Glossary of Terms
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Although we take great effort to make sure we are clear and concise, there are some terms you may come across in the world of training and development, coaching, mentoring and qualifications which you are not familiar with. With that in mind, we have created a glossary of these terms to give you a better understanding.
A1
A1 is the name of the unit of competence (Part of the Learning & Development National Occupational Standards) that needs to be achieved by those who wish to qualify as an NVQ assessor. This qualification allows the assessor to assess a candidate's entire portfolio and is therefore the most popular award for assessors.
A2
A2 is also a unit for NVQ assessors, similar unit to A1 but involving less. Once achieved it allows the holder to undertake some assessment of candidates but not the whole assessment process.
Assessor
Assessors work with candidates in planning and executing assessment of their work against national standards. They make assessment decisions and give feedback and are required to hold or be working towards the A1 award.
Awarding bodies
These are organisations who have met and continue to meet the criteria set by QCA and the NVQ Code of Practice for the provision of nationally recognised qualifications. Assessment centres must be able to train, assess and verify candidates in line with quality standards. An assessment centre may vary in size and scope.
City & Guilds
Probably the largest awarding body in the UK offering qualifications across the board from hairdressing to customer service, care work to energy assessing.
Coaching and mentoring
Definitions of coaching and mentoring vary. This is partly because there are so many similarities in the roles and ultimately both coaching and mentoring are processes that aim to enable people to fulfill their potential.
Simply put coaching is a learning tool. It consists of a conversation/s that the coach has with a client. The focus of the conversation is on the client and the coach aims to generate a discussion that will help the client in a way that will assist them to move forward, to learn and to change.
A Definition of Coaching is by Eric Parsloe (The Manager as Coach and Mentor, 1999) says that coaching is:-
“A process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. To be a successful coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which coaching takes place.”
A mentor is an advisor who also holds conversations with clients. A mentor acts as a guide who can assist a client to learn faster and more effectively than he or she might do alone. An effective mentor will use a range of skills and techniques (as in coaching) and they will focus on the client's agenda. They may give more advice and direction and are usually experienced in the client's work or occupational area.
External verifier
External verifiers work for awarding bodies and are responsible for monitoring the performance of Approved Assessment Centres. They visit centres and perform a range of quality monitoring procedures on a regular basis.
ILM
The Institute for Leadership and Management - a well established awarding body that provides qualifications for team leaders, supervisors, managers, leaders and executives.
Internal verifier
Internal verifiers are the quality assurance managers of the NVQ assessment process. They manage a team of assessors and verify their assessments, and are required to hold or be working towards the V1 award.
NVQ
NVQ stands for National Vocation Qualification. NVQs are competence based qualifications aimed at those in the work place, assessed on the job and which include both skills and knowledge. NVQs are part of the National Qualifications Framework provided by QCA.
QCA
QCA is the Qualification and Curriculum Authority, a government department responsible for qualifications in the UK. See www.qca.org.uk.
V1
V1 is the name of the unit that needs to be achieved by those who wish to qualify as an NVQ internal verifier.
VRQ
VRQ stands for Vocationally Related Qualification - similar to an NVQ but focused on preparing people to undertake a role or vocation with more emphasis on training and learning. VRQs are part of the National Qualifications Framework provided by QCA.
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