Focus on Trent: education. Quality training for health care assistants

The implementation of national vocational qualifications (NVQs) in health and social care is a major initiative in the achievement of quality training for unqualified careers. Managers responsible for human resource development in the health service and in local authorities will be considering ways of developing training and assessment systems that meet the requirements of the joint awarding body. This article outlines the approach of the Sheffield and North Trent College and Employers Consortium towards training and assessing candidates for NVQs in health and social care. A need for flexible and responsive approaches to assessment, recognition of prior learning and the use of open learning strategies is highlighted.