How to Choose the Right Assessor Qualification?

As there is a wide variety of Assessor qualifications, it can be hard to choose the right one! As the requirements for assessor roles are varied, depending on the employer and the qualification itself.

There are two things you need in order to become an assessor, these are occupational competence and assessor qualification. We’re going to look at both of them in more detail in separate blogs so don’t worry.

You may be familiar with the original course names, as it has been revamped a few times. First, we had D23 and D33 units in the 90s, then in 2001, it changed to A1 and A2 Awards. After that, it got changed to the ‘TAQA’ qualification. We’ve gone into what TAQA is in a previous post, but just to summarise, it stands for Training, Assessment and Quality Assurance.

PRESENT-DAY ASSESSOR QUALIFICATIONS

Sometimes employers will ask for the D32/33 or A1, but they really mean the CAVA course. Within the Assessment part of TAQA, you have 4 different Assessor qualifications. These are made up of a combination of these three units:

1. Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment (unit 1)
2. Assess Occupational Competence in the Work Environment (unit 2)
3. Assess Vocational Skills, Knowledge and Understanding (unit 3)

We’re going to go through each one individually to give you an idea of what each qualification is.

LEVEL 3 AWARD IN UNDERSTANDING THE PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES OF ASSESSMENT (UPPA)

This qualification is a standalone unit, unit 1. This is a knowledge and theory-based unit, which covers everything behind vocational assessment, from what it is and how to plan them.

The UPPA qualification won’t qualify you to carry out assessments on learners, however, it is a great piece of CPD for already established Assessors or End-Point Assessors.

LEVEL 3 AWARD IN ASSESSING VOCATIONALLY RELATED ACHIEVEMENT (AVRA)

The AVRA qualification is a step up from the UPPA. As the qualification allows you to carry out some assessments. The key word is some! However, you can assess learners in their learning environments such as classrooms, workshops or online systems.

There are two units in the course. Units, 1 and 3. Which you can the vocational skills and knowledge of the learners. However, this qualification doesn’t allow you to assess in the work environment.

LEVEL 3 AWARD IN ASSESSING COMPETENCE IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT (ACWE)

Similarly, if you want to assess in the work environment then this is the qualification you need. This course has Units 1 and 2, so the theory-based one and then the practical unit. This course is really ideal for people who are looking to become in-house assessors for a company they work for. But this won’t qualify you to assess in the learning environment.

LEVEL 3 CERTIFICATE IN ASSESSING VOCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT (CAVA)

If you want to assess both the work environment and the learning place, then you will need the CAVA course. This is the most comprehensive course as it allows you to do both, meaning you become a fully qualified assessor. This covers all three units. Most if not all assessor jobs will want you to hold the CAVA or are working towards it. It certainly looks more appealing to employers if you hold the full CAVA qualification.

So now you know about all the qualifications! It’s not down to you to decide which one is the best for you. You can go over to our friends at Brooks and Kirk and see that they provide all the courses mentioned in this post. If you have any questions you can send us an email over on our email hello@nvqassessor.org.uk. Don’t be afraid too! We love answering your questions.