Welcome to the T&A page for City & Guilds. If you require any information not available on these pages, please do not hesitate to contact the NSO VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.
City & Guilds Entry Requirements
Candidate Entry Requirements
You can enrol at any time of the year and the PRAs are open to anyone who has the experience of leadership and management that is required. This experience must be current (no more than five years old) and could have been gained either in an employed or in a volunteer role.
There are no eligibility restrictions relating to employed role, voluntary rank or time served. In order to qualify for the Professional Recognition Awards candidates must fulfil two key requirements:
- The ability to understand and practise skills in leadership and management
- Have current occupational or voluntary experience and an ability to demonstrate the achievement of a range of personal skills and specific competences (please refer to the Standards described below)
In general terms, the levels of the Awards correspond to the following levels of responsibility:
- Licentiateship - Level 4 - Supervisory role / Junior Manager
- Affiliateship - Level 5 - Line Manager
- Graduateship - Level 6 - Middle / Senior Manager
- Membership - Level 7 - Strategic Leadership Role
To achieve a Professional Recognition Award candidates must provide evidence of their competency:
Standard 1: Commitment to Professional Standards
Standard 2: Communication and Information Management
Standard 3: Leadership
Standard 4: Professional Development
Standard 5: Working with Others
Standard 6: Managing Customer Relationships
You must be sure you can meet the requirements of all Standard Statements for the level of award you wish to apply for. For further information please click here.
The awards are available for candidates who demonstrate certain sets of skills and responsibilities - these are detailed below in the drop down tabs:
Requirements Level 4 - Candidates with supervisory experience.
- Have first line management responsibility for managing day to day activities
- Manage resources in own area of responsibility
- Constructively work with others to develop and maintain good working relationships
- Develop and maintain good customer relationships
- Identify and access opportunities for professional development
- Apply professional standards in own area of responsibility
- Communicate effectively and manage information in line with organisational and legal requirements
- Consistently meet aims and objectives
- Exercise autonomy and judgement in work role
- Consider the views and perspectives of others in decision making
- Address problems that are well-defined but non-routine
Requirements Level 5 - Candidates with line management responsibilities.
- Anticipate, plan and lead change
- Manage resources
- Constructively work with others to develop and maintain good working relationships
- Set direction and inspire others to work together to achieve challenging outcomes
- Generate creative ideas to inform best practice and continual improvement
- Monitor compliance with professional standards
- Implement an effective communication strategy
- Develop and maintain good customer relationships to support the customer focussed culture of the organisation
- Analyse, identify and access professional development
- Address problems that are well-defined but complex and non-routine
- Exercise autonomy and judgement in decision making which takes into account the views and perspectives of others
Requirements Level 6 - Candidates with middle or senior management responsibilities.
- Take responsibility for achieving organisational objectives
- Take responsibility for managing a programme of substantial change or development
- Identify and manage resources to meet organisational objectives
- Take responsibility for motivating, delegating and empowering others
- Promote innovation and generate ideas for improvement
- Take responsibility for promoting, monitoring and maintaining compliance to professional standards
- Establish, lead and maintaining effective communication
- Develop and implement standards for customer service
- Evaluate the impact of professional development on self and the organisation
- Address problems that are complex and non-routine
Requirements Level 7 – Candidates with strategic leadership responsibilities.
- Articulate a vision for the future of the organisation or own area of responsibility
- Take responsibility for leading the organisation or own area of responsibility through complex change
- Have an in depth understanding of resources and manage them to meet organisational objectives
- Establish a culture of mutual support and cohesion which values the contribution of others and recognises success
- Promote innovation and generate ideas for improvement
- Establish an environment and culture that assures and promotes compliance with professional standards
- Develop a communication strategy for the organisation or own area of responsibility
- Represent the organisation to communicate on matters of importance and sensitivity and establish robust methods for managing information
- Establish a strategy for putting the customer at the centre of the organisation or own area of responsibility
- Champion professional development within the organisation
How to Apply
Have a look at the below steps on how to apply for your City & Guilds awards.
- The first step will be for you to put together a Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing the roles you have fulfilled which are relevant to the Professional Recognition Awards and a timeline. It is most important that you include full details of the leadership and management responsibilities you have in the roles you currently hold. This may include both your employed and volunteer roles.
- Next you should provide outline job descriptions to give more detail about the roles you have listed in your CV. Your responsibilities for working with, leading and managing other adults and the size of your team will be important details here
- The third step will be for you to write a personal statement of around 500 words that demonstrates the skills and abilities you possess which align to the Standard Statements of the level you have chosen.
Completing a Professional Recognition Award
The Professional Recognition Awards are reflective in nature. They do not involve a course of study followed by an exam.
Your starting point will be the experience you have already gained in a leadership or management role. Each level of Award is defined by a set of Standards which a successful candidate will have met.
To complete an Award you must reflect on your own experience and make comparisons with the standards that City & Guilds have set up as benchmarks.
Reflective Account
When you have judged that you can meet these standards, the next task will be to explain how you have achieved this. This will be done by writing a Reflective Account which will describe exactly what you did in your leadership role. Your writing must address all aspects of each standard and there must be clear links to show this.
Portfolio of Evidence
Your written Reflective Account will form a major part of your assessment, but this must also be supported by a portfolio of evidence. The evidence is used to show that your statements are true.
Your portfolio of evidence must be relevant and there should be enough of it to corroborate the statements you have made about yourself in your Reflective Account
The evidence must also be valid. This means that the link to you and your actions must be completely clear
The evidence must also be presented in a way which allows the assessor to see clearly how it supports your statements
A significant part of your portfolio evidence should consist of witness testimony. At least one item of witness testimony must be used to support each Standard
How long do I have to complete the Award?
The time allowed for completion of an award is flexible over a one-year period to suit your pace of working.
www.cvqo.org | candg@cvqo.org | 01276 601701
More information on applications and entry requirements:
If you would like to find out more about the City & Guilds Professional Recognition Awards, please request an application pack by emailing candg@cvqo.org or by calling 01276 601709.
The application pack will include a letter, an application guide, a list of the City & Guilds criteria for each level of award and an application form.
If you would like to enrol for a Professional Recognition Award, the next step will be for you to send us your application. We will discuss this with you in order to answer any and all questions you may have!