What is a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)?
• An NVQ is a nationally recognised qualification. It shows that you are able to work to a set national standard. (In Scotland these are called SVQs, so sometimes you will see them referred to as S/NVQs.)
• NVQs reflect best practice and are based on National Occupational Standards written by the particular employment-led body that represents your work area. In social care in England, this is Skills for Care.
• In an NVQ a National Occupational Standard is called a unit; you gain an NVQ by achieving a set number of units.
• You achieve units by demonstrating your competence at work. NVQs are gained in the workplace, not in a classroom or exam hall. NVQs require that you have a certain level of background knowledge about your area of work, so you may be able to use college awards (qualifications) as evidence towards the knowledge part of the requirements for the NVQ.
• NVQs have five levels, with level five being the highest. It is a common mistake to think these are equivalent to academic levels, but in fact they describe levels of operation at work. The level at which you are expected to work should determine what level of NVQ you need. For example, level 1 indicates work that is very highly supervised and requires very little or no individual decision-making (there is no level 1 in social care, for this reason). Workers at levels 4 and 5 are relatively unsupervised and will often have supervision of others as part of their task, and frequent responsibility for significant decisions (these are typically management posts that require a high level of competence).
The process of gaining an NVQ
• NVQs are assessed by qualified assessors who will observe your work and discuss with you your knowledge and understanding of why you work in particular ways.
• Collecting evidence of your competence to work to a set standard can include: direct observation, oral and written questioning, observing a product or outcome of your work, written testimony, expert witness statements or by you keeping a record of your work.
• The means by which you collect evidence will be discussed and agreed with you by a qualified assessor. This is called assessment planning.
• Once an assessment plan is agreed then either through direct observation or through other means the evidence of your work is collected. Your assessor will indicate to you how successful this has been. They will give you feedback on how well you are doing.
• Once enough evidence has been collected to meet the requirements of the qualification, your assessor will judge your evidence against the standards to which you are working.
• When you have been satisfactorily assessed in all the units for your qualification you will be awarded the particular National Vocational Qualification for which you registered.
Getting started – registering for an NVQ
• To gain an NVQ you need to register as a candidate at an NVQ Assessment centre. You will register for a particular subject, at a particular level.
• If you are in employment your manager or training adviser will be able to discuss this with you and probably help make arrangements for your registration. Some employers run their own NVQ assessment centres.
• If you are not currently in employment you will need to seek advice from a careers officer, college tutor or from your local NVQ assessment centre.
• You will need to know which units of competence are core, and you will make choices among further units that are optional. Your choices should reflect the work that you do. You should discuss this with your assessor or assessment centre, and with your employer, manager, or training officer at work.
• If you have existing qualifications or work experience which you think could earn you credit towards your chosen NVQ, you should discuss this with your assessment centre when you register. Credit towards an NVQ is called APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experience or Learning). The assessment centre may have to take advice about APEL claims from whichever awarding body they work with (the awarding body is the organisation that allows the NVQ to be given, and controls the quality of NVQs).
• Once you are registered you will receive a Personal Identification Number from the awarding body to which your assessment centre is accredited.
• Information about your qualification is kept on a national computer, so that if you change employment or gain employment during the time it takes to gain your qualification the awarding body can keep a record for you and your new employer on how your qualification is progressing.
• Advice on becoming an NVQ candidate can also be sought from any NVQ assessment centre. They will advise you which NVQ and which level is suitable for your needs.
The NVQs in Health and Social Care are:
· Health and Social Care levels 2, 3 and 4. At levels 3 and 4 candidates can choose an adult or children and young people pathway dependent on the work they are doing
|
|
|
