Who’s on the TQS (Part) B team?

It’s very easy, when thinking about the TQS, to focus exclusively on the requirements on Part A. After all, you need to achieve Part A in order to be in a position to be certificated for Part B.

Focusing on Part A often means that the people you are going to call on to work on the Part B application are excluded from a lot of your TQS activity. As a result they don’t really know what is expected of them when they come to be involved.

This is causing problems in quite a few provider organisations. Are you facing these same problems?

Problem one: Wrong focus

The person who will lead on a Part B isn’t sufficiently familiar with the TQS requirements to be aware of the differences between TQS Part B and the requirements of assessment and inspection frameworks with which your organisation is more familiar.

When critiquing applications I’ve seen lots that are all about the curriculum, about courses and about learners.

Solution: Plan ahead.

Decide early who will be writing the TQS Part B submissions. Keep these people involved in all your TQS development activities. Make sure they develop their understanding of the requirements of the standard before they are asked to write anything.

Problem two: No close links with the Sector Skills Council (SSC)

Some provider organisations just haven’t made the time to build up good working relationships with the relevant SSCs.

In some cases this means that a Part B application isn’t clear about the SSC’s footprint, so the writers can’t explain to the readers which areas of the SSC’s remit the application covers. People1st, for example, covers fourteen different industries, including hospitality, catering and travel and tourism.

As a result, some providers define their application in terms of their curriculum and not with reference to the SSC.

I’ve seen applications that deal with all aspects of care: childcare, adult care, social work and care in the education world and so on. I’ve also talked to Part B writers who don’t see any reason to change such an application.

I’ve seen applications that muddle the work of Skills for Logistics (freight logistics) and GoSkills (passenger transport).

Solution: Make sure your Part B specialists are familiar with the relevant sector

Whoever is writing your Part B application needs to know that these applications are reviewed by the relevant Sector Skills Council (SSC) once they are submitted, and the SSC’s reviewer will identify issues and questions for the assessors to pick up on.

Therefore, make sure your Part B specialists are familiar with the work of the sector, as it is defined by the SSC, and make sure it is very clear how you are supporting the work of the SSC in the application.

Problem three: You don’t actually have a relationship with the sector

When it comes down to it, some provider organisations are not working closely with the sector where they want to gain Part B certification. Sometimes they think they are; sometimes they know they aren’t.

To have sector expertise you need to know what the issues facing the sector are. You also need to know how you are supporting the sector – as opposed to how you are supporting individual employers – to deal with at least some of those issues.

The sector has local, regional, national, and in some cases, international dimensions. Does your sector expert know how you support your sector at each level, or how your work contributes to the work of the sector at different levels?

Is your sector expert active in the work of the SSC and other relevant bodies, for example, some of the trade associations?

If not, are you sure you have sector expertise?

Solution: Get to know the SSC

If this is your problem, start building relationships with your SSC and with your National Skills Academy (NSA), if you have one. Build up your contacts and your knowledge over time, but start now.

Problem four: Part A and Part B applications are completed in isolation

You know why this happens. There’s the issue of time. There are other priorities. You had good intentions, but somehow co-ordinating everything is more difficult that you anticipated.

As a result the emphasis of the two parts of the application is different. Worse still some of what you say in Part A is contradicted in Part B. Where you have more than one Part B then conflicting statements are sometimes made in the different applications.

Solution: Sequence the writing of Part A and Part B

It really is the solution.

Sort out Part A first and then think about Part B. Your Part B writers will be more confident about their tasks, if they know what has been said about the whole organisation. They will have some guidance in front of them to help them to shape and construct a good Part B submission. They can also share Part B applications within the organisation if there is more than one Part B being written.

So, in the end there is a lot you can do to support your Part B writers. The most important thing to do is to bring them into the TQS team as soon as possible.

How about starting that process today?

See also: What's the real difference between Part A and Part B of the TQS?