Health & Social Care NVQ Background
There are over 3 million people in the UK employed in the health and social care sectors, with an increasing demand, through regulation and an aim to improve standards, to recruit, retain and develop the skills of the workforce. With this there has been increased funding to to support training and qualifications in health and social care.
Health and social care NVQs (and their Scottish equivalent SVQs) are the benchmark qualifications. They have been developed in line with National Service Standards in social care and Agenda for Change in the NHS.
Health & Social Care NVQs were introduced in 2005 and are based on National Occupational Standards. They have been created to cater for a range of job roles, differing settings, such as care homes, homecare and hospitals, and the need for ongoing development.
The NVQs have been developed to fit in with the workers circumstances, allowing for work-based assessment which is sensitive to confidentiality issues.
There are 3 levels of Health and Social Care NVQ - Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4. Levels 3 and 4 are split into Adult and Children options.