October 28, 2022
How long does a CAVA qualification take?
If you’re considering pursuing a CAVA qualification then you may be wondering how much time you need to dedicate to your course. The good news is that online CAVA courses are a lot more common nowadays, meaning you’ll be able to fit your course around your lifestyle. That being said, you still need to “put in the work”! So let’s dig a little deeper to work out how much time you will need to complete your CAVA qualification.
First of all, if you’re new to the world of education and training and unsure on what a CAVA qualification is, let’s clear that up before we begin!
What is a CAVA qualification?
The Level 3 CAVA Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement is a nationally recognised qualification, which is highly sought after by anybody carrying out assessing.
In fact, CAVA, and its related qualifications, are increasingly becoming prerequisites for assessors in all sorts of subjects.
As you would expect for such an important qualification, CAVA certificates are not given away free in breakfast cereal boxes! Like all worthwhile qualifications, you’ll need to put in some serious effort in order to gain your CAVA qualification and thus qualify as an assessor.
Still unsure? Check out our blog post all about CAVA qualifications here.
How long will it take me to gain my CAVA qualification?
A common question people ask is “How long will it take me to gain my CAVA qualification?”, and in order to answer this we need to consider several factors.
How much time can you dedicate to your CAVA qualification?
All people are different and in education, just like elsewhere in life, some people take longer than others to achieve a set goal or complete a task. If you think back to other training or education you have had, you’ll probably remember that some people finished things quickly and others took longer to complete the task.
It’s a bit like the rhetorical question “how long is a piece of string?”, it’s often very difficult or impossible to come up with an accurate answer. So, in order to gain the CAVA qualification some people take longer than others, and the gap between a quicker completion and a slower one can be substantial.
What will your schedule allow?
As well as differences in the natural speed at which candidates can complete the CAVA qualification or even an individual unit or section within it, we also have to consider a person’s schedule.
Many of us have busy lives, with work obligations and family commitments to take into account. This means that candidates don’t all have the same amount of time to devote to studying.
It also means that sometimes the time available for studying can be irregular and occasionally interrupted (all parents of young children are nodding in agreement when reading this!).
At Carlton Training, we offer the CAVA qualification as an online course so you can study when convenient for you. Whether that’s dipping in and out when it’s convenient throughout the day or dedicating a couple of hours every evening or weekend. This makes gaining your CAVA qualification much more flexible than more traditional classroom-based learning.
What are the Guided Learning Hours for a CAVA qualification?
The total number of Guided Learning Hours for a CAVA qualification is 84 hours. Guided Learning Hours (GLH) are the official figures set out by the Awarding Body. They are the total hours of taught or directed study time required to complete a unit or qualification.
This is another factor we should consider when determining how long it will take to gain the CAVA qualification as these are specified by the Awarding Body for every Ofqual regulated qualification.
The CAVA qualification is made up of three units, which are:
Unit 1: Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment
This unit provides you with the essential knowledge and theoretical background needed if you are involved with assessing.
The Guided Learning Hours for Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment are 24 hours in total.
Unit 2: Assess Occupational Competence in the Work Environment
In this unit you will plan, carry out and review assessments in the workplace.
The Guided Learning Hours for Assess Occupational Competence in the Work Environment are 30 hours in total.
Unit 3: Assess Vocational Skills, Knowledge and Understanding
In the final CAVA qualification unit, you will plan, carry out and review assessments in a learning environment such as a training course, classroom or refresher training.
The Guided Learning Hours for Assess Vocational Skills, Knowledge and Understanding are 30 hours in total.
This brings us to a grand total of 84 Guided Learning Hours for the whole CAVA qualification.
Bear in mind that these figures are not specifically based on the contents of the course or the topics and subjects you will cover in the course. They are an estimate based on the total number of credits that the qualification is worth. The CAVA qualification is worth 15 credits.
It’s also a bit of an anomaly that GLH is based on guesswork rather than real-life candidates, teachers or training organisations. But such is the nature of regulations, they sometimes have unintended consequences.
The best way to think of Guided Learning Hours is to consider them similar to the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) figures quoted by car manufacturers when quoting figures from a laboratory test rather than real-life driving. Useful to know, especially when comparing cars or qualifications, but not a very accurate guide to real life.
If we think about a typical 9.00 am to 5.00 pm workday consisting of 8 hours, then a quick bit of maths tells us that the GLH for a CAVA qualification fits into 8.4 working days. However, as mentioned, this doesn’t really consider real-life experience.
How many hours will I need to complete my CAVA qualification?
At Carlton Training, we’ve been offering the CAVA qualification for many years, and our team of expert tutors has a great deal of experience with candidates from all sorts of backgrounds, studying in all sorts of circumstances.
A quick survey of our team confirms the wide variety of times which candidates need to complete and gain this qualification, with no two candidates being exactly alike in terms of completion.
Of course, tutors always want the best for their candidates, and it’s really hard to come up with a typical, or even average answer. But we think that for most people a good figure to aim for is to spend about 5 or 6 working days in total to gain the CAVA qualification.
This works out as 40 or 50 hours of time needed to devote to the course, including your studying, writing, planning and reviewing your work.
Remember that this is only a figure, and like all things in life, we humans vary a lot, and some people take less time than others to finish and pass their CAVA course. Whatever number of hours or days you devote to gaining your Level 3 CAVA qualification, you’ll find this time well spent.
Not only will you gain the most widely recognised assessing qualification, but you’ll also gain confidence in your own abilities to plan and carry out assessments.
To book a place on the CAVA course, visit our CAVA course page or call us on 02078375677.
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