City & Guilds
City & Guilds are vocational qualifications and cover a range of practical subjects at craft and technician level. These are usually delivered in a college environment through either full or part-time study.
City & Guilds also offer some Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) that are also delivered and assessed in the workplace.
Qualifications gained are comparable with Scottish Group Awards and Higher National Certificates.
Oxford, Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts (OCR) certificates
These qualifications used to be RSA certificates. They're awarded for subjects such as word-processing and bookkeeping. You don't need qualifications to get started, but you will need relevant experience for more advanced levels.
Scottish Vocational Qualifications
Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) are awarded for proven competence in the workplace and are the equivalent of the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) which are awarded in England.
Trainers in the workplace work with candidates and help them to put together a portfolio of their work which is then formally assessed against agreed industry standards. SVQs are available at five levels, and are suitable for junior positions right up to senior management level.
SVQs are popular because there is no need for exams, yet they provide proof of competence and knowledge that the individual can build on or take to another employer. They also allow you to build on what you already know and relate this back to your work and how you do it.
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