Becoming an assessor

I want to be an assessor

There are many areas in the Further Education and Training sector, especially technical qualifications, where the skills and knowledge are acquired on the job or by in-place training and then qualifications are gained by on-the-job assessment: often this involves someone actually watching what you do, like in a driving test practical. Bricklaying, Hairdressing, Customer Care are all examples of areas where such assessment takes place, and frequently this applies to training programmes such as apprenticeships.

This means there is a need for trained staff to undertake the role of the assessor for these qualifications. In order to do this you need some track record in the technical area being assessed (preferably also a qualification), and also a knowledge of the assessment approach as demonstrated by holding the relevant assessor qualifications (see below). Some Awarding Bodies stipulate that the assessors must hold particular assessor qualifications in order to assess their technical qualifications.  This means there is a demand for those who hold these qualifications and so there are jobs in this area.

The qualifications are:

  • Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment
  • Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement
  • Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement

To ensure that the assessment is carried out fairly and consistently there is also a process of quality assurance (sometimes also referred to as internal and external verification), and Awarding Bodies require these processes to be undertaken by qualified individuals. Hence there are the following corresponding qualifications:

  • Level 4 Award in Understanding the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
  • Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
  • Level 4 Certificate in Leading the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
  • Level 4 Award in Understanding the External Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
  • Level 4 Award in the External Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
  • Level 4 Certificate in Leading the External Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice

Qualifications are offered in a variety of venues and by a range of awarding bodies. Additionally, some awarding bodies have now issued their own qualifications relating to apprenticeship end point assessment (EPA) however there is as yet no consistent picture in this area.