NVQs

3. Time and Costs

3.1 Most time and money will be spent starting the pilot and developing systems.

• You will need a greater input if you want to become an approved centre (see 5).

3.2 Training and development requirements will vary for each candidate.

The NVQ standards do not specify training programmes or time frames.

• Each candidate will need to be briefed at the outset.
• If you have selected challenging NVQs, initial assessment will identify the candidates' development needs.

3.3 Assessing NVQs does require some additional time input.

• If your managers become assessors, NVQ assessment should become an integral part of people management.
• You can use your own systems to minimise the paperwork. (See Filing and records management.)You can purchase an off-the-shelf recording system or develop your own.

3.4 You pay registration and certification fees.

• Each candidate must be registered for an NVQ for at least ten weeks before an award can be claimed.Registration fees are paid per person and depend on the level of the qualification and the awarding body.
• Certification fees are often additional.

3.5 NVQ quality control can be built into your own quality assurance systems.

• Internal verifiers (within your company or from your provider) ensure that individual assessors are consistent.
• An external verifier from the awarding body normally visits each approved centre twice a year to ensure consistent assessment across centres.