How to Become a Freelance Assessor

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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:

  1. Understanding Principles & Practices of Assessment
  2. Assess Occupational Competence In The Work Environment
  3. 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.