC's MSc and CPD offering for practising optometrists. Both institutions compete for the same practitioner cohort seeking GOC-approved CPD and higher qualifications.

Broad incumbents

• College of Optometrists: The UK professional body that accredits WOPEC's higher qualifications and sets CPD frameworks for the profession. Comparable because it shapes the regulatory regime within which WOPEC operates and itself delivers some CPD and professional development content to the same optometrist audience.
• NHS England — Workforce, Training and Education Directorate: NHS England's training directorate shapes commissioning and workforce education policy that drives demand for WOPEC's LOCSU pathway training. Comparable as a broader incumbent that funds and influences the primary eye care training ecosystem in which WOPEC operates.

Regional players

• Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW): HEIW is the Welsh equivalent body that hosts WOPEC course content for Welsh practitioners via the Y Ty Dysgu platform. Comparable as a regional NHS education body that procures, curates, and distributes optometry CPD content for its practitioner population.

Emerging players

• British Contact Lens Association (BCLA): BCLA delivers clinical and regulatory education, including online and in-person training for contact lens opticians and dispensing opticians. Comparable as a specialty professional association that offers accredited continuing education to a subset of the practitioner base WOPEC serves (particularly CLOs via ABDO).

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cardiffuniversityoptometry4447
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wopec

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WOPEC