Author: Neftaly Malatjie

Preparing the Candidate

This assessment exercise will cover the outcomes required in order to achieve a competency certificate. The purpose of the assessment process is to gather enough evidence to prove all unit standard outcomes were achieved.

Competency will be assessed through class hands on tasks recorded in POE, input and performance based assessment, assignments which will require a fair amount of research and observation in essential embedded knowledge. Assessment evidence should be sufficient to prove that the candidate is competent in all require tasks set by the unit standards.

A summative assessment will be conducted at end of course to confirm assessment judgments.  Principles of fairness, validity, practicability, reliability and consistency will be adhered to throughout.

The candidate has the right to appeal against assessment decision or practice they regard as unfair. An Appeals and Disputes procedure is in place and communicated to all assessment candidates in order for them to appeal on the basis of:

• Unfair assessment
• Invalid assessment
• Unreliable assessment
• Unethical practices
• Inadequate expertise and experience of the assessor

Appeals have to be lodged in writing (Candidate Appeal Form) & submitted to the Training Provider internal moderator within 48 hours, following the assessment in question.

The moderator will consider the appeal & make a decision regarding the granting of a re-assessment.

The learner will be informed about the appeal-outcome within 3 days of lodging the appeal. Should the learner not be satisfied with the internal appeal outcome, the learner will be advised of the rights to refer the matter to the Services SETA ETQA.

Congratulations on completing this programme.  We sincerely hope you enjoyed the programme and that the learning experience was enriching.

The fact that you have attended training, however, is not sufficient evidence of your competence for us to award you a certificate and the credits attached to this programme. You are required to undergo assessment in order to prove your competence to achieve credits leading to a national qualification.

Being Declared Competent Entails:

Competence is the ability to perform whole work roles, to the standards expected in employment, in a real working environment.

There are three levels of competence:

• Foundational competence: an understanding of what you do and why.
• Practical competence: the ability to perform a set of tasks in an authentic context.
• Reflexive competence: the ability to adapt to changed circumstances appropriately and responsibly, and to explain the reason behind the action.

To receive a certificate of competence and be awarded credits, you are required to provide evidence of your competence by compiling a portfolio of evidence, which will be assessed by a Services SETA accredited assessor.

You Have to Submit a Portfolio of Evidence

A portfolio of evidence is a structured collection of evidence that reflects your efforts, progress and achievement in a specific learning area, and demonstrates your competence.

The Assessment of Your Competence

Assessment of competence is a process of making judgments about an individual’s competence through matching evidence collected to the appropriate national standards. The evidence in your portfolio should closely reflect the outcomes and assessment criteria of the unit standards of the learning programme for which you are being assessed.

To determine a candidate’s knowledge and ability to apply the skills before and during the learning programme, formative assessments are done to determine the learner’s progress towards full competence. This normally guides the learner towards a successful summative (final) assessment to which both the assessor and the candidate only agree when they both feel the candidate is ready.

Should it happen that a candidate is deemed not yet competent upon a summative assessment, that candidate will be allowed to be re-assessed. The candidate can, however, only be allowed two reassessments.

When learners have to undergo re-assessment, the following conditions will apply:

• Specific feedback will be given so that candidates can concentrate on only those areas in which they were assessed as not yet competent.
• Re-assessment will take place in the same situation or context and under the same conditions as the original assessment.
• Only the specific outcomes that were not achieved will be re-assessed.
• Candidates who are repeatedly unsuccessful will be given guidance on other possible and more suitable learning avenues.
• In order for your assessor to assess your competence, your portfolio should provide evidence of both your knowledge and skills, and of how you applied your knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts.

This Candidate’s Assessment Portfolio directs you in the activities that need to be completed so that your competence can be assessed and so that you can be awarded the credits attached to the programme.