Can a Professional Discussion be an effective way to gather evidence from candidates claiming APA (Accreditation of Prior Achievement)?
Many qualifications contribute to ITQ. The Awarding Bodies are responsible for mapping qualifications they would like to appear on this list against the National Occupational Standards for IT Users.
Certain qualifications map fully to ITQ and some partially, and therefore some candidates would need to show evidence for the ITQ knowledge and skills that are not covered.
You can view on this website the list of qualifications that count towards ITQ on the e-skills website.
e-skills UK have stated in relation to APA that:
"It should be remembered that:
- the skills of any ITQ Unit for which a candidate is claiming an exemption must be demonstrated in the mandatory unit. The assessment of the mandatory unit of the ITQ must include the application of the skills and knowledge learned and achieved in the VRQ units.
- the certificates of all VRQ units that are being used to claim exemptions must be no more than 3 years old when the candidate registers for the ITQ."
Let's look at Jack Thompson's example
"My company has introduced ITQ as part of the staff development training this year. As I had only just finished ECDL at evening class I asked my assessor if I could use the qualification in any way as evidence and of course I was delighted when he agreed.
At our first meeting we looked at how I have applied the skills I learnt during my ECDL training and he asked me several questions relating to my underpinning knowledge. We also considered the types of documents that would make good evidence for the Mandatory Unit.
At our next meeting we're going to have what's called a Professional Discussion when he wants me to talk about the tasks I need to achieve and how and why I have created these documents. He also wants me to demonstrate certain things on my own computer using the specific software I use in the surgery. Hopefully I can use this opportunity to give my assessor really good evidence that I can use my computer confidently. I'm also going to ask my centre manager for confirmation that I create these documents myself." 
An interview with External Verifier, Alison Lones when she talks about how a Professional Discussion can be an opportunity to encourage a candidate to talk about the application and use of IT in a broad context - what is sometimes referred to as the 'range'.
Don't forget that a Professional Discussion can be used as an assessment method for any ITQ Unit, not just the Mandatory Unit. Providing that the assessor and candidate plan carefully it can be an extremely useful way to capture the candidate's skills and knowledge.
Last modified: 11 Jul 2007