How to Become an Assessor
Many people reach a stage in their career where they have want to pass on their work experience to others. Becoming qualified as an Assessor is the first step towards being able to pass on that experience in a structured way, towards nationally-accredited qualifications.
An Assessor’s role is to judge competence, and to help people by guiding them through their qualification and helping them prove they are competent – ultimately it is the Assessor who has to make the call as to whether learners are competent, or ‘not yet’ competent. Judgement about competence is based on the Assessor’s experience and knowledge of what is expected in employment, and the competence standards set out in the qualification specification. If the standards are not met, the Assessor will provide feedback and offer advice and guidance.
In summary, if you want to become an Assessor, you must have 3 things:
- Sufficient occupational experience and expertise in the subject area / job role
This should be at least to the level being assessed, and be current and verifiable. This is normally achieved prior to taking the Assessor qualification.
- A nationally-recognised Assessor qualification
The Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (or ‘CAVA’… formerly the ‘A1’) is the recommended qualification for anyone who wants to be an Assessor. It is a generic qualification for all occupations and covers assessment processes and practices using a wide range of assessment methods in different environments.
- A good working knowledge of the qualification being assessed
Knowledge of the standards, assessment methods and evidence requirements of the qualification being assessed is also necessary. This can be gained during or after completing the Assessor qualification.
Having the Level 3 Assessor qualification allows you to be employed in the role of Assessor – to assess anything you are occupationally competent and current in. This might be in a full-time post, or as a freelancer working for multiple Approved Assessment Centres, or in your own Centre.
The Level 3 Assessor Certificate is a great way to start to get into the world of learning & development – once you have this qualification, you will find it easy to gain a Level 3 Trainer qualification (the Level 3 Award in Education & Training) and, after gaining some Assessor experience, you may want to move onto the Level 4 Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) qualification.
More on How do I Become an Assessor
If you want to find out more about becoming an Assessor, ATDirect would be more than happy to have a no-obligation chat with you. We are market-leading providers of qualifications for Assessors, IQAs, EQAs and Trainers with over 12 years’ specialist experience delivering to individuals and organisations in both the public and private sectors. Feel free to contact us via email or on 0800 246 5574.