NVQ at work, worth the hasstle?

[Martay]

Hi,
The company i work for has got some form of link to somewhere you can earn NVQ's from. (as you can tell, i dont know alot about it!) Anyways, it is now time for our store, and the management got sent an email enquiring weather the staff would want to take part in this NVQ jobby.
I said i wouldnt mind, i dont know what it is, but since i left college I havent really done alot, just work part time in the same place. At college i completed a National Diploma in IT + Computing.
Got a phone call from a bloke today about this NVQ who is an enrolment director, and he went through the basics with me. I get assigned an assessor who watches what i do, how i deal with problems and serve customers etc. This is slightly worrying Will he follow me around everywhere? I dont really know what the NVQ is 'in' if you get me? I work in retail as a 'Store Assistant' so can i get an NVQ in Store Assistancing? Also theres some written work i would have to complete, which is annoying for me as my handwriting is pretty bad. According to the man on the phone, it can take up to 11months to complete this thing!!

What im really asking is:
Has anyone done one?
What is it worth?
Will my employers be getting annoyed with me doing NVQie stuff instead of my job?
It all sounds like a faff, is it?
Hope that makes some sense!
Much Love
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[Ariel Badger]

If it holds strength within your company do it although it is just a Mcqualification.
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[WildGoose]

They seem supposed to give "qualifications" to those in industries which historically would never have attracted them, and thus you have to question why they are ever needed. Beyond a vague sense some people might have that they need to be validated.

I could in theory get an NVQ in road transport, being a lorry driver, but at any level it would not benefit me in a single way. No potential employer would care.

They aren't worth a toss in most industries, so don't get your hopes up about it opening any doors for anything. Level 1 or 2 in particular aren't worth the paper they are written on.

A lot of places promote them because they get money for each candidate put through it.

It was fairly non-instrusive when I did it, certain "tasks" get chosen to be assessed, and you just do as you normally do. Most of the time no actual "assesment" was done, and it was just a paperwork exercise filling in the relevant parts of the task book. Just shows what a joke they are really.

Another worthless qualification that possibly started life as an idea with merit, then just got watered down until it became meaningless.
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[lozzypop1]

I did an NVQ in customer service whilst I was at my previous job. I imagine yours would probably be customer service based as well.
Basically I had a huge folder which I had to work though over the following 6 months (I believe there is no maximum time to complete it, only a minimum.)

The folder consisted of a fair few sections, all of which expected written examples of what I had done to fulfil the criteria. This folder was regularly passed to my assessor, who returned the folder to me, usually covered in sticky notes asking for specification and more information. Once a month I used to get coaching time to actually meet with the assessor and go through any questions one to one.

I don't know how much has changed.. This was nearly 10 years ago, but it's defitinatly worthwhile, even if it's just for yourself.
I didn't realise just how bloody good I was at my job until I actually examined myself and my work practices. Things that you automatically do to help people are examples of providing excellent customer service, going the extra mile, adapting to change and uncertainty etc etc... It has also helped me write competancy based job applications, which are pretty much the same format.

It also helps the company if they are trying to achieve an "investors in people" award or something of a similar nature, and the more people who actually complete these type qualification, the more will become available in the long run. It can only make you better at your job and if your manager isn't supportive of this, then IMO he/she iosn't too great a manager in the first place.

Hope this was SOME help.
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[Al]

I've done two, the first was in retail which I only worked in for about a year so it didn't really benefit me. I did get to complete my folder and meet with my assessor in work time though which was better then working. Nearly half of the folder seemed to be about health and safety and it took just under 12 months to complete. Was pretty straight forward the assessor basically tells you what to write and then you put it in your own words.

The second was in plumbing and slightly different as I had to complete it at college with on the job assessments, I also had to do about 10 multi choice exams over 2 years and some workshop assessments.
NVQ 2 or 3 seems to be a common requirement on most plumbing job adverts, so I guess its pretty important if you want to work for a company.

I think if you haven't previously completed an NVQ at level 2 or above the government will pay for you to do one so make sure its in something you want to do.
I was lucky as my employer paid for my second NVQ but otherwise it would have cost me nearly £2000.
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[GF-91]

You should get a GCSE in English before you go for NVQ's.
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