The Ultimate Guide To Becoming An

Becoming an Assessor is more than just a new job, it’s a new you. As an assessor it’s your responsibility to train the workforce of tomorrow. So, whether you have experience working in trades, social care, personal training, hairdressing or in any other line of work for that matter; if you’re a people person and you like the sound of helping others to succeed, a career as an assessor is for you! However, changing careers is always going to be a daunting prospect. Especially so when it’s hard to find any definitive answers to the many questions you have. So, we thought rather than waiting for you to come to us with the questions, we would come to you with the answers. But, the answers to these questions can differ slightly dependent on what type of assessor you are looking at becoming. Please choose the type of assessor role you’re interested in to find out more.

Chapter 1 — On Programme & NVQ Assessors Chapter 2 — End-Point Assessors

Don’t worry! We give a simple, concise explanation on what each type of assessor does at the beginning of each chapter

1 About Brooks and Kirk & The Author

2 Chapter 1

3 What does an Assessor do?

4 Who becomes an Assessor?

5 Who becomes an NVQ Assessor? (cont.)

6 Who becomes an NVQ Assessor? (cont.)

7 What do I need to become an assessor?

8 Chapter 2—End-Point Assessment

9 What does an End-Point Assessor Do?

10 Who Becomes an End-Point Assessor?

11 How can I Become an End-Point Assessor?

12 Chapter 3

13 History of the Assessor Qualifications

14 What is TAQA?

15 Current Assessor Qualifications

16 Current Assessor Qualifications (cont.)

17 Conclusion

Brooks and Kirk We have been delivering vocational training for over 20 years. Although we used to offer an array of NVQs, we have developed into a company that specialises in Assessor, Internal Quality Assurance and Tutor Training. During that time, we have had the chance to work with some of the largest companies in the UK as well as some amazing individuals.

So, when it comes to finding out all there is to know about becoming an assessor, you can be sure that you are in safe and experienced hands.

The Author Steve has been designing and delivering Assessor and IQA Training courses for many years. In fact, some might say too many! During that time, he has seen the assessor qualifications change name 3 times. So, because of his passion for Assessor Training, Steve started Brooks and Kirk Assessor Training. He thought, ”rather than be a Jack-of-all-Trades, why not be the Master of one?!“ Steve has also been called upon to share his knowledge as a guest speaker at both national and regional events.

Oh, and when he’s not working, Steve has been known to have a fondness for beer and heavy metal music. Yes, he did used to have long hair… but for some reason he says we can’t share those photos with you!

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Whilst On-Programme (OP) Assessors and NVQ Assessors are technically two different positions, we are classifying them as the same type of assessor. The reason for this is because the roles and responsibilities of OP and NVQ Assessors are practically identical. OP Assessors are the assessors who are responsible for taking a learner through their apprenticeship (or at least, the ‘on-programme’ element of it). Whereas, NVQ Assessors are simply responsible for supporting learners through a vocational qualification, whether that be as part of an apprenticeship or not. Which is why it is entirely possible for an NVQ Assessor to also be an OP Assessor and vice versa!

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They provide support, guidance and training where necessary, to help learners achieve their desired vocational qualification and/or apprenticeship.

THE SIMPLE ANSWER

THE DETAILED ANSWER NVQ and OP Assessors are responsible for collecting evidence to show that an individual is competent within their occupation. Assessors do this in a variety of ways, but a couple of the most common methods involve observing learners carrying out duties in their place of work and setting the learner projects and assignments. As well as that, here are a few other common tasks you would be required to perform as an assessor…

• Provide feedback and offer advice if the standards are not met

• Sign off the NVQ when all the requirements have been met

• Keep records of candidates progress, according to awarding body’s requirements

• Attend meetings with other assessors

• Ensure that apprentices meet the ‘gateway requirements’ and are prepared for the

End-Point Assessment (OP Assessors only).

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The Battle Weary have trained to become an Assessors because health problems meant that they found it difficult to continue in their current role. An example of this is a Health and Social Care Assessor who left working in care because she developed a bad back. We also had this reason given by many who worked in construction trades; from Electrical Installation Assessors with bad knees, to Plastering and Tiling Assessors with dodgy

shoulders. In addition some people simply want a change from ‘front line’ duties and simply want a more diverse job role moving forward.

Recently, we were asked “who becomes an NVQ Assessor?” And whilst at first, you may think that the answer is obvious, when we thought about it, there were actually a lot of different possible answers. So, we did a survey on a cross-section of previous learners of Brooks & Kirk Assessor Training and found that everyone fell into 1 of these 5 groupings…

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Childcare obligations or care of close family members were the most common causes mentioned for looking to make a change to their work-life balance. The cost of childcare or cost of caring for an elderly relative meant their income was all but vanishing. The flexibility that freelance assessor roles offered enabled them to continue earning whilst still providing the necessary care. Other members of this group decided to move from full– time to part-time working.

You might think that this is a strange group. ‘Surely every NVQ Assessor wants to be a knowledge giver?’ And you would be right, yes, they do. The difference between this group and the other groups is that this was either their primary reason or indeed, their only reason for training to be an Assessor. They liked doing their job, were able to carry on doing their job and simply wanted to share their knowledge and skills with the next generation coming through.

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This groups reason was the most straightforward. They either simply fancied a change of career or circumstances forced them to. Many get a little bored of their current role and like the idea of a new challenge. Training to become an Assessor was a relatively quick and stress-free way of effecting a career change without wasting all the knowledge and skills they had built up over the years

This last group actually turned out to have far less members than we expected. Nonetheless, a second income was still the main reason for some. The second incomers simply wanted more cash. The reasons they wanted or needed more money were of course varied. But the three main ones that popped up the most were: pay bills, little luxuries or supplement their early retirement.

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Over the years of working within this industry, we have seen a lot of websites give some really unnecessarily confusing answers to this question. But don’t worry, we’re here to provide you with a simple answer.

To put it simply, you need to have two things. Occupational competence in the area you want to assess in and an appropriate assessor’s qualification. The CAVA (the level 3 Certificate in Assessing vocational Achievement) is the most current, full assessors qualification which we will talk about more later. The requirements for On-Programme and NVQ assessor jobs can vary from one learning provider to another. For example, one might say that you need to be a qualified and experienced assessor with a Level 3 NVQ in your area of expertise, whereas another might just need to be working towards completion of an assessor course and have a minimum of 2 years experience working within your industry. Because of this, it is difficult to give an answer to that question that will be right for everyone. However, there is one answer that is true to all OP and NVQ assessor positions… As an absolute minimum, you need to meet the requirements set out by the awarding body that the training provider use certificate. This should be easily found on the awarding organisation’s website.

But, how can you know what the requirements are for that awarding body? Well, you’d need to find the specification online for the qualification that you want to assess; and look for a ‘Requirements for assessors’ section within their spec. Or you can just give us a call. We can then answer all of your questions over the phone; it’s always easier to speak to someone! If you prefer visual explanations then we have a video with a simple answer to ‘How can I become an assessor?’

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Now it’s time to introduce you to the assessor role that is only a few years old; and that is the role of an End-Point (EP) Assessor. EP Assessors are responsible for determining what type of pass (pass, merit or distinction) an apprentice achieves come the end of their apprenticeship. An End-Point assessor has absolutely no involvement with the delivery or assessment of vocational qualifications. As you will find out in this chapter, the role of an End-Point assessor is distinctively different to that of an NVQ and On-Programme assessor. However, the process of becoming one, is remarkably similar.

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They carry out a one-off synoptic assessment with apprentices at the end of their apprenticeship, using an industry standard, predefined assessment plan.

THE SIMPLE ANSWER

THE DETAILED ANSWER

EP Assessors are responsible for establishing what type of pass a learner achieves on their apprenticeship. Unlike NVQ and On-Programme assessors, End-Point assessors aren’t required to create assessment plans. Instead, every single apprenticeship standard has it’s own ‘assessment plan’ document. This document contains a lot of useful information, but most importantly for the EP assessor, it details the assessments that they will carry out on the apprentice. A great way to think about the EPA role is to think about when you learn to drive. The instructor, (Or the On Programme Assessor for this example) will assess the driving competence throughout the learner’s journey (no pun intended). Then when the OPA thinks the learner is ready and they have clearly evidenced all the

competencies, the OPA will arrange the End-Point assessment with the Driving Test Examiner. Only the Driving Test Examiner can issue the driving licence and it is them that makes the final decision whether they are qualified. This is exactly what is happening with the new apprenticeship standards. Each driving test centre does not make up their own assessment plans. These are disseminated from the sector skills councils in question and in our context here would be the DVLA.

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Although now, it’s mainly (but not only) experienced assessors that become EP assessors. Assessment Organisations These are government approved organisations that offer End-Point assessments. So you can’t get EPA jobs with just any college or training provider. Awarding bodies are the biggest and most common assessment organisations.

End-Point Assessment is still a fairly new role to the Further Education

industry. Because of this, there has been a lot of uncertainty from assessment organisations with regards to what qualifications and experience they have been looking for from potential EP Assessors. Consequently, over the last few years, there has been a huge variety in the type of people that have got jobs as End-Point assessors.

We work closely with a couple of Further Education job sites and they have informed us that the majority of people applying for positions as End-Point assessors at the moment have at least a couple of years experience in assessment. It appears that because a lot of the job opportunities for EP assessors is freelance work, it’s something that those already working within the industry already are seeing as an ideal opportunity to boost their income. This is also ideal for the EPA organisation because it means they don’t have to spend a lot of time on training up the EP Assessor.

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The Simple Answer The requirements for EP assessor jobs vary from one apprenticeship standard and one assessment organisation to another. However, in the vast majority of cases, End-Point assessors will be required to have:

Alternatively, if you want an answer specific to your industry it is best to have a look at the Institute for Apprenticeships’ website as they have a full list of all apprenticeships with the current assessment plans and standards. The Detailed Answer Earlier, we mentioned that the assessment plan that accompanies every single new apprenticeship standard, has a lot of useful information in it. Well, in addition to it explaining what the assessment will look like, it also says what a suitably qualified EP assessor must have. Much the same as awarding bodies set the mandatory requirements for OP and NVQ assessors delivering vocational qualifications, sector skills councils and employers from respective industries set out the requirements for every EP assessor in the assessment plans. You can use the link to the top to search for the apprenticeship standard you are interested in and there you will find the assessment plan with the requirements.

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We have talked plenty about what is involved with becoming an assessor, but now it’s time for the most important part of the whole process… That is getting the right assessor qualification. Whether you are looking to become an On-Programme assessor, NVQ assessor or End-Point assessor, the qualification you need is still the same. Now that we’re talking training, we wanted to make it as easy as possible for you to start your journey to becoming an assessor the second you are ready. In this chapter we will be explaining and maybe even challenging some of the complex, confusing terminology using in the industry. We shall be exploring the range of assessor qualifications out there to hopefully find out exactly which qualification is needed for each different job role. The biggest and most confusing term that is flying around at the moment is TAQA.

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We understand that it can be very difficult identifying the name for the assessor course you need. One of the main reasons for this is that many websites still refer to old qualifications that no longer exist. So, here’s a brief history of all the Assessor qualifications that have existed to date:

1990’s

2010

2002

THE D32 & D33 UNITS

THE A1 & A2 AWARDS

THE TAQA SUITE OF QUALIFICATIONS

The D32/D33 Units were the first assessor qualifications. Suffice to say, the D Units ceased to exist as of 2002. As a result, they were replaced with the…

During this period of time, assessor training consisted of 2 units within a Learning and Development NVQ. These were: •A1 - Assess candidates using a range of methods •A2 - Assess candidates’ performance through observation.

Cue the introduction of the most misused acronym in the history of assessor training. In 2010, we saw the introduction of 4 new assessor qualifications. Confused about what ‘TAQA’ means? Well, you’re just about to find out on the next page!

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Something that you should note that there are no qualifications within the TAQA suite that actually qualifies people to train or be a teacher, despite the ‘T’ standing for Training. TAQA is all about the assessing qualifications and internal quality assurance qualifications. Currently, there is a range of Education and Training qualifications that do complement the assessor qualifications very well and this is why we see job requirements stating that an Education and Training qualification is desired or even required for some posts. We at Brooks and Kirk can most definitely provide some initial advise and guidance with regards to this and even go through the different ones around. Perhaps the Education and Training qualifications should be under the umbrella of TAQA too but they aren’t. TAQA is now an ‘industry standard’ phrase that we are all now used to and if employers require that candidates

need to have the TAQA qualification they are more than likely requiring that they have the CAVA qualification which we are going to talk about later on in this guide. In summary, you can not have the TAQA qualification but you most certainly can have a qualification that is under the umbrella of TAQA. If you prefer for a more visual explanation of what TAQA means, we have produced a video for our YouTube channel that explained exactly just that. What is TAQA?

TAQA stands for Training, Assessment and Quality Assurance. It is actually an ‘umbrella term’ which covers the suite of assessor qualifications and the IQA qualifications that are currently available. Within the TAQA suite, there are 4 Assessor qualifications and 3 Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) qualifications. So, whilst some websites and job adverts may make it sound like you need to achieve the qualification called ‘TAQA’, that isn’t the case because you can not do the TAQA qualification. Instead, you need one of the four current assessor qualifications or one of the three IQA qualifications.

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All 4 current assessor qualifications comprise of either one, a combination or all of the following units:

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Understanding the

Principles and Practices of Assessment

Assess Occupational Competence in the Work

Environment

Assess Vocational Skills, Knowledge and

Understanding

About the CAVA This is the course that will make you a fully qualified assessor. The full title is Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement. It is the modern day equivalent to the old A1 Award we mentioned in the ‘History of Assessor Qualifications’. The CAVA covers all 3 units and it is the most suitable qualification for anyone that is new to vocational assessment or need to assess in a variety or settings.

The CAVA qualifies you to assess learners in BOTH their work and in any learning environment. So, whether you need to be able to assess learners in classrooms, workplaces, online learning systems or all three, the CAVA would enable you to do so.

Entry Requirements There are no formal entry requirements for being able to enrol onto this course or any of the other assessor courses from the TAQA suite in fact. However, every assessor training provider can set their own requirements. That is why you may have seen different training organisations saying different things. The most common entry requirement that can cause people problems, is having access to learners to assess. As this is something that we can guarantee as part of our CAVA course at Brooks and Kirk, it wouldn’t be an issue with us. There is also a general requirement that the applicant has the necessary literacy skills appropriate for a practitioner in an assessing role. Some training originations require formal GCSEs and some don’t. We don’t. Not having GCSEs should not put anybody off however, as it is the responsibility for all training providers to aid and assist in these areas if they are not quite where they need to be upon enrolment.

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3

✓ ✓ ✓

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About the AVRA The AVRA stands for the Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocational Related Achievement. This qualifies people to only assess learners’ vocational knowledge and understanding and not their occupational competence in the work place. It contains Unit 1 and Unit 3 only.

This type of qualification is usually aimed at people who are assessing in a classroom or assessing knowledge using online virtual learning platforms only. If an assessor has no responsibility to check occupational competence in a work place then this qualification could be what is required. An example of the type of role could be a functional skills assessor or an assessor delivering health and safety course that only required learners to ‘understand’ or ‘know how to…’. Each accredited course specification should explain which assessor qualification assessors must have.

About the ACWE The full name of this qualification is called the Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment. This assessor qualification allows the assessor to assess learners’ occupational competence only. It contains Unit 1 and Unit 2 and not Unit 3.

Essentially, if an assessor only has to check competencies in the work place than this could be the one for them. This is usually in the form of observation of work place activates where candidates have got to ‘be able to.’ do something. An example of such a role could be an assessor working in the construction industry checking the competency of using a piece of equipment. They are not there to check knowledge and understanding within a classroom setting they re simply observing what they can do. Like with all qualifications, the course specification will specify the qualifications needed.

About the UPPA This is the forth and final assessor qualification that is currently available. It’s full title is the Level 3 Award in Understanding the Principals and Practices of Assessment. It only contains Unit 1, the knowledge unit and we must stress, this doesn't actually qualify the owner to be an assessor at all.

So why does it exist then? Well, this qualification is ideal for an assessor who has one of the old assessor qualifications and they want to refresh their knowledge or update their CPD record. Additionally, there may be a member of the company who may not actually do any assessing but is responsible for the administration in the office. They may be an examination officer in the business that needs to know the processes and procedures as part of their job role. If any of these applies then this qualification could be appropriate.

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3

✓ ✓

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3

✓ ✓

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3

✓

…

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We hope you find our e-book interesting and informative. I could talk, or write, about assessor training for hours and it would still never be possible to cover every question we have ever been asked. We just tried to cover the subject in just enough detail without going overboard. In assessment and education there is always another world of jargon and terminology to get our heads around. This is exactly why we decided to write this e-book in plain English. As for specific qualification requirements, it is down to your awarding body to make this clear but we understand analysing a course specification can be difficult enough as it is. That being said, if you are assessing an apprenticeship, working on an NVQ or any other RQF qualification for that matter, the chances are they will insist all assessors working with learners are appropriately qualified. Even if the qualification is not OFQUAL accredited, many training organisations, professional bodies or even insurance companies will insist that training is assessed by qualified practitioners. If you have any more questions, feel free to get in touch with us and we will do our best to help you out.

Copyright © 2018. Brooks and Kirk (Assessor Training) Ltd. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced to use in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.

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