Welcome to our continuing Masterclass series which will now progress to the new topic of National Vocational Qualifications for the security systems sector.
Over the next few months I will be talking about NVQs – what they are, how they have been developed, how they are assessed and how you can achieve them.
Often you will see an ‘S’ in front of NVQ for example S/NVQ. The ‘S’ signifies that it is Scotland’s equivalent qualification.
National Vocational Qualifications are simply qualifications that are achieved by demonstrating competency. Some of the dictionary definitions for competency are:
Assessment essential
In order to achieve an NVQ you must demonstrate your competency to an assessor, (someone who checks your competency) to ensure that you can do your job to a predetermined standard. The standard that you are expected to reach is set out as a number of tasks, which is the NVQ. This is also referred to as the occupational standard.
National Vocational Qualifications for the electronic systems security industry have been developed by a committee of representatives from various companies within the security industry, training providers and colleges. They have ensured that the set of skills required is the minimum requirement of a person working in an installation, servicing or surveying role. They have also covered all of the disciplines; access control, closed circuit television, intruder alarms and fire systems.
There are 5 levels of National Vocational Qualification. The levels available to installers, service personnel and surveyors in the security industry are levels 2 and 3.
As the levels of an NVQ increase the respon-sibilities and range of work activities become more significant. At level 2 an individual has to be competent in a range of varied work activities performed in a variety of contexts. Individual autonomy and collaboration is a feature of this level.
At level 3 an individual is required to be competent in a broad range of varied work activities requiring considerable P31 C V P32 responsibility and autonomy, and additionally control and guidance of others. Level 2 NVQ is not a pre-requisite for level 3. You can choose the level of NVQ to take dependent on your circumstances.
Core and options
National Vocational Qualifications are developed as core and option subjects. The core section of any of the qualifications must be taken followed by a set of options that the candidate can select according to their job function. The core section of the qualification covers basics that the systems industry expects of employees. In the optional parts of the qualification an individual can choose between installation, servicing, commissioning and sales.
For those who perform more than one job function in the course of their duties, for example service and installation, it is worth noting that once the core units and chosen optional units for one qualification have been completed it will not be necessary to repeat core units should a second NVQ be undertaken in another subject area at the same level.
Each NVQ states how many options must be completed to achieve the award.
Assessment in the workplace
NVQs are assessed on site at the place where you are conducting your work. This means that you do not have to go to any other establishment other than the place or site where you are currently working. An assessor (a person qualified and trained to carry out assessments and is competent in the field in which he or she is assessing) will decide if the work you are carrying out meets the required standard for the award of an NVQ.
There are a number of ways they will assess. This will be by:
Natural observation in the workplace is where the assessor watches the candidate cover a range of tasks and decides if it meets the requirement of the standard.
Realistic simulation is used when the function required to be assessed cannot be conducted on site. In these cases it is only the environment which is simulated not the actual performance criteria which is real. The performance criteria are the task being carried out and assessed.
Questions on the spot
Oral questioning is the method by which the assessor will determine if the candidate has sufficient underpinning knowledge about the task he or she is doing. An example might be where an installer is siting a passive infra-red detector. The assessor may ask if there might be an alternative for positioning of the detector and why you would choose that location.
The assessor may ask what may cause false alarm problems with the detector or what alternative detector may be suitable for a given environment.
Historic evidence is the process of providing suitable documentary evidence that shows you carried out the tasks to be performed on other occasions. This means that you may be exempt from performing a task on several occasions. This would work well for a candidate who has worked in the systems sector for a number of years and has covered a good range of varying installations.
Expert witnesses
Expert witness testimony is the process of documentation provided by, managers and/or supervisors who can testify that the work a candidate has done is satisfactory.
The components of an NVQ – that is the candidate’s logbook – are set out in a logical manner consisting: 1. The award title
2. Units
3. Elements
4. Performance Criteria – Range Statement- Underpinning Knowledge
