Inexperienced recent graduates looking for jobs overseas can take heart from a unique earning and learning program in the United Kingdom. Under UK’s National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) program, you can study, work, and get paid £6.50 to £7 (about P600) per hour in that country.

What is NVQ?
NVQ is a competence-based qualification program offered by UK government-authorized institutions. When you take an NVQ course, you learn practical, work-related tasks that help you develop effective job skills and knowledge.

NVQs comply with nationally recognized UK standards for various occupations. The standards determine what a competent person in a given job is expected to do. As you progress through the program, you can compare your skills and knowledge with the standards and evaluate what more you need to learn to meet them.

NVQs are at Levels 1 to 5 of the National Qualifications Framework.

What is the National Qualifications Framework?
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) sets out levels for job qualification throughout England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It helps learners know what qualifications they need for which jobs, and identifies the routes to acquiring those qualifications.

Accreditation of qualifications obtained through NVQ is made by the Qualification & Curriculum Authority (QCA).

What is QCA?
QCA is the UK government body that develops and monitors all nationally recognized educational and employment qualifications. QCA-designated assessors test the knowledge and understanding of participants in NVQ courses.

How are assessments made?
NVQ participants are assessed in the areas of knowledge, understanding of work, and actual performance. An assessor will observe and question you to determine how well you know and understand your work. He will confirm with individual units within the NVQ when you have reached the required standards.

Completing an NVQ course has no time limit. You can take it at a pace that suits your needs. Many participants take about a year to complete an NVQ course at Levels 1 and 2, and two years for an NVQ course at Level 3.

What subjects are available?

Over 1,300 different NVQ courses are available, including:

• Business and management
• Sales, marketing, and distribution
• Health and social care
• Food, catering, and leisure
• Construction and property
• Manufacturing, production, and engineering

Where does an NVQ course lead?
Completing an NVQ course can lead to the next NVQ level. If you complete an NVQ course at Level 3, you can go on to a higher education course that will give you a Higher National Certificate, Higher National Diploma, Foundation Degree, or vocational specialization in a related vocational area.

You can go all the way to a Level 5 NVQ course or professional qualifications, usually in a related area.

What are my options with an NVQ course, say, in health and social care?

1. You can start with NVQ Health & Social Care Level 2 at the Majestic College, an authorized educational institution. The details:
   • NVQ Level 2 has a 10-month work placement with up to 40 hours a week of paid work in a care home. Some of the work will be on-the-job training, led tuition, and assessment that will allow you to learn, practice, and perfect the knowledge and skills taught in your NVQ course.
   • The jobs available to you with your completed Level 2 course and OCR (Oxford, Cambridge & RSA Exams) qualification are care worker, healthcare assistant, social worker.
2. If you wish, you can move up to Level 3 of the same sector—Health & Social Care with focus on Adults or Children and Young People.
   • NVQ Level 3 has a 14-month work placement with up to 40 hours a week of paid work in a care home.
   • The jobs available to you with your completed Level 3 course and OCR qualification are care home manager, care worker, health service manager, health visitor, healthcare assistant, and social worker. You will get paid more because of your higher qualifications.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs are available in other occupations related to other NVQ courses, but you must be in the UK to take advantage of these opportunities. For more information on becoming a working student in the UK, call the Immigrant Visa Center at (02) 634 8717.