OCR Cambridge TEC - Level 3
Certificate/Diploma IT
LO1 - Know how human resources are
managed

Learners could be asked to use a job advertisement for an organisation with which
they are already familiar, such as through part-time employment, work experience or
as a customer. They could then work in small groups to identify all of the stages
involved in the process prior to issuing the job advertisement, as well as a list of the
stages involved after the job has been advertised. This could be followed up with
research and the collection of various examples of recruitment documents. Learners
could then use these to create a set of documents which could be used by the
organisation advertising the job. A great deal of information is likely to be available on
the organisation’s website, but it would be helpful if a visit from someone who works
in a Human Resources department could be arranged.

Learners could select a job advertisement that interests them, and undertake
research into the skills that are required for the chosen role. This would provide an
opportunity for learners to find out more about a role that they have an interest in,
and allow them to compare their skills with those required by the job role they have
chosen. It would be useful for learners to visit careers advice organisations and
careers websites in order to find out the particular skills that are required for certain
jobs. Some websites provide an interactive facility that enables learners to gain a
profile of their own skills which they should find interesting to do.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
Learning Outcome (LO)
The learner will:
1
Know how human
resources are
managed
Pass
The assessment criteria are the pass
requirements for this unit.
The learner can:
Merit
For merit the evidence must
show that, in addition to the
pass criteria, the learner is
able to:
P1
Describe the recruitment
documentation used in a
selected organisation
M1 - Analyse the
recruitment documentation
of a selected organisation
P2
Describe the main employability
and personal and
communication skills required
when applying for a specific job
role
2
Know the purpose
of managing
physical and
technological
resources
P3
Describe the main physical and
technological resources required
in the operation of a selected
organisation
3
Know how to
access sources of
finance
P4
Describe sources of internal and
external finance for a selected
business
4
Be able to
interpret financial
statements
P5
Interpret the contents of a
trading and profit and loss
account and balance sheet for a
selected company
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
M2 - Analyse the
advantages and
disadvantages of a range of
different sources of finance
for a selected business
Assessment
Distinction
For distinction the
evidence must show
that, in addition to the
pass and merit criteria,
the learner is able to:
D1 - Evaluate the best
source of finance to
meet the needs of a
selected business


For P1 and P2, Learners could produce a guide for applicants on
the recruitment documentation used within a selected
organisation. The guide should use a specified job role as an
example and describe the recruitment documentation and the
main employability, personal and communication skills required
when applying for the specified job role.
For Merit criterion M1, learners could create a report for the
management team which analyses the recruitment documentation
that is used by the selected organisation.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Human resources is “the function within a business organisation that monitors the availability of
qualified workers; recruits and screens applicants for jobs; helps select qualified employees; plans
and presents appropriate orientation, training, and development for each employee; and administers
employee benefit.” (www.minnesotalife.com/about/glossary_pages/glossary_h.asp)
 In short Human Resources is a department within every company that deals with the needs of the
employees and staffing needs within a company. Within this function there are sections of control
that Human resources deal with.
Recruitment and retention of staff
Contracts of employment
Job descriptions
Relationships with other departments
Resource requirements
Monitoring of performance
Setting standards of behaviour
Incentives
Sourcing: internal, external
 Recruitment and retention of staff – When a company needs new staff, more staff or is struggling to
keep the current staff, Human Resources will be the people within the business who deals with this.
In terms of finding new staff this could mean Job Agencies, placing adverts, interviewing potential
staff or recruiting from within. This is a large part of their daily work. Think of a school and the staff
turnover, the promotions, all the interviews going on. What you see is just a part of this, for every
new member of staff there are 4 people on average to interview, check references, applications to
read and that is just those who are called. Similarly for retention, it could be promotion, more
money, different duties etc.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Contracts of Employment – When a company needs new staff, more staff or
change the levels of a current member of staff, Human Resources, with the
consent of management, draw up a Contract of Employment that states legally
the terms and conditions of employment for that member of staff. This is a legal
document, and states the roles and duties the staff member will be held to.
 At the date of hiring that employee will have the right to negotiate the terms of
the contract. For instance part of a Teaching contract is Parents Evening
attendance, hours of duty, Subject specifics, Pay and a list of other things.
Anything added to the contract after acceptance can again be negotiated and
refused.
 Job Descriptions – Human Resources will draft the job description on behalf of
the management and HOD. This will be agreed with all parties before a job
advert is placed and is available to the prospective employee or applicant. This
Job description outlines the duties of the member of staff, and is usually global
in its expectation. Prospective employees read this by prospective employees to
see if they are up to the task. For instance a checkout person might be expected
to stock shelves as well, the job description will make this clear.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Resource requirements – there are 2 kinds of resources within companies,
human and physical, Human resources organise and manage the Human side of
this but will play a part in the physical side of this if it benefits the Human side.
Have not got enough computers, Human resources will look into it, rooms,
facilities, technical resources etc. if it benefits staff and their daily job then HR
will deal with it. For instance, if I need an SEN for a lesson, HR will deal with it
along with the SEN department. If I need to take the day off, then HR will
allocate replacements.
 Relationships with other departments – HR is seen as the gel between
departments, they are the go to people, when it comes to internal conflicts,
work being slow because of others, reliant jobs not getting done, departments
do not face each other off, HR does this. On a larger scale this is called Industrial
and Employee Relations and HR works with Unions to resolve or manage
problems. They are also responsible for giving confidential advice to internal
'customers' in relation to problems at work.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Monitoring of performance – Within every company staff are monitored, to
make sure they are doing their job right, to make sure they are behaving, to
make sure they are getting on with other and with customers. When any of this
is not happening right, Human resources are responsible for the management of
training needs for these staff, organising internal or external training, cataloguing
the success or failure of that training and improving the efficiency of the
company. For instance in a school we would find training, fill in the application,
give it to Human Resources, they would confer with Admin, Management and
HOD’s and agree to this or dismiss it. It is their duty to organise it but not justify
it.
 Setting standards of behaviour – Internal conflicts happen, one staff member
does not like another, disagrees, cannot work with, struggles to compromise etc.
The larger the company and the departments, the more this is likely to happen.,
the more likely this is going to affect the business functions. Human resources,
along with the members of staff, HOD’s and management will arrange
conference on the disputation, find the solutions, organise the post decision and
evaluate the success of the decision.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Incentives – HR is responsible for managing the incentives Management offer to
staff. If pay needs a bonus added, HR organise with Admin the payments and
transfers from other funds, if a member of staff takes on additional duties, HR
organise with management the new salary. For some companies incentives
include Allocated Car Parking, Bonuses, Petrol Money, time off, Crèche, stock
discounts etc. It all depends on the company. Incentives give staff a reason to
stay when more pay is not forthcoming, HR organise this with finance.
 Sourcing - internal, external - Not all vacancies within a company can be filled
from internally but a lot can. If a HOD position comes up within a school, HR will
handle the internal applications, sort out who is best, organise interviews etc. If
there is no internal candidate good enough, they will manage external
candidates. They might source these from Job Sites, overseas sites, from other
schools etc. Similarly when it comes to other resources, HR will source internally
and then externally for equipment, training, support staff, replacements, covers
etc. Whatever it takes to keep the business functioning.
P1.1 – Task 01 – For a medium sized business, describe the functions of a HR
department.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 All companies with more than 20 staff will source internally and externally for staff suitable
for an IT job position. Using the company selected for Task 1, you will need to source and
store the recruitment documentation for a job you are familiar with. This information
should include:
 The Job Advertisement
 A Job Application Form
 A Job Description
 An equal opportunities form
 Or a Recruitment Pack
 Once you have downloaded these you will need to produce a guide for applicants on the
recruitment documentation used within your selected organisation.
 The guide should use a specified job role as an example and describe the recruitment
documentation and the main employability, personal and communication skills required
when applying for the specified job role.
P1.2 – Task 02 – Identify and discuss all of the stages involved in the process prior to issuing
the job advertisement, as well as a list of the stages involved after the job has been advertised.
◦ These will include the functions of HR prior and during the application process.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Using the information from the Job application and recruitment documentation
found, you have been asked to produce a guide for internal staff of your
company to explain the recruitment processes. For this you will need to
evidence examples of the process from the documentation and explain the
importance of each document found and the purpose of that document in
finding the appropriate member of staff for the job.
 For this guide you might use the following sections:
Location of the Job
Advertisement
What is stated in the Job
Application form
The language used
specific for the target
audience
What is said in the
Job Description
The language used
in the EO form
The way the job specifics
are listed
The use of
quantitative
questions
How the deadline
reflects the job
position
How lenient are
they on
qualifications
Are they more concerned
with your previous
employment or your
qualifications
What kind of
references are they
looking for
What incentives are
they offering
P1.3 – Task 03 - Produce a step by step guide for internal staff of your company
based on recruitment documentation to explain the recruitment processes.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Not all documentation and procedures work well. Look at the turnover of
your own school, do staff stay longer than 5 years, have you had classes
where you have different teachers every few months. There are also
teachers who have stayed for 30 years or more. Is this down to the
recruitment policies, or does the school choose ambitious teachers and
then is surprised when they move on.
M1.1 – Task 04 - Create a report for the management team which analyses
the recruitment documentation that is used by the selected organisation,
suggesting improvements to the procedures.
 For example:
Choice of Advertising
location
Modern expectations
of staff
Qualifications for the
specified job
Deadlines set
Application form too long
or too short
File format (PDF or
Word)
Interview procedure vs.
Job expectations
Technical
wording
Hidden meanings in the
questions (age, race etc.)
Too many
expectations
Reference expectations
(Professional or personal)
Pay vs. Duties
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Within every Job expectation there are skills that are necessary to gain or
demonstrate. These are not necessarily qualifications gained through courses or
from School and University. Qualifications are important, they get you to the
interview door, when there are a lot of applicants the company will first narrow
down the pile to those qualified, if the pile is still large (10 or more) then they
will narrow it down to those suitable.
 For this task you will need to keep the documentation found for the specific job
you are interested in or can discuss. Going through the documentation you will
need to explain and show evidence of where the application asks for job skills.
From these you will need to explain the main employability skills and personal
communication skills the applications and job specifications are asking for. You
should show this through the application form as well as the job specification
and interview process to demonstrate understanding.
P2.1 – Task 5 - Describe the main employability and personal and communication
skills required when applying for a specific job role.
Qualifications
Experience
Knowledge
Negotiation
Interpersonal Skills
Team Work
Interviewing Skills
Time Management
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Qualifications - These are important in any job application, not only does it
show that you know the work but it also demonstrates what kind of applicant
you are. If your grades are C standard at GCSE and there are few of them, this
indicates to the company that you are the kind of person who did not try hard in
the past. And if you’re A Level grades or predicted grades match these, then this
indicates that you are still that kind of student. This may not be true, there may
be circumstances but you do not get to decide or argue this in the application
pool. In terms of employability what are they asking for, what standards are
indicated.
 Experience – This is the counter balance to qualifications and makes up for the
lack. If you have industry experience, this shows that you have tried in the past,
that you have decided that this is where you want to be and is not some new fad
you are thinking about. The more experience in the same field the better, this
shows ambition, enthusiasm, willingness. A complete lack of relevant
experience does not show willing, and can indicate that you are a short termer,
in it for the money. In terms of employability, would a company want to hire
someone without experience, train them and then go through the process when
the employee realises they do not like it.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Knowledge – This can be gained through Qualifications, Experience or self
promotion. Jobs tend to list a series of things they would prefer you know about,
MS Office, Photoshop, certain kinds of Machines, EPOS etc. But knowledge can
be ethereal as well, customer care, data handling, dealing with clients, world
affairs, oversees knowledge etc. Hard to prove so they do not ask for evidence
but they will ask for a paragraph in the letter of application, something they will
then question at the interview. Specifically they are looking for knowledge that
can be adapted, qualification in French might mean adaptable knowledge of
Italian, Qualification in Geography might mean knowledge of transport
infrastructures.
 Negotiation – A lot of jobs will expect negotiation in terms of staff and
customers. Suppliers negotiate all the time, dealing with them means
compromise, persuasion, industry knowledge, firmness, integrity etc. With staff,
specifically when it comes to team work, negotiation is linked heavily to
compromise. As an employability skills this is difficult to prove at interview, or
demonstrate on an application form. For some jobs like share trading, certain
sales and business positions, this will be a necessity.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Interpersonal skills – This can cover a range of things like knowledge and is hard to prove and always
questioned. This will show up at an interview and can cover a range of things such as:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Scenario
Punctuality - always being on time or having things ready on time
Respectful
Honesty - acting truthfully at all times
Integrity - Adheres to standards and procedures, maintains confidentiality and questions
inappropriate behaviour / acting in a way that is open and honest / not being influenced by others
to act inappropriately
Fairness - sticking to the rules without having a negative effect on others
Dependability - people know you will do the job and do it well
Reliable - people can trust you and in your work
Flexibility - Adapt successfully to changing situations and environments
Determination
Hard Working - taking care with your work and persevere to complete tasks
Drive - Determination to get things done; make things happen and constantly looking for better
ways of doing things
Career Minded
Personal Impact/Confidence - Presents a strong, professional, positive image to others which
inspires confidence and commands respect
Lifelong Learning - Continues to learn throughout life. Develops the competencies needed for
current and future roles
Professionalism - Pays care and attention to quality of work / supports and empower others
Stress Tolerance - Maintains effective performance under pressure
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Ability to work as part of a team – All jobs will involve working as part of a team sooner or later and knowing that you
can work with others is a necessity. Like negotiation this is hard to prove and always questioned. This will show up at
an interview and can cover a range of things such as:
◦ Work and Team Playing ability – Being able to manage a situation for the best results
 Having the ability to work confidently within a group and to inspire a work ethos in co-workers in order to achieve
a goal
 The ability to work with others (including different ages, cultures, work ethics etc.) to deliver results as planned to
customers and clients who may be from different backgrounds and at different stages of development, skill sets or
levels of interest
 Working with management and administration staff in order to achieve the best results that compromises
company and customer needs
◦ Commercial Awareness – To understand commercial realities and restrictions affecting the business
 Knowing current trends (sales/ technologies/ government guidelines/ legislation/ customer needs/ short and long
terms goals/ the market place and market trends)
 Being aware of the style and ability of immediate rivals, taking this into consideration in terms of analysis and
preparation
◦ Pro-active – Being able to making things happen, pre-empting situations, showing initiative including active
participation and contributions. Not everyone can be the team leader but everyone can contribute.
◦ Co-operative – Being able to work well with others to get job done, compromising situations for a time planned
result, knowing when to let go or take control, working parties, development groups, sharing company objectives
through a wider scope of activity.
◦ Responsibility - Being able to accept ownership of a situation, clarifying what you have done, owning the decisions
and actions made so the action and responsibility can be attributed either successfully or unsuccessfully.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
 Interviewing skills – Interviewing skills works both ways, demonstrating that you have
interviewing skills to interview others is a good employability skill but difficult to prove without
experience but demonstrating your own skills is more vital. Some people are just good at
interviews, listeners, being able to ask the right question, standing out without being too loud,
answering questions directly, knowing how to answer questions they do not know the answer
to. In interviews a lot of questions reoccur such as:
 Why do you want to work here
 What do you feel you can contribute to the company
 Where do you see yourself in 5 years
 These are designed to make you think outside the box, to test your ability to answer when
there is no real acceptable answer.
 Time Management –Again difficult to show, it may appear on your references, this is about
completing tasks as well as attendance. There are those who always complete things on time
but not necessarily to a high degree, there are those who work overtime to get it done, putting
in the hours, and there are those who organise until there is no time left to achieve the task.
There is nothing on your CV except your personal statement that might indicate this so
demonstrating it is all down to interview techniques. This includes meeting deadlines, leaving
time for evaluation, being reliable, putting your job ahead of your social life, being able to
allocate tasks and responsibilities for the greater good.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment
P1.1 – Task 01 – For a medium sized business, describe the functions of a HR
department.
P1.2 – Task 02 – Identify and discuss all of the stages involved in the process prior
to issuing the job advertisement, as well as a list of the stages involved after the job
has been advertised.
P1.3 – Task 03 - Produce a step by step guide for internal staff of your company
based on recruitment documentation to explain the recruitment processes.
M1.1 – Task 04 - Create a report for the management team which analyses the
recruitment documentation that is used by the selected organisation, suggesting
improvements to the procedures.
P2.1 – Task 5 - Describe the main employability and personal and communication
skills required when applying for a specific job role.
Scenario
Criteria
Tasks
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment