This was the case when I was asked by management to take over internal verification for an experienced assessor and IV, as the lead IV for customer service had been signed off on long term sick. This person has 10 years experience in this route. When I examined the files and assessment decisions I could not agree with the assessors decisions. This situation was ripe for conflict as the assessor has a lot more experience than me and was not comfortable receiving feedback from someone with less year’s experience. However, from looking through the files it became clear that the assessor, through familiarity within her job role, had become flippant in terms of the interpretation of the standards. Nevertheless I had to stand my ground and tactfully point out the inadequacies and errors in the assessment process. I relied on the national standards to support my disagreements with the assessor’s judgments. I was able to persuade the assessor to rethink and re-examine the evidence. As an experienced assessor and verifier I know that there are no short cuts to satisfying NVQ requirements. Inaccurate decision making and poor quality control systems can lead to withdrawal of centre approval and / or sanctions on the way the centre operates.
After much discussion and one to one meetings with the assessor it came to light that the assessor’s time had been taken