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Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA)
The assessor qualification. If you are going to judge whether somebody is competent, in the workplace or in a training room, this is the one employers and awarding organisations ask for. It replaced A1 and the old D32 and D33 units.
About this course
CAVA is the full assessor qualification on the Regulated Qualifications Framework. It sits at Level 3, carries 15 credits, and it is what an NVQ assessor needs before they can sign anybody off.
It comes in three units, and the reason it is a Certificate rather than an Award is that it covers both places assessment happens: out in a real workplace, and in a classroom or training environment. There are shorter awards from the same suite that cover only one of those, and if you genuinely only ever assess in one setting we will tell you so rather than sell you the longer one.
It is a portfolio qualification. You are assessed on real assessments of real learners, which means you need access to people to assess while you are doing it. That is the single thing that stalls people, so it is worth sorting before you enrol rather than halfway through.
We run it live online, at your own workplace and at our centres. Most people take it alongside a job over a few months rather than in a block.
- The principles and practices of assessment: what it is for, and what makes it fair, valid and reliable
- The main assessment methods and when each one is the right tool
- Planning assessment with a learner rather than at them
- Making judgements against a standard and recording them so they stand up
- Giving feedback that a learner can act on
- Legislation, the regulatory requirements and your responsibilities as an assessor
- How internal quality assurance works around you, and what an IQA will look for in your files
How completing this course helps you
- A Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement, on the RQF
- The qualification an NVQ assessor needs in order to assess
- The ability to assess competence in the workplace and in a training environment
- A portfolio built on real assessments rather than on exercises
Who should attend?
Anybody who will assess vocational competence: new NVQ assessors, workplace supervisors taking on sign off, trainers moving into assessing, and people whose employer has asked them to take it on. It suits both workplace and classroom assessors.
Entry requirements. No formal entry requirements, but you need to be occupationally competent in the area you intend to assess, and you need access to learners to assess during the qualification. Tell us at the enquiry stage if that access is uncertain, because it is the thing that most often holds people up.
Ready to take the next step?
Choose a delivery option, compare dates and book with confidence, or ask MB and get an answer straight away.
Assessor, or quality assurer
CAVA, the shorter awards, and the IQA above it
CAVA covers assessing in both a workplace and a training environment, which is why it is the one most employers name. The same suite has shorter awards for people who only ever do one of the two, and a knowledge only award for somebody who needs to understand assessment without carrying it out.
Above the assessor sits the internal quality assurer, the person who samples and standardises what assessors do. That is a different qualification again, the Level 4 IQA Award, and you do not need it to assess.
If you are not sure which of these your role actually needs, tell us what you will be signing off and who checks it. It is a two minute conversation and it saves a lot of money.
Assessing in both settings
CAVA. Three units, workplace and training environment, and the one an NVQ assessor needs.
Assessing in one setting only
There are shorter awards from the same suite. Ask us before you enrol and we will tell you honestly if one fits.
Checking the assessors
The Level 4 IQA Award, for sampling and standardising what assessors do rather than assessing learners.
Course content
What you will cover
The qualification is structured around the management of health and safety and the practical application of risk assessment.
Understanding the principles and practices of assessment
- What assessment is for and the different types of it
- The main methods, and the strengths and limits of each
- Legislation, regulatory requirements and your responsibilities
- How quality assurance sits around assessment
- The knowledge unit, and the one everybody takes
Assess occupational competence in the work environment
- Assessing real people doing real work, on site or on the job
- Planning, observing, questioning and gathering evidence
- Making and recording a judgement against the standard
- The workplace half of the qualification
Assess vocational skills, knowledge and understanding
- Assessing in a classroom, workshop or training environment
- Simulations, projects, questioning and written work
- The training room half of the qualification
Method of assessment
How CAVA is assessed
A portfolio of evidence, built from real assessment practice, internally assessed and externally quality assured.
The knowledge unit
Written work covering the principles and practices of assessment. This is the part you can make progress on before you have learners lined up.
Assess real learners
You carry out assessments of real people, in the workplace and in a training environment, observed and supported. This is why access to learners matters.
Portfolio and quality assurance
Your evidence is internally assessed and externally quality assured before the certificate is issued.
Ways to learn
How you can take this course
Every route covers the same accredited syllabus and the same support. Pick the one that fits how your people work.
Classroom
Tutor-led at one of our centres, with everything provided.
Ask us to open a classroom date →or ask MB nowLive online
The same tutor and the same timetable, joined from anywhere.
Ask us to open a live online date →or ask MB nowDates and locations
Arrange this course
There are no scheduled dates for this course at the moment. It is normally arranged around you.
Tell us roughly when you need it and how many people are going, and we will come back with dates and a price.
Also available
In-company training
We run this one to order, at your place or ours.
Onsite / in-company
Run CAVA at your site
We deliver anywhere in the UK, on your dates and around your shift patterns. For six or more people it is usually cheaper per head than sending everyone to a centre, and nobody loses a day travelling.
Tell us roughly how many people and when, and we will come back with options and a price, or ask MB and get an answer straight away.
What onsite includes
- The same tutor, materials and certification as our centres
- Your venue or one we arrange near you
- Dates and start times built around your operation
- One invoice and one point of contact for the whole group
- Content examples drawn from your own workplace
CAVA FAQs
The Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement. You need it if you are going to assess whether somebody is occupationally competent, which in practice means most NVQ assessors. It replaced the A1 award and the older D32 and D33 units.
CAVA covers both workplace assessment and assessment in a classroom or training environment. The shorter awards in the same suite cover only one of those, or only the knowledge. If your role is genuinely one setting, say so and we will point you at the right one.
Yes, and this is the part that catches people out. It is a portfolio qualification built on real assessments of real people. Sort that access before you enrol rather than after.
It depends how quickly you can get assessments done, which is why we do not quote a fixed number of weeks. Most people take a few months alongside a job.
You need to be occupationally competent in it. You cannot assess somebody against a standard you could not meet yourself.
Not necessarily. Those are older qualifications rather than invalid ones, but acceptance varies by awarding organisation and by employer. Check with whoever you will be assessing for before you spend money, and if you want a hand with that conversation, ask us.
Yes, at your own workplace, which for a group is usually easier because the assessments happen where your people already are. Tell us how many and we will come back the same working day.
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