NVQ/SVQ in Management Level 4

Who is it for?

The NVQ/SVQ in management at Level 4 is for you if you are a practising manager with responsibility for:

• Allocating work to others

• Achieving specific results by using resources effectively

• Carrying out policy in your defined area of authority

• Controlling limited financial budgets

• Contributing to broader activities, such as change programmes and recruitment
   

If you are aspiring to become a manager at this level but not yet working as one, you will find the Standards in this NVQ/CVQ a useful guide to what will be expected of you. You can also use the knowledge requirements as the basis of a programme of study to prepare you for a management position. However, you will not be able to obtain an NVQ/SVQ until you can show that you actually perform to the standard required.

If you have been a manager, but are currently unemployed, you may be able to obtain an NVQ/SVQ. You will still need, however, to demonstrate your current competence, perhaps by using evidence from your previous employment, or by demonstrating your competence through a work placement.

What do you do?

First of all, you must decide whether this qualification is for you (see previous section). The Standards are presented in units. Some of these units are mandatory, ie you have to demonstrate you are competent in these units if you wish to obtain and NVQ/SVQ. Other units are optional, i.e. you can choose which of these units are most relevant to the work you do and demonstrate you are competent in these options.

To prepare for the qualification, you need to ask yourself three questions about each of the units which are relevant to you:

1. Do I consistently perform to the standard described?

2. Do I have the evidence to prove it?

3. Do I have the knowledge and understanding required to perform in other contexts and circumstances,  should they arise?

If the answer is yes to all the above for a particular unit, you can prepare yourself for assessment in that unit. You must provide evidence to prove to an assessor that you consistently meet all the performance criteria.

If the answer is no to any of these three questions, you will need to do some work before you are ready for assessment.

If, for example, you feel that you do not consistently perform to the standard required, you will need to change your behaviour or the way you go about your work in order to meet the standard. This will result in an immediate impact on your performance at work.

You may feel that you perform to the standard but do not have the evidence to prove it. In this case, you will need to think about the work activities you will be doing in the future, and what evidence of your competence these can provide. You can then gather the evidence as you work.

On the other hand, you may have evidence to show that you perform effectively in your job, but would require greater knowledge, understanding and skills if you had to work in other contexts or circumstances. Here you would need to identify appropriate training or development opportunities to increase your knowledge and sharpen your skills.

When you think you have sufficient evidence to prove that you are competent, you can present this to an assessor at an approved centre. You can agree with your assessor whether you present your evidence unit by unit (you can obtain a certificate for each unit achieved), or whether you present evidence for a group of units, or for the whole qualification, together.

When you register with an approved centre, you will usually be allocated an adviser or mentor whose job it is to help you identify what training and development you require and to guide you through the process of preparing your evidence for assessment. Your adviser or mentor will normally be a different person from your assessor.

Unit A2: Assess Candidates’ Performance through Observation

This Unit replaced D32 Assess Candidate Performance and is appropriate for you if you are involved in:

• Assessing candidates against the agreed standards

• Planning assessments with candidates

• Giving feedback to candidates on your assessment decisions

How long does it take?

Although there are no set timetables for obtaining an NVQ/SVQ in Management Level 4, most managers take between 9 months and 18 months. However, it is a good idea to agree an assessment plan with your adviser and assessor. This will provide you with a target to achieve and some milestones against which you can measure your progress. Changes in your work or personal circumstances can always be accommodated by renegotiating this plan.
 

What dies it cover?

The NVQ/SVQ in Management Level 4 covers the full range of general management activities which managers working at this level are expected to carry out. It does not, however, cover specialist functions (such as sales, accounting or engineering) which are covered by other, specialist NVQ/SVQs.

Management activities are divided into four generic key roles: manage activities, manage resources, manage people and manage information. The NVQ/SVQ in Management Level 4 requires you to take units from each of these key roles.

What are the benefits?

NVQs/SVQs in management first became available in 1991, but already some clear benefits are emerging:

Individuals benefit because:

• You can build on your strengths and focus training and development on the areas in which you need to improve

• You do not waste time studying things you already know

• You can plan your preparation for your qualification to fit in with your work and personal commitments and adjust your plans in the light of your progress and contingencies

• You can choose the way in which you learn to suit your preferred learning style

• You receive a certificate recognising your competence as a manager

Organisations benefit because:

• They can have confidence that their managers, and those they are recruiting with NVQs/SVQs, are competent to carry out the responsibilities allocated to them

• They can compare the quality of their employees with other organisations, using the Management Standards as the benchmark

• Their training costs are reduced, as training becomes more clearly focused on the knowledge and skills managers need to perform effectively and develop their careers

• Their human resource activities become integrated as management training and qualifications clearly link to other activities, such as performance appraisal, coaching, recruitment and reward systems

• Communication improves as managers begin to use a common language and an empowering culture develops

The community benefits because:

• The country’s labour pool becomes better skilled and better qualified

• NVQs/SVQs provide a common currency which helps employers to select those managers with the competence they require

• Individuals become better able to cope with changes in jobs and to transfer their skills from one context to another

• The international competitiveness of the country increases as we use our human resources more efficiently