What is an ‘NVQ’?
The acronym itself stands for ‘National Vocational Qualification’. The vocation here for us being the installation of TV antennas and associated signal reception equipment. The ‘national’ bit means that the ‘qualification’ can be gained on a nationwide basis through colleges and is recognised as being the ‘standards’ for that vocation.
Many of the construction related trades like the gas and electricity industry have had NVQs for many years now. In order to gain access to work sites the workers in these trades have to prove competence and have to carry a Skills Card and before engineers are allowed on site to carry out work describing their competency. The aerial trade is now included in this mechanism.
Good News…it's not 'a course'…
An ‘NVQ’ is not really a course at all. You do not simply turn up at a training centre absorb information, sit an examination and receive a certificate. Instead an assessment framework or ‘journey’ is followed to look at how you do your job and judge how competent you are. Most of this is done while you carry out your work.
The framework divides your job into nationally agreed areas of work – called ‘units’ – and a plan of assessment within each of the units is agreed between candidate and assessor so that a judgment can be made on competence. These ‘units’ will relate to areas of the work like;
- Dealing with customers
- Installing the equipment
- Working safely at working
- Explaining how equipment works
Should weaknesses be identified in your work within a unit then there is supporting knowledge provided – usually in the form of practical courses. These fill in the knowledge gaps. In our case at the CAI we have a raft of classroom-based courses you can attend at our training centres. (See our Training Section on this site.)
So how do you actually obtain the award?
You gather your evidence in a portfolio to prove you are competent in the job you do. The evidence you gather can be as diverse as you like and the way you store the evidence or display can be in one or many forms. Generally of course business you work for provides signed documentation such as job sheets from completed, satisfactory installations that prove you can do the job to a certain level.
An NVQ Assessor also observes you carrying out your job. They then sign your evidence sheets that you have proved competence in the unit areas of work. You then file this evidence in a way that is presentable to an outside assessor. The evidence is then measured against the national standards for the qualification.
Award Levels
For our industry we have identified 2 fundamental levels at which the Signal Reception (Aerial) Industry operates at.
Level 2 concerns itself with individual receiving systems for the single home user. (I.e. installing aerials for TV, radio and satellites and distributing those signals around the home)
Level 3 will be for systems engineers who install distribution systems in commercial buildings or apartment blocks
How much does it all cost?
There is funding available through colleges for you, but it depends on the qualifications you already have from school or other areas of work.
Why bother with any of this?
This NVQ for Signal Reception forms the basis for the government’s digital logo that covers different aspects of the switch to digital broadcasting. In order for an aerial installer to carry this logo he will have achieve the NVQ in Signal Reception. The government and its working departments will be promoting the logo for the foreseeable future.
The aerial industry has now been included in these trades so competence-based assessment is now going to become any everyday part of the aerial installers working life.
For more information on how to achieve the NVQ, digital tick and funding look at: www.rdi-lb.tv or contact Tim Jenks at the CAI.