The programme you are commencing is an “Employer Programme” and not a simple off-the-shelf National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).

An Employer Programme is one where the content covered, and the assessment of your skills, abilities, competence's, knowledge and understanding against National Occupational Standards (NOS), match not only your job but also the training and development requirements of Dorset County Council. Completion of your programme will result in you being awarded a fully accredited and nationally recognised NVQ to add to your Continuous Professional Development. 

having already mapped your job against the standards – the benchmarks and performance criteria that make up “National Occupational Standards” (More about that later!)

by cutting out anything that is not pertinent to the qualification or to the requirements of your employer.

we have agreed with our Awarding Body that you are proving competence in the subject and activity, you are not been assessed in your ability to put an NVQ portfolio together!

The steps to achieving your qualification are straightforward.

1. Complete the induction phase. This is a combination of meetings with your assessor, completion of necessary paperwork, and understanding the protocols, policies and procedures that must be followed to comply with working regulations and standards.

2. Go though the workbook. This teaches you what you need to know as a requirement of the qualification. This page tells you who’s who, who does what, etc. It is laid out as a list of articles, each one covering the information you need to know, and all written, as much as possible, in plain English and not “NVQ speak” Don’t skip this section – you might find yourself going off at a tangent or doing unnecessary work for yourself (and us J )

3. Choose your subject. This will take you to the specific page for your qualification

4. Follow the step by step instructions on that page. Doing so will avoid unnecessary effort and duplication, and the need for copious copying, collation, filing, stapling, etc.  You will not be building a bulky paper portfolio crammed full of reports, copies, statements and other “padding”. You will be building an E-Portfolio with only a few paper 'essentials' (documents that need original signatures)

As part of your support on the programme, to help you complete your qualification with the minimum of fuss and effort, there are three additional pages to the instructions.

1. contains all the forms and templates you could possible need

2. contains a series of helpful articles and information sheets

3. contains “Facts & FAQ's”. If you have a question that is not covered on that page then email us and we will not only reply with an answer, but also add your question and its answer to the page to help others.

By the time you finish and are awarded your qualification you will be surprised at how straight-forward it was, how much you have learned, the difference to the way you work, and how little impact it has had on your day to day work in its achievement – but the impact it will have on your skills abilities, knowledge, understanding and performance of your job in the future will be obvious and measurable.

So lets begin.........The next page is the Induction.  

If you have already completed your induction reading then go straight to your step by step instructions.