Registered
Workplace
Assessor
Information Guide
This Registered Workplace Assessor Information Guide is issued to all registered workplace assessors
upon registration. Please make yourself familiar with its contents.
The Skillsanisation
skills.org.nz
Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Assessment ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Guidelines for best practice in assessment ................................................................................................... 4
Trainee preparation ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Skills learning and assessment resources..................................................................................................... 6
Assessment delivery ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Trainee assessment result ............................................................................................................................. 8
Documentation ............................................................................................................................................... 8
Assessment appeals .....................................................................................................................................9
Assessment of prior learning (APL) ............................................................................................................... 9
Understanding the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) and unit standards .............................10
Understanding the levels ............................................................................................................................. 13
Assessor responsibilities, training, and review ................................................................................................ 15
Assessor responsibilities.............................................................................................................................. 15
Assessor qualities ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Unit standard assessor scopes.................................................................................................................... 16
Assessor training.......................................................................................................................................... 16
Assessor support ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Review of assessor registration ................................................................................................................... 17
Assessor non-compliance ............................................................................................................................ 17
Moderation ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Moderator ..................................................................................................................................................... 18
Internal moderation ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Principles of best practice moderation ......................................................................................................... 18
Moderation systems ..................................................................................................................................... 19
Moderation feedback ................................................................................................................................... 19
Moderation appeals ..................................................................................................................................... 19
Annex A: Pre-assessment agreement form..................................................................................................... 20
Annex B: Trainee assessment result record ................................................................................................... 21
Annex C: Internal moderation process ............................................................................................................ 22
Annex D: Assessor non-compliance................................................................................................................ 23
Annex E: Evaluation of Training and Assessment .......................................................................................... 25
Annex F: Glossary of terms ............................................................................................................................. 26
The Skills Organisation
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Assessor Guide V6
2
Introduction
This Workplace Assessor Information Guide is for workplace assessors registered with The Skills
Organisation (Skills) to assess on-job unit standards accredited with Skills.
Skills is responsible for the assessment processes of all assessors registering credits through Skills.
All assessments must be supported by clear and complete documentation which provides evidence of
information gathered and judgments made.
Some of the terms used in this guide may be unfamiliar to you. A comprehensive glossary is available at the
back of this guide to help you become more familiar with them at Annex F.
The purpose of this guide is to provide you (the assessor) with information that will aid you in conducting
assessment for Skills including:
■
Best practice in assessment and moderation.
■
Understanding the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF).
■
Assessor selection training and review.
■
Assessor responsibilities.
Your mandatory requirements as a registered assessor are:
■
Submitting assessment material for moderation.
■
Handling and safeguarding of Skills assessment resources.
■
Following moderation and non-compliance procedures.
This guide also provides information about where you can find other resources to help you as an assessor.
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Assessment
Assessment is the process of collecting and interpreting evidence of a person’s competence.
Skills is committed to promoting best practice (see glossary for definition) in assessing all unit standards it
reports.
Guidelines for best practice in assessment
Current versions
Trainees must be assessed using the current version of assessment resources.
To check this keep up-to-date with industry newsletters and by visiting the Skills website regularly.
www.skills.org.nz
If you are set up with Skills Bank, you must access resources directly from the site. Please do not print a
stock pile or store resources for later use.
Assessment decisions
Best practice in assessment occurs when sufficient evidence has been provided to satisfy the outcome of
each element [now referred to as an outcome] of the unit standard.
Reference all evidence to the relevant elements (now referred to as outcomes) and performance criteria
(p.c.) now referred to as evidence requirements) ensuring that they cover all range statements.
Prerequisites
Some unit standards have prerequisites, this means that before you complete one unit standard you may
need to have completed another unit standard first.
Industry considers recommended prerequisite unit standards to be compulsory as they can impact health and
safety, quality, or production.
Trainees may also require essential skills and prior knowledge.
Check any prerequisites on the unit standard before completing the current assessment.
The prerequisites to a unit can be evidenced through the achievement of the unit standard itself or by
demonstrating equivalent knowledge and skills. When you see ‘or equivalent knowledge and skills’ it is
important to be sure sufficient evidence is collected in support of this.
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Assessment conditions
Assessment must only be carried out under the conditions outlined in the unit standard.
Assessors should seek advice from Skills where assessment is planned away from the workplace and there
is any doubt about assessment authenticity.
Assessment can only be undertaken where there are sufficient and suitable resources available.
Workplace equipment, resources, and the environment used for assessment must reflect current industry
practice and relate to ‘real situations’.
Unit standard special notes (now referred to as Explanatory notes), these specify the requirements of the
assessment. It is important to read these before conducting an assessment
All unit standards can be obtained at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) website
www.nzqa.govt.nz
See page 10 and 11 of this guide for a description of a unit standard. All unit standards with associated
assessment material are located on the Skills website. Please note: All unit standards on the framework do
not reflect changes in terminology. All unit standards will take on new terminology as they are reviewed.
Trainee preparation
Assessment should not be conducted where there is any doubt as to the trainee’s state of preparedness.
It is your responsibility to ensure that trainees are prepared for assessment.
Skills pre-assessment briefing agreement / checklist
All Skills developed assessment material has this checklist to make sure the trainee understands what is
expected of them and is not disadvantaged in any way.
The trainee is expected to answer all questions in their own words to ensure they fully understand a
particular topic.
This checklist must be followed when preparing the trainee for assessment.
Theory assessment
Evidence for knowledge based parts of a unit standard can be gathered from:
■
Course activities
■
Workplace activities
■
Post training course activities
■
Written assessments
■
Oral assessments
You evaluate the evidence against the unit standard.
The trainee may be assessed on theory in written or oral form.
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If you do the assessment orally make sure you write everything down to validate the assessment process.
Usually, assessments are only conducted orally if the trainee has a literacy, language or numeracy difficulty.
Don’t forget to get the trainee to sign that it is their work. This is only required to be done once.
Practical assessment
Evidence for the practical component may be collected with evidence from other unit standards. This creates
a ‘realistic’ process that reflects the workplace.
Naturally occurring evidence (which is verifiable as part of a trainees normal work) is acceptable in workplace
assessment.
If there are not sufficient resources [for a particular part of a unit standard] in the workplace then the
assessment of this part of the unit standard should not take place.
Skills learning and assessment resources
To do the assessment you must use pre-approved Skills assessment material.
Once you are a registered assessor you will be given access to our resources. In most cases access is
provided by issuing a unique password to access the resources via our Moodle platform, Skills Bank.
Assessor guides
■
Must be stored in a safe place as these contain model answers.
■
Under no circumstance are they to be given to trainees either before or after assessment.
■
Don’t communicate any of this information to any other person outside of your organisation.
■
Treat all approved Skills assessment documentation as copyright.
■
Use the materials for their sole intended purpose.
■
Don’t disclose this information to any person not authorised to receive it.
Assessment resource and unit standard feedback
We always welcome feedback on any unit standard or the assessment material you use. If you have any
feedback please email us. This can be done by contacting resourcedeveloper@skills.org.nz
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Assessment planning
It is essential that all assessment practices are based on the following approach:
■
Read thoroughly all the special notes, elements and performance criteria of the unit standard(s).
■
Highlight the evidence required.
■
Link this to the context in which assessment will occur.
■
Determine the best method of gathering evidence.
■
Establish the criteria for evaluating performance.
■
Ensure the process is in line with Skills requirements.
■
Determine what information is required by the trainee prior to the assessment.
Skills provides pre-assessment moderated material for use by all our registered assessors.
Assessment delivery
Communicating with the trainee
Either the trainee or their employer will tell you when they are ready to be assessed. Conduct a meeting to
arrange:
■
Time and date of assessment.
■
Trainee has all material required.
■
Explain the appeals procedure.
■
Ensure that Explanatory notes have been observed.
■
Make available checklists, equipment, and work examples. An example of a pre-assessment
agreement is located at Annex A.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all the necessary pre-assessment information is given to the trainee.
Evidence gathering
When gathering your evidence you may use the following:
■
Observation
■
Questioning
■
Simulation
■
A combination of the above
■
In most workplace environments you can also access readily available sources of evidence
(e.g. workplace training records, external training provider reports, standard operating procedures, daily
operating logs, supervisor reports, certificates, case studies, projects, assignments, recordings of
interviews, reports, tests, video).
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Evaluating evidence
Judge the evidence collected for validity, sufficiency, authenticity, reliability and currency. If satisfied, confirm
in terms of the national standards that the trainee is competent.
Trainee assessment result
After completing the assessment the trainee is eager and entitled to know how they performed in the
assessment process. Either:
■
Competent (C) (Now referred to as achieved) (A)
■
Not yet competent (NYC) (Now referred to as not achieved) (NA)
An example of a trainee assessment result form is located at Annex B.
Post-assessment feedback should:
■
Take place as soon as possible after the assessment has taken place
■
Praise trainee on their strengths
■
Be encouraging not critical
■
Show where trainee can improve
■
Show where support is needed for future attempts
■
Encourage trainee to give feedback to Skills on the whole assessment
■
Encourage trainee to give feedback on the workplace training process.
Documentation
■
Check you have all trainee documentation as you assess.
■
Clearly mark and note with reference any evidence on the assessment material.
■
Maintain accurate records of assessment as these may be used in an assessment appeal or moderation.
■
Store completed assessments securely to avoid unauthorised access.
■
Keep assessment material for a minimum of 12 months.
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Assessor Guide V6
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Assessment appeals
■
All trainees have the right to appeal an assessor’s decision.
■
If a trainee is unhappy with your decision talk it through with them.
■
If they are still unhappy they must complete an assessment appeal form and lodge it with Skills to
resolve the situation.
■
If the situation cannot be resolved by the M & A Advisor the appeal will be forwarded to the National
Evaluation Manager for a final Skills decision.
■
You will find a copy of the assessment appeal form on the Skills website under Assessor resources.
Assessment of prior learning (APL)
What is APL?
There are two methods of APL. These are Recognition of Prior Achievement (RPA) and Recognition of Current
Competence (RCC). The APL process incorporates both these methods.
Recognition of Prior Achievement (RPA) – This process involves assessment of any previous formal
learning you have done in terms of how well your previous studies match the learning outcomes of the unit
standards in the Qualification you are intending to gain.
You can present any relevant qualifications you have studied at an educational institution either here in
New Zealand or overseas.
Recognition of Current Competence (RCC) – This process involves assessment of any previous informal
learning [knowledge and skills learned in the workplace or through non-institutional training] in terms of how
well your previous experience and informal training matches the learning outcomes of the unit standards in
the Qualification you are intending to gain.
You can present details of any relevant experience you have gained in the workplace either here in New
Zealand or overseas.
Note: As a guide, ‘current’ skills and knowledge should be proven within the last two years.
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Understanding the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) and unit standards
When you participated in your assessor training to achieve unit standard 4098 - Use standards to assess
trainee performance, you would have been introduced to the NZQF at www.nzqa.govt.nz
All assessment material available to registered assessors is located on the Skills website with the
accompanying NZQA unit standards. Unit standards are developed by industry for industry and located in
the Directory of Assessment Standards (DAS).
Below is a detailed template of a unit standard to help you understand the unit standards based system.
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Understanding the levels
These are published on the NZQA website and are used to distinguish the complexity of learning required.
Developers of assessment material use these descriptors to design in order for the trainee to meet the
required depth of knowledge or demonstrated skill in accordance with the unit standard.
There are 10 levels involved in a qualification – 1 is the least complex and 10 the most. Levels depend on the
complexity of learning. They do not equate to 'years spent learning' but reflect the content of the qualification.
Levels 2-4 are generally National Certificates and Levels 5-6 National Diplomas.
Level
1
Knowledge
Skills
Application of
■
■
■
Highly structured contexts
■
Apply basic skills required
Requiring some
responsibility for own
to carry out simple tasks
learning
Basic general and/or
foundation knowledge
simple problems
■
2
■
Basic factual and/or
operational knowledge of a
field of work or study
Apply basic solutions to
■
■
Apply known solutions to
familiar problems
■
Some operational and
theoretical knowledge in a
■
field of work or study
Interacting with others
■
General supervision
■
Requiring some
Apply standard processes
relevant to the field of work
or study
3
■
Select and apply from a
range of know solutions to
responsibility for own
learning and performance
■
Collaborating with others
■
Limited supervision
■
Requiring major
familiar problems
■
responsibility for own
learning and performance
Apply a range of standard
processes relevant to the
field of work or study
■
Adapting own behaviour
when interacting with others
■
Contributing to group
performance
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Level
4
Knowledge
■
Broad operational and
Skills
■
theoretical knowledge in a
field of work or study
Select and apply solutions
Application of
■
to familiar and sometimes
unfamiliar problems
■
Select and apply a range
Self-management of learning
and performance under
broad guidance
■
of standard and nonstandard processes
Some responsibility for
performance of others
relevant to the field of work
or study
5
■
Broad operational or
■
Select and apply a range
technical and theoretical
knowledge within a specific
of solutions to familiar and
sometimes unfamiliar
field of work or study
problems
■
■
Complete self-management
of learning and performance
within defined contexts
■
Select and apply a range
of standard and non-
Some responsibility for the
management of learning
and performance of others
standard processes
relevant to the field of
work or study
6
■
Specialised technical or
■
theoretical knowledge with
depth in a field of work or
study
Analyse and generate
■
solutions to familiar and
unfamiliar problems
■
Select and apply a range
of standard and nonstandard processes
Complete self- management
of learning and performance
within dynamic contexts
■
Responsibility for leadership
within dynamic contexts
relevant tot he filed of
work or study
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Assessor responsibilities, training, and
review
Skills requires that all of its registered assessors are trained, experienced, and qualified.
Assessor responsibilities
Before you start assessing, you need to know what your responsibilities will be:
■
You must provide fair and valid assessments consistent with the national standard.
■
Assessment results must be at Skills within 5 working days of completion.
■
Keep up-to-date with workplace processes, procedures, industry technical requirements and the
national standard.
■
Encourage and support the on-going learning of trainees.
■
Ensure that only current versions of assessment resources are used.
■
Take part in all moderation activities and assessor workshops when requested.
■
You must attend at least one assessor forum each year
■
You must report at least three unit standards per year to remain active
■
Inform Skills when you are no longer intending to assess, moving from your workplace to another
location, changing your contact details.
Assessor qualities
Assessors must:
■
Have industry experience in the work area and the processes covered by the unit standards.
■
Meet the qualification requirements.
■
Have an understanding of legal requirements that apply to the area they will assess.
■
Have accurate and efficient record keeping and administrative skills.
■
Have excellent communications skills at all organisational levels.
■
Be organised, with sound judgment, evaluation and problem solving skills.
■
Be self-motivated, honest, firm, fair and systematic in their approach to work.
■
Be culturally aware and able to work with diverse cultural groups.
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Unit standard assessor scopes
It is important you assess against your assessor scope. You will have received confirmation of your
assessor scope along with your certificate. If you are unsure about your scope, please contact the
Moderation and Assessment team.
Under no circumstances is an assessor to assess outside this scope.
If you require your scope to be altered once registered you need to complete an ‘extension to your assessor
scope request form’ located on our website under Assessment Resources.
Assessor training
All Skills assessors will be trained in order to fulfil their obligations as registered assessors. We will support
new assessors through this process.
We offer an induction training session that aims to orient new assessors with Skills processes and assessor
expectations. It is highly recommended you attend these web based sessions.
All new assessors will be moderated on the first assessments they conduct, and moderation will continue on
a regular basis.
Assessors will be issued with:
■
An assessor certificate and unique assessor number
■
Access to an assessor information manual and assessment resources
■
The list of unit standards that you are authorised to assess (commonly known as your scope –
see glossary for definition).
Registration of all Skills assessors is for a maximum of three years. Some other assessors are registered for
a limited time under special circumstances.
For a summary of the process, see the process flowchart on page 17 of this guide.
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Assessor support
You are encouraged to speak with the moderation and assessment team for assessment guidance. Your
contact person will be in contact with you at regular intervals to monitor your progress and offer support and
guidance where needed.
Review of assessor registration
Your assessor registration is valid for a period of 3 years by default. However, it is reviewed annually. The
review considers:
 If the assessor registered any credits through Skills in the past 12 months.
 The status of the assessor’s moderation requirements with Skills.
 If there any non-compliance issues.
These factors determine whether or not your registration is kept active/rolled over.
We will always be in contact with you before we initiate any deregistration process.
The registration review is a Skills initiated process- you are not required to act on this.
Assessor non-compliance
As a Skills registered assessor you must fulfil your assessor responsibilities. This includes conducting sound
judgments in accordance with best practice and participating in moderation activities when required.
Issues of non-compliance may include:
 Non participation in moderation.
 Continual poor assessment decisions.
 Assessing outside of assessor scope.
 Using incorrect assessment material.
 Any other practices that contravene obligations to Skills as a registered assessor.
If you continue to disregard your responsibilities as an assessor you may be suspended for a period of time
or deregistered as a Skills workplace assessor.
The non-compliance process can be viewed in detail at Annex D.
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Moderation
Moderation is an integral part of assessment best practice.
It is a quality management system designed to achieve valid, fair and consistent assessment decisions to the
national standard.
Moderation quality management systems are the responsibility of Skills.
Different industries and assessment situations have different moderation systems but the same best practice
principles apply to all moderation systems.
All Skills registered assessors are subject to internal moderation of their Skills assessments. The following
will allow you to understand the moderation process and who is involved.
Moderator
A moderator is an individual who is responsible for making sure assessments are fair and valid. Skills has
trained moderators who will review your assessment decisions. These are known as internal moderators.
Internal moderation
Skills aims to ensure the organisation is making internally consistent assessment decisions e.g. among
assessors within and across workplaces. It enables us to manage and enhance the quality of assessment
practices against unit standards.
As a registered assessor you are required to participate in moderation activities when requested.
This may be done by a written request or when a Skills representative visits your workplace and requests a
sample of your trainees’ assessments.
Principles of best practice moderation
Principle 1
Best practice moderation occurs when it is based on an effective partnership between assessors and
between assessors and moderators.
Principle 2
Best practice moderation occurs when it is an on-going process that underpins relationships between
assessors and between assessors and moderators.
Principle 3
Best practice moderation occurs when it is an evolving and educative process for assessors and moderators.
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Moderation systems
A moderation system is a coherent set of processes designed to assure confidence in assessment design
and assessor decisions.
Skills does this by applying internal moderation to all its registered assessors. To carry this out effectively Skills
conducts two types of moderation:
Pre-assessment moderation (moderation of assessment materials)
This occurs before the assessment event and is used to check the fairness and validity of the assessment
material.
All assessment material used by Skills assessors is pre-assessment moderated by Skills.
Post-assessment moderation (verification of assessor decisions)
This occurs after the assessment event and is used to check the consistency of assessor decisions. You as a
registered assessor will partake in post-assessment moderation only. The process of internal postassessment moderation is detailed at Annex C.
Moderation feedback
When you submit your material for moderation you will be given meaningful feedback of the outcome. This
should be:
■
Timely – enabling modifications to occur before the next assessment cycle
■
Accurate – correct in all details
■
Fair – avoiding influences unrelated to the matters being assessed
■
Detailed – providing information that is sufficient and which clearly indicates the reasons why
the assessment or the assessor decisions do not meet the requirements of the assessed
standard
■
Constructive – providing information that assists with improvements to the assessment processes
■
Transparent – providing information that allows input into the relevant appeals process.
You need to keep all assessment material for at least 12 months for moderation purposes or appeals.
Moderation appeals
As an assessor you are entitled to appeal any moderator’s decision if you feel that you are being unfairly
disadvantaged in the moderation process.
A copy of a Moderation Appeal Form is located at the Skills website under Assessment Resources.
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DIAGRAM (A)
1. As a result of a moderation outcome the assessor is to be advised of the non-compliance and mentoring/coaching is to be made available to alleviate
reoccurrence.
2. If non-compliance continues then it has to be determined after mentoring and coaching if retraining in unit standard 4098 is viable. Suspension is to be
applied at this stage in the process until such time as The Skills Organisation has the confidence that the assessor can meet the requirements.
3. After retraining, if non-compliance continues, it is the decision of the Industry Training Manager or delegate to de-register the assessor.
The decision made is to be communicated to the assessor at the earliest opportunity by formal correspondence. If an assessor is de-registered for any noncompliance issue they cannot be re-registered as a The Skills Organisation assessor.
DIAGRAM (B)
1. A standard non-compliance letter is sent to the assessor outlining their responsibilities.
2. Referral to the Industry Training Manager or delegate can result in suspension or deregistration for non- compliance in the following:
-
Repeatedly assessing outside of allocated scope
-
Not participating in moderation when requested
-
Not using required assessment material.
DIAGRAM (C)
(1) and (2) If an assessor contravenes any obligations as a The Skills Organisation assessor that is not covered in A or B, falls under this category.
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Annex F: Glossary of terms
Active
This is a term used to describe the status of a registered assessor. This
means that the assessor is actively assessing trainees.
APL
Assessment of Prior Learning
Assessment
Collecting and evaluating evidence to establish the level of an
individual’s performance.
Assessor
The person who makes the judgment that the level of an individual’s
performance meets the requirements of the unit standard and registers the
credits in the workplace.
Authentic assessment
Authentic assessment is one that is completed by the trainee and is their
own work.
Best Practice
This is a benchmark of recognised practical achievable excellence. This is in
a continual state of development.
Competence
The ability to apply particular knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to the
standard of performance required in a specified context. A measure of
competence may be considered as either holding the unit standard or
equivalent knowledge and skills.
Consistent
The quality of the assessment must be consistent. The decision made by one
assessment
assessor is the same as that made by another assessor when given the
same evidence of performance.
Credits
A numerical value assigned to a unit standard that represents the estimated time
needed for a typical learner to demonstrate that all specified outcomes have
been met. One credit usually equates to 10 hours.
Current
Most recent up-to-date with relevant practices and industry standards i.e.
the trainee can do the task now.
Deregistered
This is a term used to describe the status of a registered assessor who is
currently not compliant with Skills requirements and as a result cannot assess for
Skills.
Domain
An area of learning within a subfield of the NZQF which clumps sets or groups
of similar unit standards. A domain comes under a subfield.
Element
A learning outcome within a unit standard; collectively the elements constitute
the title of the standard.
See Outcomes
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Evidence
A learner’s personal collection of evidence of achievement that
proves competence to the assessor.
Evidence
These specify the critical evidence required to meet the outcomes.
Requirements
Collectively, Evidence Requirements provide the standards against which
outcomes are assessed.
Fair assessment
Assessment that avoids contamination from influences unrelated to the matters
being assessed. Emphasis is placed on avoiding effects arising from difference
related, for example, to race, gender and assessment mode.
Field
A broad area of learning on the NZQF. A field contains subfields that
contain domains.
Inactive
This is a term used to describe the status of an assessor. If and when you are
inactive this simply means that you have not conducted any assessments in a
12 month period. You are still registered and in the database as an assessor.
Internal
workplace
Skills has consent to assess to register workplace assessors whose key role it is
to assess trainees on the job in order to deem them competent at unit standards.
assessors
Sends assessment results to Skills for registration on an individual’s NZQA
Record Of Achievement (ROA) held at NZQA.
Industry Training
Organisation (ITO)
Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) are recognised under the Industry Training
Act 1992. They are established by particular industries and are responsible for:
■
setting national skill standards for their industry
■
providing information and advice to trainees and their employers
■
arranging for the delivery of on and off-job training (including developing
learning resources for employers)
■
arranging for the assessment of trainees
■
arranging the monitoring of quality training.
Levels
The NQF has 10 levels of progression. These levels can be obtained from the
NZQA website and are also detailed on pages 12 and 13 of this guide.
Moderation
A term that broadly covers processes used to assure the consistency of
assessment with the required unit standard. Carried out locally or
nationally.
Moderator
Independent person who has acknowledged expertise to confirm that
assessment results reflect intended unit standards.
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NZ or National
Certificates / Diplomas
A qualification that is usually registered between Level 1 and 4 for
certificates, Level 5, 6 and 7 for diplomas, and issued by the NZQA.
The skills and knowledge that are required for NZ or National Certificates and
Diplomas are what employers say they need. These qualifications are
nationally recognised because national industry representatives design them.
New Zealand
Qualifications
The New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) is designed to provide:
■
nationally recognised, consistent standards and qualifications.
■
recognition and credit for all learning of knowledge and skills.
■
NZQF qualifications are quality assured and nationally recognised.
Framework
(NZQF)
Administered by NZQA.
Not yet competent
(NYC) now referred
This is when a trainee has not achieved the desired outcome of a unit standard
on the evidence that they have submitted. A trainee can however be deemed
to as Not Yet
Achieved
competent after other attempts at assessment.
New Zealand
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) seeks to ensure that
Qualifications
Authority (NZQA)
New Zealand qualifications are accepted as credible and robust, nationally
and internationally.
Off-job
This is training and or assessment that is conducted away from the workplace by
a recognised/registered education organisation.
On-job
This is training and or assessment that is conducted in the workplace either
by workplace training staff or assessors.
Outcomes
These describe the more detailed outcomes that learners’ knowledge and skills
are assessed against. Collectively, these comprise the outcome expressed by
the title. In order to be credited with the unit standard, a learner must achieve all
of the Outcomes described in the outcome statements.
Performance
criteria (P.C)
This specifies the quantity and quality of the evidence required to meet
the outcomes in the element.
See Evidence
Requirements
Qualification(s)
There are two types of qualifications in New Zealand:
■
New Zealand or National qualifications provide nationally recognised,
consistent standards and qualifications. They give recognition and credit for
standards- based knowledge and skills.
■
Provider-developed (local) qualifications are those which have been
developed by an education provider.
The Skills Organisation
skills.org.nz
29
Quality assurance
A collective term used for activities to ensure that business is carried
out effectively and efficiently.
Recognition of Current
RCC covers a full range of an individual’s skills and knowledge irrespective of
how it has been acquired. However the individual must be able to prove that they
still have the skills and knowledge ‘now’.
Competence (RCC)
Recognition of Prior
Learning (RPL) Now
referred to as
Recognition of Prior
RPA is prior learning achieved through recognised training from a range
of approved courses or institutions (this could also include life
experiences).
Achievement (RPA)
Registered
This is a term used to describe the status of an assessor. This means that the
assessor has been allocated an assessor number, has certification to assess to
certain unit standards [scope], is currently assessing trainees and complying
with the requirements of Skills.
Record of Learning
(ROL)
Record of
Achievement (ROA)
Scope
A trainee’s ROA is maintained by NZQA for each individual who has registered
assessment results from workplace or off-job training. ROL is now referred to
as Record of Achievement (ROA).
A term used to describe an assessor’s overall certification of unit standards within
the Skills’ database system that they can assess. A scope can be amended at
any time but must be accurate in terms of an assessor’s ability to actually assess
the unit standards.
Standard Setting Body
Standard Setting Bodies (SSBs) are responsible for the quality and credibility
(SSB)
of standards submitted to NZQA for registration on the NZQF. They work with
industry partners, professional groups, and other stakeholders to develop
useful and relevant standards and qualifications that are nationally recognised.
Subfield
An area of learning within a field of the National Qualifications
Framework. Domains come under a subfield.
Suspended
This is a term used to describe the status of an assessor. This means that the
assessor has temporarily been suspended from undertaking any assessment
for Skills. This could be due to a number of reasons; however it is usually a
Trainee
Training Agreement
The Skills Organisation
skills.org.nz
result of non-compliance. An assessor will be informed of this process if it
occurs.
A person being trained and signed into a training agreement.
A document signed by the employer and employee which states the terms
and conditions and individual responsibility for all aspects of the agreement.
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Unit standards
Unit standards specify what a trainee for assessment needs to know, do, and
understand. They are not lesson plans or programmes but specify outcomes to
be achieved. See pages 10 and 11 of this guide for more information.
Versions
Each time there is a change to a unit standard, a new version is created
(superseded). Minor changes may not affect outcomes. However assessors
should always check that they are using the correct version of unit standards
and their associated learning and assessment resource. These are posted and
made available on the Skills website. Previous versions of unit standards are
not available on the NZQA website once superseded, however this does not
mean that they cannot be used as there is an expiry date allocated to them. If
you are ever unsure please contact your Skills contact person.
Valid assessment
Assessment that achieved fitness for purpose by using evidence directly related
to the type and level of performance required in a specified unit standard, and by
being fair and consistent.
The Skills Organisation
skills.org.nz
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