Career Opportunities

Our ‘Course Bundles’ are now LIVE

Katie Gray Assessor Training, Career Advice, Career Opportunities, Education and Training Course, End-Point Assessment, Internal Quality Assurer 0

Are you looking for a career change but aren’t sure which qualification you need to take? Luckily for you, we have the solution! We have put together some new course bundles to help you work towards your dream career.

Whether you are looking to become an EPA, a Quality Manager, an Assessor, or an Internal Quality Assurer, we have the qualifications that you need. Oh, and – we have also added a bit of discount on these course bundles too, helping to save you some pennies! Here is some more detailed information about the new course bundles.

CAVA & EPA Bundle

The CAVA & EPA bundle gives you access to the following qualifications:

If you are looking to become an End-Point Assessor, this course bundle is perfect for you. To become an Assessor of any type you will need to complete the CAVA course. Then if you are looking to specialise as an EPA, the award will give you the skills and knowledge to effectively do this.

As well as having these two qualifications, it is important that you are competent in the subject you are wanting to assess in. This means that, for example, if you have experience in working in the Health & Social Care sector, you would not be able to assess a Management course – and vice versa.

CAVA & Lead IQA Bundle

For anyone wanting to become a Quality Manager, we have created the perfect course bundle for you – CAVA & Lead IQA bundle. This gives you access to the following courses:

The lead IQA course is the most highly regarded IQA qualification, and covers three core units which will allow you to both understand and carry out the role. You will be qualified to not only quality assure qualifications, but also implement IQA processes and manage other IQA staff.

CAVA & AET Bundle

Are you wanting to become a tutor or trainer in the education sector? This CAVA & AET bundle is the perfect choice for you. It gives you access to the following qualifications:

The Level 3 AET will give you all the knowledge and skills required to deliver teaching sessions to students. It is a nationally recognised qualification, so it is essential to have if you are wanting to work with a training provider. Lots of non-educational jobs have a teaching aspect these days, so by having the Level 3 AET as well as CAVA will demonstrate you have the full host of skills.

CAVA & IQA Award Bundle

Finally, we come to the CAVA & IQA bundle. We would advise that anyone looking to become an Internal Quality Assurer chooses this qualification bundle. The following courses are included:

The CAVA qualification will give you the knowledge and understanding, allowing you to become a qualified Assessor. The IQA award will then enable you to quality assure both assessments and assessment decisions. You would not be able to be a Lead IQA/Quality Manager with this course though; the Level 4 Certificate is required for that job role.

If you have any questions about any of these course bundles, or would like to find out more information please give the team at Brooks & Kirk a call on 01205 805155.

How to Become a Freelance Assessor

Katie Gray Assessor Training, Career Advice, Career Opportunities 0

With so much uncertainty at the moment when it comes to the world of work, many people are taking the plunge and launching their own businesses. Giving them financial freedom and more flexibility to fit work around their lifestyle. Becoming a freelance Assessor may sound like a daunting prospect, but sometimes you have to take that leap of faith in order to move forward in life.

Imagine a life that isn’t based around the monotonous 9-5 structure, where you can fit in that lunchtime gym session or walk in the park with a friend mid-afternoon. To begin with, yes, you may not have financial stability as you start to build the business up, but that will come in time. So how do you turn this fantasy into a reality? Let’s have a look at the steps you need to take in order to become a freelance Assessor.

Qualifications You Will Need

If you are wanting to become an Assessor, you firstly need to take some qualifications to demonstrate that you have the skills and knowledge required in order to assess learners. The best qualification for this is the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) as it is the most comprehensive, and is the only course that will fully qualify you as an Assessor.

There are 3 core units that form the CAVA qualification:

Understanding Principles & Practices of Assessment
Assess Occupational Competence In The Work Environment
Assess Vocational Skills, Knowledge & Understanding

Another qualification that is often studied alongside CAVA is the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET). This course is ideal for anyone wanting to teach adult learners, which is why it works in tandem with Assessor qualifications. So if you are considering freelancing for colleges or Apprenticeship Training Providers, it is best to achieve both qualifications.

Showing Competency

As well as having an Assessor qualification under your belt, you will also need to be able to demonstrate occupational competency. Putting this into simple terms, what we mean is you need to show that you have experience in the industry or field that you plan on assessing in. So even if you gained the CAVA qualification, but had no experience within Health & Social Care, this wouldn’t give you the right of passage to assess Health & Social Care apprentices.

What A Freelance Assessor Does

It is likely that you will be working with more than one candidate at a time, so good time management and organisational skills are essential. The main responsibility of a freelance Assessor is to visit the apprentice in their place of work, and assess whether their skills meet the standards of the apprenticeship.

As well as observing and monitoring their progress, you will need to firstly identify what the apprentice knows, and what they are capable of doing. Once you have determined this, you can come up with an action plan to help give the apprentice the skills and knowledge they require.

Regular Freelance Assessor Schedule

We have written several ‘day in the life’ style blogs where we have looked at a standard day for an Assessor, so feel free to go back through and have a read of those. As a rough guide, here are some of the typical activities that a freelance Assessor is involved in:

Planning and delivering vocational training programmes
Observing and assessing apprentices in their place of work
Grading the documentation from the apprentice
Keeping a record of the apprentice’s progress
Providing regular feedback to the apprentice

If you are ready to take the next step and become a freelance Assessor, the team at Brooks and Kirk are here to support you through the process. Get in touch today to find out more about the right Assessor course for you, and we can get you enrolled straight away. Call us on 01205 805155.

Why Should I Become an Assessor?

Katie Gray Assessor Training, Career Advice, Career Opportunities, News 0

Making any career move can be a daunting decision. If we have caught you looking through our website we are assuming that you might be considering becoming an Assessor. Now, you may be wondering whether a career in assessing is the right choice for you; and we want to help with that. We will be giving you all the information you need so that you can make an informed decision. We aren’t here to sell you a course for the sake of it!

Improving Your Work-Life Balance

We have already taken a deep dive into why people become Assessors, but that was some time ago so here is a little recap for you. This past year has made us all realise just how important family and flexibility within our jobs are. It is important to prioritise your happiness, and sometimes that isn’t simple with a 9-5 job. This means you need to invest in yourself, and what better way to do that than by getting more qualified? Not only will this allow you to progress within your chosen field, but becoming a qualified Assessor may well open up a higher rate of pay too.

Qualified For Life

Qualifications aren’t something that can be taken away from you. Once you complete the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA), you will be fully qualified to assess learners in their place of work as well as in learning environments. If you think about an Assessor qualification as an investment in yourself, it is a very permanent investment. Whereas if you were to invest in stocks and shares, there is no guarantee that you wouldn’t lose all your money!

Keeping Skills Updated

We often harp on about how important it is to keep your CPD record up to date, and for good reason! In the ever-changing workplace, you can’t rely on jobs and roles remaining stable. So, the more you can do to keep your skills up to date the better. If it comes down to letting one person go from the company, and you are up against someone who is more qualified; who do you think they will let go?

Gaining an Assessor qualification will not only give you more security within your job, it will also help you to be more adaptable. By ensuring your knowledge, skills and behaviours are up to date, you will have all the tools needed to cope with any changes that might come your way.

You Could Go Solo

With lots of industry experience and an Assessor qualification under your belt, there is nothing to stop you from becoming your own boss and venturing into the world of freelance assessing. Now, this does take someone who is highly motivated and good at managing their own time. But it means that you can work whenever suits your routine. So if you want to go for a dog walk when the sun is out at lunchtime, you would have the freedom to do that. Much better than being chained to an office chair all day!

Compliance At Work

You may have noticed that in recent years there has been a much bigger emphasis on ‘tick box exercises’. Since the introduction of GDPR, businesses have all been forced to document, record and check everything properly. This responsibility often falls onto the Assessor – whether you are working with candidates, clients or colleagues. Assessors are the ones who sort everything out and make sure that the company is complying with the requirements set out by either the EPAO or the awarding body.

So there you have it, our top reasons on why you should become an Assessor. Get in touch if you would like any more information on any of the Assessor qualifications that we offer. We are also more than happy to run through the roles and responsibilities of an Assessor in more detail – call us on 01205 805155.