Become an Assessor Before the New Academic Year
Finally – the summer holidays have just begun! And what a way to start them with this heatwave we’re getting at the moment. 6 weeks of relaxing, spending time with the kids, going on holiday… what more could you want?
Well, you could be thinking about finding something new to do in September. Maybe you’re starting to get bored in your current job, or perhaps just fancy a change. Whatever the reason, we can make it happen. In the next 6 weeks, you could become an Assessor ready for the new Academic Year.
What is an Assessor?
An Assessor is someone who supports and guides learners through vocational qualifications. As an Assessor, your job is to collect various different types of evidence from your learners to meet all of the learning outcomes specified within their qualification. Generally, on a day-to-day basis, you would be expected to:
- Plan and deliver NVQ training programmes and workshops;
- Observe candidates’ competency in their workplace;
- Examine candidates’ portfolios of evidence;
- Question candidates about how they would deal with non-standard situations;
- Provide feedback and offer advice if the standards are not met;
- Sign off the NVQ when all the requirements have been met;
- Keep records of candidates’ progress, according to the requirements of the NVQ awarding bodies;
- Attend standardisation meetings with other assessors;
- Work closely with the training staff and candidates’ line managers.
(this information has been taken from our NVQ Assessor FAQ).
How do I become an Assessor?
To become an Assessor, there are only a couple of things you need.
- Occupational Competence
- The Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement
Occupational Competence comes in the form of accredited qualifications and/or work experience. It all depends on the Industry you wish to assess in, as to whether you will be required to hold a qualification in that area or not. For example, most Health and Social Care assessor jobs will ask for a minimum of Level 3 in Health and Social Care. On the other hand, a lot of jobs in trades will ask for a number of years work experience. It all depends on your sector – so we’d advise having a look at job sites to see what requirements employers are looking for!
Now, the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (for short, CAVA) is the ‘universal’ Assessor qualification. By this, we mean that regardless of the sector you work in, you’ll need the same qualification. So whether you want to assess in Early Years, Construction, Dental – you need the CAVA. Find out more about this qualification on our CAVA page.
Can I become a Qualified Assessor by September?
You can indeed – we’ve designed our courses to have no start/end dates. This means you can start the course whenever you like, and take as long as you need to finish it. The quickest completion we have had to date is 2 weeks. So effectively, you could start the course today with just a deposit of £50, and have plenty of time to complete in the next 6 weeks*.
*subject to practical session availability.
For more information, give us a call on 01205 805 155, or send us an email at training@brooksandkirk.co.uk. You can also message us on Facebook.
Steve is a Chartered Manager and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
He provides Educational Consultancy to the 19+ sector as well as being an Assessor, IQA, EPA and Digital Marketing Professional. When not doing any of these he finds time, every now and then, to write blogs and articles.