[Motleybeast]

Hi Guys,

I'm filling in my form to get my NVQ level 3 for Vehicle Mechanical and Electronical Systems(Mechanic) asssessed at the moment and there's a couple of things I'm stuck on.

Firstly,I know its been touched on a little bit, but do I really need my final year at secondary school certificates? I left school in 1987(i think), I actually didnt get good grades and I cant remember which subjects I took or what grades I got. So you can get from this I didnt use them to start my NVQ, in fact I did my NVQ about 8years later as a mature student(long story). And,I'm also guessing that my school wont have the paperwok for me anymore.

And secondly, I went to the immigration expo at Sandown Park yesterday and a woman on the BritsNZ stand told me I had to get ALL my paperwork certified/signed by a professional. Is this correct?

Is there anybody else thats got this NVQ assessed?

I'm getting a bit worried about time as well. I've only got about 2 months left to get my ITA in and because I have to keep goin away with work I'm getting further and further behind. I could do without having to find my GCSE stuff, but if I have to, I have to!!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanx.

Matt

[JayBee]

OH had this assessed and the good news it is comparable to their level 4.

We had the same dilemna about whether school certificate was relevant but as we did still have his old "O" level certificate we sent it anyway - perhaps someone else can shed light on this (or contact NZQA)

If you have the original NVQ certificate and other originals you don't need to get them signed by a "professional". We just sent in a pile of originals and a pile of photocopies.

We didn't have any course transcript so we sent in some information about the units the NVQ covered and contacted the Awarding Body on the certificate- Institute of the Motor Industry who sent a record of achievement with the units he did. We did include some earlier training he had done and included MOT testers certificate and results in the vocational section.

Although it is time-consuming it has helped get the work-history in order and we are using much the same evidence for the ITA. (So at least it's killing two birds at the same time).

We used Royal Mail airsure to send it all off and paid fastrack. You can see from the signature how long it took to get back so you still have time!!!

Good Luck -

[Motleybeast]

Thanks JayBee, yes I have the original NVQ certificates and also the units I did as well, so thats good.

I'm going to contact the school tomorrow and see what I can sort out, I've had a look on tinterweb and I think if I find out the exam board that did the exams, you can get hold of old records(fingers crossed)at a price of course!!

And I hear what your saying about work history, but there's where I have another problem. The company I did my apprenticeship with went bust about 5 years ago and for some reason, I dont have much paperwork. I managed to get in touch with my old boss about 2 weeks ago and hes doing me a reference as we speak. With that and the little paperwork I have and some wage slips, again fingers crossed...Then get this thing sent off middle of the week, fastrack mode.

Thanks again for your notes, good luck also with your application.

[JayBee]

No problem - we also sent off P60s as we couldnt find any referees for a couple of jobs...In one case the boss had died and the company had been sold on. Just sent a note with the P60s to this effect.

Great fun this paper chase isn't it!!

Best of luck

[james the mechanic]

Hi there,
It’s all very frustrating, I had a very similar problem, half my schooling was in the US and I basically had no proof at all that I had even attended school. More than anything they need to confirm that you completed secondary/high school education, the marks you achieved or subjects you took (at that level) are probably irrelevant. A letter from the school (on headed paper) confirming that you attended their fine institution and completed education there and the dates, combined with a letter from you explaining that you certificates were eaten by the neighbors dog or destroyed in a fire, should therefore suffice.
Send everything that you can, it’s only copies that must be certified not original certificates. If you are/were a tester in the UK send any exam certificuts you can find from VOSA. If you have any training certificates, (how ever lame) send them, I’m thinking certificates of attendance/acknowledgement, the type of thing reps promote, like snap-on one day seminars and tyre fitting courses.
If you hadn’t completed some form of prior learning/education you wouldn’t have been admitted onto the NVQ course (even as a mature student), an NVQ includes work based learning, thus it should go some way to demonstrating satisfactory completion of your apprenticeship, even though you completed it as a mature student, (as did I, another long story).
As far as the company you did your apprenticeship with is concerned, if your ex boss is willing, ask him to write you a general reference, specifying how long you worked for him, what your position/job title was and a brief description of your duties. Also list your hours worked (to demonstrate it was full time), it will also need to be on headed paper, so if the company is no longer trading get him to state that fact.
I agree with JayBee it is comparable to level 4, and you will need most of the same evidence for your ITA.
Best Wishes :nice1
James