WHAT ARE NVQ / QCF’S

NVQ / QCF’s (National Vocational Qualifications). Make sure you have the skills knowledge and understanding to do your job well, an NVQ / QCF doesn’t just show that you have passed a written test – it proves that you really have what employers need.

Most jobs require practical skills and knowledge. Traditionally most qualifications have been awarded on the basis of examinations which measure what a person knows, NVQ / QCF are different. They use on the job training and assessment to provide evidence that a person can carry out work to a standard required by Industry.

WHAT‘S IN IT FOR ME?

The problem with most qualification is that they don’t always take account of experience or keep pace with what the person actually does. NVQ / QCF’s differ in that they assess current levels of competence against the National Standards for the industry.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

Whatever age your NVQs/SVQs are worth getting. They can be obtained at any stage in a person’s career.

The awarding bodies have agreed that work carried out in the past can qualify a person for any of the elements and units which go towards a level … so long as there is acceptable evidence that it was that persons work and carried out competently. For example existing qualifications, or in their absence reports photographs, samples of work or anything similar can be accepted by assessors as historical evidence, this is called Accreditation or Prior Learning or “APL.