Assessors, Assessor Training & Qualifications
If you are looking to add Assessors to your organisation, there are lots of different things to consider. First, you need to look at the range of Assessor qualifications and decide which is best suited to your organisation’s assessment strategy. Then you need to identify who would be best to take on the role of an Assessor. Your Assessors must be occupationally competent within the area they are assessing, so that is the best place to start. Who within your organisation already has the experience and knowledge to become an Assessor, and just lacks the qualifications?
Key Roles Of An Assessor
When choosing who you are going to put forward to become an Assessor, it is important that you understand the roles they will be managing, so that you can choose the right candidate. The main things they will be responsible for are:
- Managing the assessment processes with their learners
- Planning the assessments
- Gathering evidence
- Giving accurate and constructive feedback
- Maintaining assessment records
As you can see from these main roles, Assessors need to have great communication and organisational skills in order to work with others. Feedback is a really important part of the role, and it is important this is delivered in the correct manner.
Assessor Training
When you think about Assessor training and qualifications, these actually need to be split into two different areas. The qualifications will give an Assessor all the knowledge they need to carry out their role, but training will give them the experience and additional skills. Assessor training should be encouraged, in order to allow them to apply what they have learnt back in the workplace environment.
Think about what you need your Assessors to be able to do once they have completed their training, as this will help you guide them through the process. You need competent Assessors who:
- Understand their roles and responsibilities in the assessment process
- Know how to adhere to the assessment processes of your organisation
- Are confident in having conversations with other Assessors and providing feedback
Assessor Qualifications
If you are wanting your Assessor to be able to carry out assessments both within the workplace and in learning environments too, the best qualification is the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA). Your Assessor will complete the following 3 units:
- Understanding Principles & Practices of Assessment
- Assess Occupational Competence in the Work Environment
- Assess Vocational Skills, Knowledge & Understanding
No matter what industry your Assessor will be working in, the qualification needed is the same – the CAVA. It is the only course which will allow your member of staff to become a fully qualified Assessor, and if you choose Brooks and Kirk as your training provider we can guarantee access to learners to assess as part of the course. No other Assessor Training Provider can guarantee this, so that is even more of a reason to choose our course!
Training Combined With A Practical Assignment
Once your Assessor has completed their qualification, it is always a good idea to get them to complete a practical assessment too. This gives you the chance to see first-hand the skills and knowledge they have learnt, and how they apply this to their assessments. It is all very well completing a qualification but you need to make sure the learning has been absorbed! They need to be able to show evidence that they can apply their new skills to the job.
The sooner you can get the newly qualified Assessor to apply their skills after the training, the better. This will set them up for success when it comes to assessing learners.
If you would like any more information about the other Assessor qualifications that we provide here at Brooks and Kirk, including the Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment (ACWE) and the Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement (AVRA), please contact us on 01205 805 155.
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.
