The Assessment Method

Step 1  The candidate undertakes profiling. Profiling is carried out to establish that the candidate has adequate experience. The Experienced Worker Practical Assessed Route will only be available to those candidates who have no further training requirement and obtain a clear assessment/action plan from the assessor.

Step 2  The candidate should be advised of the qualification and Units to be undertaken along with the requirements for each Unit. The candidate then receives and completes the Candidate Application Pack (Part 2). This pack contains most of the material required by the candidate including the following: application form, record of employment form, qualifications/education form, employer endorsements and witness testimonies for each Unit.

Step 3  The candidate registers onto the SQA system. This is carried out using the appropriate registration system used by the centre.

Step 4  The candidate obtains witness testimonies and employer’s endorsement. Each witness testimony is pre-printed for each Unit, which ensures it is aligned to the practical competences and requirements within the Unit. Each of these must be completed as appropriate and signed by a supervisor/line manager and countersigned by an assessor. The employer endorsement certificate is a declaration and confirmation that the individual has completed the work detailed in the witness testimonies to a satisfactory standard. The main contractor can complete this where the candidate is self-employed.

Step 5  The candidate takes a practical assessment. The duration of the practical assessment will differ depending on the occupation assessed. It is designed to test the skills of the individual, ie planning, organisation, marking out, tool/machine skills, quality, speed and accuracy.

Step 6  The candidate undertakes a professional discussion and questioning with the assessor. The professional discussion must be recorded and retained as evidence. The assessor will explore the evidence provided by witness testimony and employer endorsement to check the validity, authenticity, consistency and sufficiency in accordance with the qualification criteria. This will take the form of a ‘professional discussion’, where the candidate will engage in a two-way conversation with the assessor, relating to his/her past experiences that forms the witness testimonies. An additional question and answer session will also take place to confirm the underpinning knowledge relating to all aspects of the qualification that are being assessed. It is likely that the discussion and questioning will take up to two hours to complete.

Step 7  The candidate receives feedback from the assessor. Feedback will be given to the candidate on the success of the assessment. If a candidate is unsuccessful in achieving the qualification, an assessment plan review will be required. The candidate may be directed with a recommendation for additional evidence and/or further training.