What are NVQ Diplomas?

NVQ Diplomas are vocational qualifications, designed to reflect your competence, skills and knowledge in the workplace. They form part of a national framework of qualifications, and therefore lay the foundations of a progression pathway towards a successful career, whether you choose to go directly into employment, or to continue gaining qualifications in further or higher education.
NVQ Diploma qualifications prove to a prospective employer that you really know how to do your work, because the method of assessment means your qualities have been tried and tested in a real working environment. It is the difference between knowing “about” the job, and knowing your job.
Each NVQ Diploma is made up of several units. Each unit has a list of requirements, which you must fulfil in order to achieve it. During your training in Lakefield you will gather evidence which will enable you to build up a portfolio to show that you are capable of meeting these requirements. Your ‘evidence’ will take the form of observation reports, witness statements, or any written evidence that you may have in the area in which you are working. There are qualified and experienced assessors in each of the departments who will help you to identify the evidence you can use.
In addition to the practical training you carry out in the morning sessions, you will have classes in the afternoons, which will reinforce the skills you have learnt in the different departments of the Lakefield complex. Evidence from these classes can also be included in your portfolios.