PAA\VQ-SET held their third National Conference on 8^th and 9^th November at Jury’s Doyle Hotel, Birmingham. The occasion began with a dinner on Wednesday 8^th, where Neil Wallace,   PAA\VQ-SET’s Chairman, welcomed delegates to the annual event. After dinner delegates were free to network or gamble their allocated ‘funny money’ at the Casino tables and try their luck at Black Jack and Roulette. 

During dinner Iain Scoular, PAA\VQ-SET External Verifier, spoke about a Boys Brigade project he is leading to raise money to build a primary school in the region of Kikuyu, Kenya. Conference delegates were given the opportunity to donate to this project and had the added incentive that all donations would be matched pound for pound by PAA\VQ-SET.

PAA\VQ-SET are delighted that through the generosity of Conference delegates a total of £310 has been raised for this project.

(Right: PAA\VQ-SET Delegates try their luck at Black Jack and Roulette)

Conference Day

The Conference was opened by PAA\VQ-SET’s Chairman, Neil Wallace, who welcomed everyone to the event and introduced the arrangements for the day. Following feedback from previous events the number of speakers was reduced to allow delegates to attend extra workshops; the Speakers were John Bolt from the LSC and Ann Randall  from PAA\VQ-SET.

Ann Randall – Chief Executive, PAA\VQ-SET

Ann Randall spoke about how PAA\VQ-SET has become one of the largest Specialist Awarding Bodies. Ann’s address briefly covered the consolidation of PAA and VQSET as one Awarding Body, PAA\VQ-SET’s changed look and new areas the Awarding Body has moved in to. The Awarding Body now offers a much wider range of qualifications, both N/SVQs and VRQs. PAA\VQ-SET also has a rapidly increasing number of centres offering their own bespoke qualifications or Specialised Awards. Ann talked about the occasions PAA\VQ-SET has been invited to speak at and also the increasing number of events run for PAA\VQ-SET centres. Ann’s address launched PAA\VQ-SET’s Newsletter Working Together and covered the current development of PAA\VQ-SET’s website.

John Bolt – Head of Funding Implementation, LSC

John Bolt gave delegates the background to the March 2006,  DfES published white paper – Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances – which announced that the funding of adult learners would be reformed to make it more ‘demand led’.  He described how since March the LSC has been working closely with the DfES to develop a new approach that will also consider the likely effects of the Leitch report.  The presentation considered the progress that has been made in preparation for a consultation document that is expected to be published later this year to enable full implementation of the new funding system in 2008/09.

• Assessor and Verifier Awards – Delivering the Requirements

• Assured Competence – Sustaining Workplace Competence

• Business-Improvement Techniques – Productivity Skills for the Individual

• E-Portfolios – Challenges and Benefits, a year on!

• Emerging Assessment Methodologies – Professional Discussion and Expert Witnesses

• New Qualifications – The latest Accredited Awards from PAA\VQ-SET

• The Future of Qualifications – Contributing to Workplace Skills

Assessor and Verifier Awards – Delivering the Requirements – led by Jacky Nelson with support from John Salisbury

This workshop gave an overview of the requirements for those people involved in delivering the A and V Awards. The session began with an overview of A1, A2 & V1 and delegates were asked to share any problems they had with the Awards. The main problems encountered by Assessors and Internal Verifiers were having enough time to assess or IV, and interpreting both the standards and the assessment strategy. Jacky then went on to clarify the requirements of the assessment strategy, such as the number of candidates needed by trainee Assessors; what occupational competence is necessary for Assessors and IVs and the requirements of Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Delegates gave a mixed response to the question of whether Independent Assessors add any value to the assessment process.  The upcoming review of the A & V standards and the potential implications of this were discussed. Professional Discussion is a mandatory method of assessment for the A & V Awards so the key points to consider were discussed. Jacky highlighted key items in the NVQ Code of Practice before reminding centres that they can purchase an A1 Achievement Workbook designed by PAA\VQ-SET as a step-by-step guide to achieving the A1 Award. The session concluded with a recommendation to visit www.ento.co.uk and download their Frequently Asked Questions document.

Assured Competence – Sustaining Workplace Competence – led by Peter Grice

Delegates were first introduced to the idea of the Assured Competence Scheme at PAA\VQ-SET’s 2004 Conference. Since then PAA\VQ-SET has successfully piloted the scheme with two organisations. Peter Grice outlined the aims of the scheme; the outcomes of the research conducted by PAA\VQ-SET and how the scheme has been used in the two pilot organisations; Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Bradford and Brecon Pharmaceuticals. The two pilots emphasised that the scheme is determined to a great extent by individual company requirements as the way the scheme has been used is very different. The scheme is aimed at organisations whose workforce have completed their NVQs or those that feel their internally designed competence systems would benefit from an external audit.  Peter’s presentation stirred up lively debate. Delegates raised questions about the benefit of ‘yet another audit,’ and also asked about the availability of an Assured Competence Framework or a set of guidelines for individual employees, particularly those that had been employed with an organisation for a long period of time.

Business-Improvement Techniques – Productivity Skills for the Individual – led by Dave Jenkins and Paul Parry, Warwick International Group Limited

In 2005 Tony Beck, Warwick International Group Limited, led a presentation focusing on how their organisation had successfully implemented the Business-Improvement Techniques qualifications. This workshop began by looking at problem solving techniques before considering the Business-Improvement Techniques NVQs and what is needed to successfully implement these qualifications. Paul Parry then outlined how Warwick International Group Limited had achieved results through the use of Business-Improvement Techniques with estimated savings to the organisation of approximately £2.3 million.

(Right: Paul Parry, Warwick International Group Limited)

E-Portfolios – Challenges and Benefits, a year on! – led by Len Wilkinson and Andy Rotherham, Tarmac Limited

At PAA\VQ-SET’s 2005 Conference delegates were introduced to the idea of E-Portfolios and their potential benefits. This workshop, led by PAA\VQ-SET External Verifier, Len Wilkinson,  built on last year’s presentation with support from Andy Rotherham, Tarmac Limited, who have introduced an electronic system.  The session began with an introduction to E-Portfolios; QCA’s vision for the future of assessment and the different types of web based systems that are available, before outlining the system that Tarmac have developed. There was a great deal of interest in this workshop and a number of issues were raised; such as; the use of electronic signatures; the importance of having compatible systems; saving documents in PDF format so they cannot be altered and the importance of backing work up. It was also suggested that video footage could be used as a developmental tool by providing evidence of an activity being carried out incorrectly. The importance of good referencing was highlighted as this made the job of the IV much easier.  It was recognised that using an electronic system would not be appropriate for all centres and commitment was required from Assessors and IVs to set up the system initially.

(Above Left: Len Wilkinson, PAA\VQ-SET External Verifier & Left: Andy Rotherham, Tarmac Limited)

Emerging Assessment Methodologies – Professional Discussion and Expert Witnesses – led by Iain Scoular with support from Rod Davis

This workshop looked at Professional Discussion and Expert Witnesses as two assessment methods. Iain Scoular began by asking delegates about their experience of Professional Discussion and any good or bad practice they had seen. Iain went on to discuss when to use this method of assessment and things to consider. It was also highlighted that Professional Discussion is a mandatory assessment method for A1.  The differences between Professional Discussions and Question and Answer sessions were emphasised. Some delegates felt uncomfortable with Professional Discussions as they did not like being recorded. Iain then considered Expert Witnesses: who can be used as an Expert Witness; the advantages of using this assessment method and issues to think about. The majority of delegates already used both of these assessment methods in their workplaces.

(Right: Iain Scoular, PAA\VQ-SET External Verifier)

New Qualifications – The latest Accredited Awards from PAA\VQ-SET – led by Peter Grice with support from David Dillon

Peter Grice introduced delegates to the new qualifications available from PAA\VQ-SET in 2006, including NVQs in Laundry and Dry Cleaning and Manufacturing Ceramics. PAA\VQ-SET was approached by Skillfast-UK and The Association for Ceramic Training and Development respectively to offer these qualifications. The replacement qualifications for Packaging Operators and Weather Forecasting were also discussed. Advice was given on how to apply to upgrade to offer these new qualifications. 

PAA\VQ-SET was also invited by Skillfast-UK to develop the VRQ Certificate in Apparel Product Development, which is available at Levels 2 & 3. The background to this was discussed, followed by an outline of the qualification and assessment process. Peter went on to outline the qualifications offered by PAA\VQ-SET that will be affected by reviews in 2007 and 2008. Delegates were invited to give feedback on qualifications they would like PAA\VQ-SET to offer in the future.

The Future of Qualifications – Contributing to Workplace Skills – led by Ann Randall

Ann Randall introduced delegates to the changes that have been proposed to the National Qualification Framework (NQF) by the regulators QCA. Ann welcomed questions from delegates and the topic encouraged a lively debate. The current system is seen as very exclusive and a large amount of training is done by individual companies so it is outside the NQF. QCA have proposed that the NQF be replaced by the Credit and Qualification Framework (CQF) which will be a unit-based qualification system, aiming to meet the needs of both learners and employers. Ann encouraged delegates to get involved in the review process as it is being done on their behalf and will affect them. Ann suggested delegates should contact their representative Sector Skills Council (SSC). The workshop concluded with the assurance that PAA\VQ-SET would continue to monitor the situation and keep centres informed.