TQS Myths (2) Don't spend much time on A0.

Ignoring or minimising the value of A0 is something that still happens quite a lot in provider organisations.

In some cases the reasoning is: there are no points for A0 so it can't be very important.

However, most people who have worked with the TQS for even a little while know that if you don't write the various parts of A0 effectively, you will have trouble writing A5.

Of course, if you don't have a strategy for working with employers then you will also have trouble stating the approaches you use to help you fulfil your strategy. This means you will struggle with A2, A3 and A4, too.

Anyone who is serious about gaining TQS certification needs to be clear that A0 is the bedrock of the application. Without sound information in A0 you will struggle with the rest of the application.

Yet, misunderstandings concerning the importance of A0 are not the only reasons why A0 is often neglected.

There is another reason why people choose not to spend much time on A0.

This is that they don't know what to write.

On several occasions when I have been working with providers on their applications they have said that they have left A0 because it is too difficult. They have explained that they didn't know what to write so they decided to leave A0 until the end.

This demonstrates a problem with understanding of the whole standard.

In fact, A0 - and B0 for that matter - are crucial to the application and to success in the assessment. These are the areas to spend time getting right.

So, the best advice is to address A0 fully and make sure you have both understood and addressed the requirements before you move on to the rest of the standard.

Ignoring A0 could make your whole application weaker.

Don't make this mistake.