Hi

just a question about the nvq 3. How much written work is undertaken? i am asking because i hear conflicting accounts from different people. most say it is a lot of written work yet my work colleague has just completed her course and i was surprised that she did not have to do a vast amount of written work. Aside from the knownledge questions and some reflective accounts she was observed by her assessor on a few occasions and had a number of professional discussions. it appears that her assessor had linked most of what they had seen and heard and was able to use this to show that she had demostrated compentence across the units. Is this the norm or dependant on the assessor and training centre? Does the amount of work needed vary according to the awarding bodies? it just seems to me that my colleagues' experience of doing the nvq was a rewarding one. Not because it was easy but because she was not so loaded down with paperwork and felt the discussions she had, allowed her to better express what she did and how they did it. whilst she still had to provide proof of the work she was doing in the form of the work products completed as part of her job.

just curious and interested to hear other peoples opinions or experiences

Hi elgin, the NVQ is about demonstrating competence at work, not produing huge folders of wrtten work, I think most awarding bodies prefer assessment to be holistic, that is, to cover more than one unit at a time and the assessor is key to this. Also, and this is my personal opinion,knowledge specs are not questions to be answered, some can be covered in observation and professional discussion. Candidates should not be asked to answer each knowledge spec, there is no need to do this, but that is just my feeling on the subject. I hope your experience is as rewarding Katrina

Hi Elgin
Katrina is 100% correct. An efficient and effective assessor (which I humbly think I am) can support and guide a candidate through the NVQ process without burdening them down with pages and pages of questions. A few good, thorough observations and some "meaty" personal statements can cover the majority of evidence to satisfy the standards and the awarding body. Some assessors are frightened to sign off units too early and ask for additional evidence "just in case" instead of having the confidence to say "I'm satisfied with your competence in this unit"
By "meaty" statements I mean quality not quantity. Far more evidence can be obtained through a personal statement/reflective account of, say, how you dealt with a client having a fit than half a dozen about giving medicine etc. You will cover health and safety, medical needs, report writing, respect for the individual, communication etc etc.

I ramble on.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Hi Dave glad I'm not alone on this, I really feel for some candidates who are given the standards and told to get on with it. It is one of my "soap box" topics as you probably know that knowledge specs are not questions and I have to rant about this from time to time. Thanks for listening katrina

Thanks for your replys katrina and isettaman

Its interesting to know other peoples views. I have to admit that i have been put off starting an nvq because of other peoples experiences. Some of whom have not managed to finish the course or taken a long time in doing so. I have decided to take the plunge but i am still a bit wary because the organisation i work for have signed up with a different provider and so i am hoping everything will be fine.

Hi Elgin

Just to balance the equation, i'm on the other end of the scale and have been "left to get on with it" by my assessor. So far have completed Tech Certificate and two optional units and all remain unread by assessor. All knowledge specs i've answered like questions, sometimes here for hours!!! To top all that, my assessor was coming to see me on 6 May but cancelled, so work remains unread and she hasn't contacted me with another appointment yet!

Hope you have better luck!!

Ultraviolet

P.S this forum is great and is a lifeline to me. so thank u all who have helped me so far.

Hi Ultraviolet

Your assessor is certainly letting you down.
It seems that most assessors visit monthly but I visit every two weeks as I find this keeps the motivation going and ensures we don't end up with mountains of evidence to wade through. Also, it is unfair to the candidate to leave him/her for weeks at a time producing evidence that may not be sufficient or relevant. Another good practice is to always arrange the next visit at the current visit then everyone knows what is going on.
My candidates do not take any more than six months for a straight NVQ, usually less, unless there are particular issues when the candidate requires additional support.
Get your manager to contact your training provider and ask for better support from your assessor.
Awarding bodies insist on assessors supporting candidates by making regular visits and clearly explaining the NVQ process what is expected of them.

Hope this helps.

Dave

PS Has your assessor explained the complaints and appeals procedure to you?

Hi Dave

Thanks for the advice, wish you worked in my area!!! Havent been informed by this assessor about complaints procedure but I am aware of it from doing my NVQ2. If it continues i will take your advice as she still hasnt contacted me to re-schedule an appointment.

Thanks Dave

Ultraviolet

I too wish i had an assessor like dave, although we do meet regularly i have been struggling doing reams of paperwork to satisfy. I started last September and as yet have only completed 2 units. well at least 2 units signed off do have 4 with quite a lot of work done and hope to have 2 of these signed off in the near future, i must say i wish i had come across this forum earlier as it has been a god send. Thanks to all who help. also i had been using the Yvonne Nolan book but recently came across another book which i have found much more useful it is Health & Social Care NVQ 3 candidate book by Eleanor Langridge. endorsed byCity & Guilds

Echo what is being said, i currently feel the written papaer work is never ending, i know i know the answers to what is bieng asked but putting it on paper is the hard part it all seems so lenghty and boring. Plus writing all this down is proving nothing, it is not making me any better at my job.

It has to be done this way because the IV and EV do not know you from adam or where you work. They therefore need you to demonstrate what you are doing and in the context it is done.

The NVQ in management/rma is done slightly different to HSC because you have to write a reflective linking in your evidence. It also gets you thinking more and linking it into knowledge.

I would like to see the knowledge evidence scrapped in favour of assignments and an exam personally. Would stop this repetitive nature which does happen in every unit of alot of NVQs I have undertaken in HSC and Management.

A problem however is many candidates do not understand the need to do the paperwork nor are many centres promoting paperless NVQs which exist also. NVQs can also be done through Assessor discussions and through the use of audio tape for those who are not good at writing things down.

ps The technical certs help avoid the need to keep repeating yourself with knwledge evidence.

The OU also run courses which are designed to meet the knowledge evidenc for NVQs. The drawback of this is it is alot of money.