What is an NVQ and how does it work?
National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are work-based qualifications that assess the skills and knowledge people need to do their job effectively. All NVQs, whatever the industry that you work in, come in five levels; level 1 is for workers who perform routine tasks and level 5 is for senior managers. The intention is that you can demonstrate that you have these skills and knowledge at work, just by doing your job. You do not have to go to college or sit any exams. The qualifications for the Waste Industry are written by WAMITAB (Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board) which is made up of representatives from all levels of the waste industry.
The NVQ standards as they are called, are made up of units, each unit is a part of your daily job, such as Working Safely, Working as a Team and Working with Customers. Each unit is then broken down into two or more elements. For example the Working Safely unit is broken down into two elements, one about Identifying Risks and the other about Reducing Risks.
Each element contains a short list of things that you do at work to show that you have the competence to meet the standards and also a list of knowledge that you need to show that you understand. You will need to demonstrate your competence to an assessor who has been approved by WAMITAB. The assessor is not like a driving test examiner, he will explain what he needs to see and he will talk to you as you do your job, he has a list of things that he needs to see and a list of questions that he needs to ask you. You do not fail if you do not do what he needs to see, or if you misunderstand the question, the assessor will just keep working with you until he has seen enough to be satisfied that you are competent.
The assessor has a checklist that he will complete as you go through the qualification, he will record the answers that you give to the questions and he will take photographs to prove to others what you did. He will help you to compile all of these things together into a portfolio, which will be yours to keep. At the end of the assessment t your portfolio will be passed back to Waste Management Assessment Services Ltd where it will be checked by an internal verifier whose job it is to ensure that you have been assessed thoroughly and fairly. It may also be checked by an external verifier who is employed by WAMITAB. This should only be a formality and after this your NVQ certificate will be issued along with another Certificate of Competence. The certificates will be returned to you with the portfolio.
Several hundred refuse collectors and street cleaners have already gained NVQs at levels 1 and 2. Many of them thought that they had difficulties with written work but, with the help of the assessor, they were able to complete the portfolio and gain the qualification.