Internal Quality Assurer VS Quality Manager
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an Internal Quality Assurer (IQA) and a Quality Manager? Well luckily for you, that is exactly what we are going to run through in this blog post! Firstly let’s have a quick look at the difference between quality assurance and quality control.
Quality control is carried out by the Quality Manager, and is defined as the part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements. In short, it is more about the inspection aspect of quality management. Quality assurance, on the other hand, is providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled. So in essence, this is more focused on the confidence aspect which is provided both internally to management, and externally to customers, regulators and third parties.
Internal Quality Assurer
It is the responsibility of an Internal Quality Assurer (IQA) to ensure that assessment is consistent and fair across all learners. There are a few other key roles you would be required to carry out as an IQA:
- Providing support to both newly qualified and experienced Assessors.
- Developing and implementing policies and procedures for the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment.
- Planning and managing External Quality Assurer visits.
There are three different types of IQA qualification that will each allow you to carry out different job roles. We have looked at these in detail in our ‘what is an IQA qualification’ blog. The best qualification to take which is the equivalent to the old Internal Verifiers qualification is the Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practices.
Within the quality assurance process, audits and process analysis are regularly carried out in order to manage the quality of the assessments.
Quality Manager
This is often referred to as the Lead IQA, and involves the management of other IQAs. If you are looking to become a Lead IQA, you will need to complete the Level 4 Certificate in Leading the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice. This will allow you to both lead and manage the whole quality assurance process. It also equips you with the skills to carry out the following:
- Manage the Internal Quality Assurance process for a training centre.
- Manage other Internal Quality Assurers.
- Develop and write Internal Quality Assurance policies and procedures.
- Manage EQA visits.
So as you can see, the role of a Quality Manager is very similar to that of an IQA; they just have the experience and knowledge to manage other IQAs as well. With the quality control process, inspections and sampling are carried out in order to verify the correctness and quality of the assessments.
Working In Harmony
Internal Quality Assurers and Quality Managers work very closely together. The Quality Manager receives input from the IQA and provides feedback to them. This ensures that the IQA can then validate the process.
If you would like to find out more about either of these roles, or the qualifications needed in order to become an Internal Quality Assurer or a Quality Manager, please give us a call on 01205 805155.
