Becoming An Assessor in 2023
The New Year is fast approaching and we’ve seen 2022 fly. It may be time to think about becoming an assessor in 2023. We can’t believe it’s gone so quickly and that 2023 is on our doorstep! If you want to become an assessor and don’t know where to start, then we’re here to help you. We’re going to give you a comprehensive guide all about becoming an assessor. What it is and what you need in order to become one.
If you’re starting to become bored in your job/career or you want some career progression, then becoming an assessor is for you. Why should you become one? What benefits does it have for you? There are quite a lot of reasons why someone would become an assessor. Here are a few definitive reasons.
- Improved salary. This is one of the main reasons why someone becomes an assessor. As it does increase your wage. As the average salary is around £32,500 per year.
- Work-life balance. This is another great reason why people become assessors, as it gives you more flexibility and time to yourself and for the more important things.
What is an Assessor?
As an Assessor, you support and guide learners through vocational qualifications. Your job is to collect various different types of evidence from your learners to meet all the learning outcomes. On a day-to-day basis you would complete these jobs:
- Plan and deliver NVQ training programmes and workshops,
- Observe candidate’s competency in their workplace,
- Examine candidate’s portfolios of evidence
- Question candidates on how they would deal with a non-standard situation,
- Provide feedback and advice if the standards are not met
- Sign off the NVQ when all the criteria have been met,
- Keep records of learners progress according to the requirements of the NVQ Awarding Body,
- And attend standardisation meetings with other assessors.
Some jobs vary depending on what sector you’re in and what you’re assessing, as this is just a general overview of what you could be up to daily.
What Qualifications do I need?
The assessor qualifications have gone through quite a change. From the D32/33, A1 Award and to what we have now the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA). There are four different qualifications, three assessor awards and one certificate, all letting you do different things. Finding out which one is for you can be a bit of a tricky job, to help with that we’re going to go through each qualification and what it does. For you to then make an informed decision on which one would be best for you.
Level 3 Award in Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment
The first qualification we have is the UPPA, which is the Level 3 Award in Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment. This course doesn’t qualify you to assess, as it’s the theory unit. However, this is a great piece of CPD if you’re already a qualified assessor and want to brush up on your knowledge.
Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment
Secondly, the next qualification is the ACWE. The Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment. This qualification qualifies you to assess learners in their work environment, but not the learning environment. Within the course, you have two units, 1 and 2. The first Unit is the theory unit which takes you through the responsibilities of an assessor and the second unit is the practical one, where you assess learners in their workplace. This course can be really good for people who only want to assess in the workplace, so construction assessors for example.
Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocational Related Achievement
Similar to the ACWE, we have the AVRA. Which is the Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocational Related Achievement. This qualifies you to assess learners in their learning environment, but not the workplace. Like ACWE, the AVRA course is made up of two units, this is units 1 and 3.
Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement
If you want to be a fully qualified assessor then you’ll need to hold the CAVA or Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement. In which you can assess learners in both their workplace and learning environments. In addition, the course is made up of three units, 1, 2 and 3. Thus making you a fully qualified assessor. This is the most comprehensive assessor qualification there is.
Becoming An Assessor?
To become an Assessor, there are only a couple of things you need. These are occupational competence and the CAVA qualification. Occupational competence comes in the form of accredited qualifications and/or work experience. It really does depend on the area you wish to assess. For example, most Hairdresser assessor jobs will ask for a minimum of a Level 2/3 in hair and beauty qualification. However, it depends on the sector and it may vary from employer to employer. So it’s a good idea to have a look at job requirements to see what most employers want.
The CAVA course is the ‘universal’ Assessor qualification. What we mean by this, is that regardless of the sector you work in, you’ll need the same qualification. Whether you want to assess in Hairdressing, Dental or Construction. You need the CAVA.
If we have enticed you to become an Assessor you can get started in January of 2023! We have no set start or end dates, so there are no time constraints as you can work at your own pace! If you have any questions about the assessor training course then you can either send us an email at training@brooksandkirk.ac.uk or you can give us a call at 01205 805 155 and one of our friendly course advisors would be happy to help.
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.