Uses and benefits of N/SVQs and NOS

National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (N/SVQ) and the National Occupational Standards (NOS) on which they are based have advantages for employers and employees:

For employers, they offer the 'competitive edge' of:

• Having an infrastructure for assessing and assuring the competence of staff, without costly courses and lost productivity
• Being better able to use human resources
• Enhanced staff motivation
• Being better able to demonstrate a commitment to quality (eg BS EN IS9000), investment in people, and the ability to comply with Industry Codes of Practice
• Having a tool to support staff appraisal processes
• Access to a tool for benchmarking
• A training design and validation package

For individuals, they offer access to:

• Formal recognition of professionalism and achievement
• A framework, routes and targets for career progression and professional development
• Nationally recognised qualifications certificating competence
• Workplace assessment, instead of courses and examinations
• Opportunities to gain accreditation for competence demonstrated previously
• Confirmation of skills readily transferable to other sectors
• Other qualifications and, at some levels, entry to further - and even - higher education

Furthermore, all stand to benefit from measures of competence in an increasingly litigious age.