An Assessor’s View on the TQS

Most of the readers of this blog are thinking about TQS assessment when they apply the advice they find here. Therefore, the opportunity to receive guidance from a TQS assessor will always be welcome.

During August I spoke to Peter Hillman, a licensed assessor with Investors in Excellence.

We discussed assessment and captured below are some of his personal insights into the assessment process together with lots of useful guidance to every one working with the Training Quality Standard.

What do you think is the main value of TQS assessment to providers?
I think there are several aspects of the assessment which really add value to providers.

The assessment helps a provider to focus on the employer and the benefits that employer gains as a result of working with that provider.

The assessment offers an independent objective review of how the provider works with employers, - plus feedback. The feedback is from the perspective of how employers’ business needs are identified and met, rather than from the educational experience of the learner; this is likely to involve assessing how organisation-wide processes and performance are measured and managed. That’s what makes the TQS different from many of the other assessments with which providers may be familiar.

The assessment also makes providers look at the data they hold about employers. Their learner data is usually a lot more accurate than their employer data! There are understandable reasons for this, and TQS helps to show providers that by applying the same rigorous processes as for learner data, they can do just as much with their employer data.

How is assessing against the TQS different from assessing with reference to other standards?
The TQS assessment is application based.

It’s the application that is assessed and if some of the good practices that the provider has in place are not in the application they will not be included in the assessment. This makes the application critical to the assessment process and it needs to be a comprehensive “story” of how Employer Responsiveness is managed from Strategy through Application to Demonstration of Performance through a range of Results.

If it is not in the application it does not get assessed.

The aim of the verification visit is for the assessment team to resolve any questions they may have about the information in the application – it is not an opportunity for the provider to present the “ (new) evidence they did not include in the application”. Many providers have not yet caught up with this or the implications and how this makes the TQS different to other assessments and inspections!

It is also worth remembering that essentially the only information the assessors have about the applicant is what is in the application (and what may be on their website). Therefore it is important not to make assumptions about assessors' understanding of “how you do things”. Once providers realise the importance of the application it should raise questions with them about who should write it and who the audience is. It needs to be someone who knows the organisation, not just “someone who has the time”. The person who writes the application needs to be able to write well in order to present clearly how the organisation delivers employer responsiveness. The writer’s job is to explain how the provider does things and how they know they are happening and working.

This means that the writer must be able to write concisely and clearly.

The application itself needs to show how the provider is employer responsive. The strategy for working with employers should describe the “business” that you are in and why, together with a range of SMART objectives to support this. This provides the context for the assessment and for the application.

What are the various stages of your work as an assessor?
The assessment team has a lot to do even before seeing the application. Once Registration is complete and an “assessment agreement” finalised it’s usual for the lead assessor to call the provider and introduce himself or herself and to set up the actual dates (within the agreed window) for the verification visit as quickly as possible. It’s important to make sure, as soon as possible, that the key people will be around when the visit takes place.

Prior to the verification visit the assessors will review the application. They will do this independently including identifying Strengths, Areas for Improvement, issues to be discussed during the verification visit and then score the application. They would then share their views and arrive at a consensus on the information including the key issues to be addressed during the verification visit. When they’ve finished this part of the process, the desktop review will go to the certification body.

The preparations for the verification visit come next. The lead assessor produces a visit plan including people they wish to talk to and documents they want to see. The assessors may, for example, want to see some documents such as Employer Responsiveness Strategy, Employer Surveys, completed ONAs and reviews of outcomes. It’s fine, if they’re stored electronically. There’s no need to create copies just for the assessor.

This verification visit plan is shared with the applicant prior to the visit.

When the assessors visit, they will spend their time addressing the issues that emerged when they did the desktop review. Following this they review their findings - Strengths, Areas for Improvement - and arrive at a consensus of the evidence and hence the score - whether or not to change the scores in the desktop review. Remember the assessors will not provide you with any feedback at the end of the verification visit – no matter how many times you ask!

After the visit the lead assessor will produce the feedback report and agree this with the other assessor.

Where validation happens it is managed by the certification body and the assessors are not involved.

Following the decision on the outcome of the assessment process the lead assessor meets with the provider to discuss the feedback report which will have been sent to the provider about a week before the feedback meeting

What is enjoyable about being a TQS assessor?
You get to meet a range of people in different types of organisations – large and small, FE Colleges and Independent Training Providers. – It’s challenging, rewarding and you have many opportunities to see examples of good practice in action

You put yourself in the employer’s shoes at some points in the process and in the applicant’s shoes at other points. You check out the system the provider uses for managing work with employers. You look to see if it’s suited to its purpose.

You also have the opportunity to tell providers what they’re good at. That’s very enjoyable

What is challenging about being a TQS assessor?
The biggest challenge is avoiding giving advice to providers.

You have to remain objective, and you are not there to tell people what they should be doing. They ask. Of course, they ask for advice, but you can’t step over that boundary. You’re there as an assessor and not as an adviser. You have to be very clear about your role and about the boundaries to your role.

Also, TQS is a framework and you have to constantly be aware of what is “appropriate” for the size and complexity of the organisation you are assessing

. . . And a final thought . . .

Whether or not you apply for certification, I believe the TQS provides a world class framework for developing an effective employer responsive business and is an excellent development tool – “it is a route map for the journey to a successful future”.

Peter Hillman has been a TQS assessor for over two years and has conducted over 50 assessments including employer organisations involved in TQS for Employers.

If you have any questions you would like to ask Peter, please post them as a comment. Peter will reply via the comments, too.