Making Sense of NVQ Assessor Job Vacancies
There tends to be a lot of jargon in NVQ Assessor job vacancies. With NVQ Assessor roles salaried at £25k-£35K per annum, landing a job in one of these positions is a big deal. You may have come across job postings for these roles and been drawn to the high starting wage; the opportunity to travel between sites; or the chance to pass on your skills and knowledge to the next generation in your industry. Whatever your reason for looking into NVQ Assessor job vacancies or IQA vacancies, you want to make sure you’re applying for the ones you’re most qualified in. You need to get the best chance of getting called to an interview.
Making Sense of the Jargon
When looking for NVQ Assessor job vacancies or IQA job vacancies, you may never see the term ‘NVQ Assessor’ or ‘Internal Verifier’. Many companies have their own terminology for their in-house assessors and quality assurers.
Here are just a few we found on a quick search of the job sites:
- Regional Trainer
- IQA Assessor
- Trainer Assessor
- Direct Delivery Trainer
- Employability Coach
As you can see, the terminology used varies. That can make it even tougher to find the right position when searching for NVQ Assessor job vacancies or IQA vacancies.
Yet, all these jobs listed above require applicants to have some level of qualification from within the TAQA Framework.
How to Determine if I’m Qualified
Do I have the relevant experience?
Relevant experience, or ‘occupational competence’, is the first thing any employer will look for when hiring a new assessor. In the simplest terms, ‘occupational competence’ means you’ve worked in your industry for a certain amount of time at the required level. You have enough experience to recognise that someone else is doing the job well. It can also mean you have a high enough level of qualification within your industry to give you the expertise you need to assess others.
Different employers will have different requirements when it comes to the criteria. They want their applicants to show they have occupational competence. This will usually be specified by the number of years someone has had in a role or the level of NVQ training an applicant has undertaken in the industry.
Have I got the relevant qualification(s)?
When you’re not seeing the expected job title in your searches, you may start to wonder exactly what roles you are and aren’t qualified for. That’s when you need to start looking at the qualifications section of the NVQ Assessor job vacancies or IQA vacancies posts.
Depending on which course you have taken, you will be qualified to:
- Assess in classroom settings only (AVRA);
- Assess in workplace settings only (ACWE);
- Or assess in classroom and workplace settings (CAVA);
- Conduct quality assurance on assessment and assessment decisions only (Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice)
- Conduct quality assurance on assessment and assessment decisions, and lead quality assurance procedures and quality assurance staff (Level 4 Certificate in Leading the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice)
So, when looking to see whether you’re qualified for a position, you should start by checking the qualifications section of the post and searching for the title or acronym of your qualification.
I don’t see my qualification listed in the Assessor Job Vacancies?
The qualifications framework for Assessors and Internal Verifiers has changed over the years. This means while you might not see your qualification listed, there’s a chance an older equivalent will be in the job description.
In addition you might see D32 and D33 awards or A1 and A2 awards listed as desirable or essential qualifications. These are former qualifications that have now been replaced by the CAVA course.
Similarly, D34 and V1 courses have now been replaced by the IQA Qualifications.
Former Qualifications | Current Equivalent |
D32/D33 | CAVA |
A1 | CAVA |
D34 | IQA Qualifications |
V1 | IQA Qualifications |
Applying for Assessor Job Vacancies
By now, you should feel like you’re making sense of NVQ Assessor job vacancies. At least, you should be able to determine which roles you’re qualified for. It’s now time to check off the rest of the ‘essentials’ list.
Essential qualities
Almost all job posts will divide their requirements into a list of essential qualities and desirable qualities. Essential qualities are what the employer sees as vital to doing the job.
These might be key qualifications, skills or qualities, such as ‘great communication skills’; ‘previous experience working in a college’; or ‘must have an ILM in Management’.
Ideally, you will be able to say you have all of the ‘essential’ qualities. However, if you have almost all of them, it may still be worth applying. But, if you only meet one criteria from a long list, it may be better to continue your search for a better-suited position.
Desirable qualities
After checking you have the essentials, you’ll then want to move onto the list of ‘desirable’ qualities. These are the non-essential parts of a job description that may nevertheless give you the edge on the competition.
These are things such as additional qualifications, second languages, transport, and previous experience in specific areas. Of course the more you can bring to the table, the better. But, even if you have very few or even none of the desirable qualities, it is still worth applying if you meet the essential criteria of the job role. It never hurts to try! You may find you’re exactly what they’re looking for.
Send out your CV
Now that you’ve figured out how to decipher the often confusing job posts you’ll see for Assessor or IQA roles, it’s time to put yourself out there. Remember to refer to the essential requirements in the body of your CV. Also offer a paragraph about your previous experience. If you can find the name of the person who’ll be reviewing the CVs, even better. The more research you do about the company you’re applying to, the more professional you’ll seem.
Our friends at NVQAssessor.org.uk post job vacancies weekly so take a look over there for some no-nonsense assessor job vacancies.
Alternatively, if you’re not quite there yet but are thinking about a career change into assessing or quality assurance, why not take a look at Brooks and Kirk’s range of Assessor and IQA Qualifications?
Hopefully, this article will have well-explained exactly what’s required to secure one of these fantastic roles. If you’ve already got relevant experience in your field, then you’re halfway there! Why not give us a call today to find out how to take the next step?
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.