If you have been told you need "an assessor qualification" but are not sure which one, this is the distinction that actually matters. Both awards are part of the same City & Guilds 6317 family, and people often assume one covers everything. It does not.
The short answer: where does the assessing happen?
Both awards teach the same assessment principles. The difference is the environment in which your real assessment practice takes place, because each award's practical unit is evidenced from different settings.
| 6317-31: Assessing Competence in the Work Environment | 6317-32: Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement | |
|---|---|---|
| Underlying unit | Unit 302 | Unit 303 |
| Where assessment happens | A real work environment | Contexts other than a work environment: for example a simulated environment, workshop or classroom |
| What you are judging | Occupational competence: can this person do the job, on the job | Vocational skills, knowledge and understanding |
| Typical qualifications it supports | NVQs, work-based competence qualifications, apprenticeship on-site assessment | Classroom-based and workshop-based vocational qualifications, technical certificates |
| Credit value | 6 credits | 6 credits (City & Guilds lists both the 6317-31 award and its underlying Unit 303 at 54 GLH / 90 TQT at award level) |
| GLH / TQT (as a standalone award) | 54 / 90 | 54 / 90 |
Both are Level 3 and sit alongside the knowledge-only Level 3 Award in Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment (6317-30), which neither award can be practised without.
Unit 302: Assess Occupational Competence in the Work Environment
This is the unit behind 6317-31. The City & Guilds handbook is explicit about where the evidence must come from: primary evidence "must come from the candidate assessor assessing two real learners on two occasions in a real work environment against standards or criteria that are approved by the organisation." Each assessment has to be a substantial but realistic and manageable piece of the learner's work.
The standards or criteria being assessed can be national occupational standards, components of a qualification, or in-house standards, but the setting is fixed: it has to be where the learner actually does the job.
Assessment methods. The unit lists seven possible assessment methods: observation of performance, examining products of work, questioning the learner, discussing with the learner, using witness testimony, looking at learner statements, and recognising prior learning. You must show you have used at least three of these in real practice. For any methods you have not used, you must show through a statement or discussion how you would use them.
The minimum evidence. Across the four assessments (two learners, two occasions each), your evidence must include observation of performance in the work environment, examining products of work, and questioning the learner, as a minimum. If your planning does not include discussing with the learner, using witness testimony, looking at learner statements, or recognising prior learning, you have to show through a statement or discussion how you would plan to use them.
Making decisions. You also have to show that your assessment decisions are valid, fair and reliable, using the same methods, and that you have planned around the learner's needs, such as shift patterns and when they are doing relevant work, and their current achievements, so you are not reassessing something already proven.
This is the award you need if you will be signing off NVQ units, apprenticeship on-site competence, or any qualification where the standard is "can this person actually do the job."
Unit 303: Assess Vocational Skills, Knowledge and Understanding
This is the unit behind 6317-32. The handbook describes it as assessing "a learner's vocational skills, knowledge and understanding in contexts other than a work environment, for example in a simulated environment, in a workshop or classroom."
The structure mirrors Unit 302 closely: primary evidence must come from assessing two real learners on two occasions, against approved standards or criteria, which can include components of qualifications or in-house training requirements. Each assessment must again be substantial, realistic and manageable. The same seven assessment methods apply, and you again need to show at least three of them in real practice.
The practical difference is the setting. If your learners are being assessed on a training rig, in a workshop exercise, through a classroom practical, or in a simulated scenario rather than doing their actual job, this is the unit and award that fits.
Which one do you actually need?
Work out what you will be assessing, not what sounds more advanced. Neither award is "better" than the other; they cover different territory.
| If you will assess... | You need |
|---|---|
| NVQs, competence-based qualifications, on-site apprenticeship sign-off | 6317-31 (Work Environment) |
| Classroom or workshop practical exercises, technical certificates, simulated scenarios | 6317-32 (Vocationally Related Achievement) |
| Both: real site work and off-the-job practical training | Both awards, usually as part of the full CAVA |
| You are not yet sure, or your centre delivers a mix of qualification types | The full CAVA (6317-33), which includes both |
A trade assessor who signs off an NVQ portfolio from site visits needs 6317-31. A tutor who assesses a practical skills test in a training centre workshop, without that being the learner's actual job, needs 6317-32. Many assessors in vocational training end up needing both, which is exactly why City & Guilds packages them together.
How the CAVA combines them
The Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (6317-33), usually just called the CAVA, is the combined certificate. City & Guilds' own structure is:
| Component | What it covers | GLH | TQT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6317-30: Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment | Knowledge-only theory | 24 | 30 |
| 6317-31: Assessing Competence in the Work Environment | Practical, real work environment | 54 | 90 |
| 6317-32: Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement | Practical, off-the-job settings | 54 | 90 |
| 6317-33: Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement | All three combined | 84 | 150 |
Notice the combined certificate's GLH and TQT (84 and 150) are lower than the sum of the three separate awards. That is because the theory unit (301) is shared, and evidence from the practical units can support it, so you are not duplicating work across the components. Our guide to the CAVA assessor qualification explains the full certificate and how to work towards it.
Taking only 6317-31 or only 6317-32 is a legitimate choice if you know exactly which setting you will be assessing in and want a smaller, faster qualification. Taking the full CAVA gives you both, plus the flexibility to move between settings later in your career.
The same skill, assessed two different ways
A concrete example makes the distinction easier to hold onto. Take a plumber learning to fit an unvented hot water cylinder.
| Assessed under 6317-31 (Work Environment) | Assessed under 6317-32 (Vocationally Related Achievement) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it happens | On a real customer's job, fitting a real cylinder in a real property | In a training centre workshop, on a rig built for practice |
| What the assessor observes | The learner working to real site conditions: access, existing pipework, a live customer | The learner working to a set task on equipment set up for assessment |
| What counts as evidence | The installation itself, customer sign-off, photos of the finished work, the learner's own account of problems solved on site | The completed rig task, the assessor's observation notes, a structured set of questions about what was done and why |
| What it proves | The learner can do this job, under real conditions, today | The learner has the skill and knowledge, which should transfer to a real job |
| Typical qualification it supports | NVQ Diploma in Domestic Plumbing and Heating | A technical certificate, or the practical component of an apprenticeship's off-the-job training |
Both are legitimate assessment, and both produce real evidence. The question is simply which kind of evidence the qualification you are assessing actually requires.
Building a portfolio for each award
Whichever award you are working towards, the planning habits are the same, but where you look for opportunities differs.
For 6317-31 (Work Environment): - Agree with an employer or training provider which two learners you will assess, and plan around their actual work schedule. - Identify two separate, genuine work occasions for each learner, not two parts of the same job. - Book your observations around real site visits, not around your own convenience. - Keep records of witness testimony from supervisors who saw the learner working when you were not there.
For 6317-32 (Vocationally Related Achievement): - Agree the workshop or classroom tasks you will use, and make sure they are substantial enough to count as realistic evidence, not a trivial exercise. - Plan two separate occasions per learner, spaced out rather than back to back, so you are assessing consistent competence rather than one good day. - Build in questioning and discussion as well as observation, so you are covering the required range of assessment methods. - Keep the task specification alongside your observation records, so an internal quality assurer can see exactly what was being assessed.
In both cases, the City & Guilds handbook accepts a statement or discussion as a substitute for any of the seven assessment methods you have not used in real practice, but only as a backup. Centres and internal quality assurers will expect you to have used the core methods: observation, examining products of work, and questioning, in every case.
Who can deliver and assess these qualifications?
City & Guilds sets staffing requirements for centres delivering the 6317 suite, and they follow the same logic as the units themselves. For the applied units, which is what 6317-31 and 6317-32 both are, practitioners must hold one of an accepted assessor qualification, such as the CAVA itself, the Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment, A1, or D32/D33, and have up-to-date working knowledge and experience of best practice in assessment.
In other words, to teach someone else to become an assessor, your own centre staff need to already hold an equivalent or higher assessor qualification. If you are choosing a training provider for your own CAVA, 6317-31 or 6317-32, it is reasonable to ask who will be assessing you and what they hold.
Why does City & Guilds split assessing into two awards?
It comes down to how assessment evidence has to be gathered to be trustworthy. Judging whether someone is competent at their actual job is a different skill from judging whether they can demonstrate a skill under controlled conditions. A good on-site assessor needs to read a live, unpredictable work environment and draw out evidence as it naturally occurs. A good workshop or classroom assessor needs to design assessment tasks that are fair, consistent and repeatable across different learners.
Splitting the two awards means a centre can be confident that whoever signs off NVQ competence has actually practised assessing real work, not just workshop exercises, and that whoever assesses technical certificates or off-the-job training has practised the different skill of running a controlled assessment task well. It also means an assessor who only ever works in one setting is not asked to prove competence in the other.
This split matters practically when you choose a course. If a provider offers "an assessor qualification" without specifying which award, ask directly which unit, 302 or 303, it covers, and whether that matches the kind of assessing you will actually be doing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take 6317-31 without 6317-32, or the other way round?
Yes. They are separate, standalone Level 3 Awards, each built on the shared theory unit. You can take either on its own if you know you will only assess in one setting, or take both, usually by doing the full CAVA.
Does 6317-31 let me assess NVQs?
Yes, this is exactly what it is designed for: assessing occupational competence in a real work environment, which is how NVQs and most competence-based qualifications are judged.
Does 6317-32 let me assess NVQs?
No. Its evidence specifically comes from contexts other than a work environment. If the qualification you are assessing is judged on real on-the-job performance, you need 6317-31 instead, or as well.
How many learners do I need to assess for each award?
Both units require primary evidence from assessing two real learners on two separate occasions each, a total of four assessments, using a minimum of three of the seven listed assessment methods in real practice.
Is the CAVA the same as these two awards?
The CAVA (6317-33) is the combined certificate that includes the theory unit (6317-30) plus both practical units (6317-31 and 6317-32). Taking the CAVA gives you both awards in one certificate, at a lower combined GLH and TQT than taking all three separately.
Which one should a workplace trainer in a construction trade take?
If you will be signing off on-site NVQ work, you need 6317-31. If your centre also delivers workshop-based practical training outside real jobs, such as a controlled environment test rig, add 6317-32, or take the full CAVA to cover both from the start.
Do these awards expire?
No. Like the CAVA, neither award carries a formal expiry date, but awarding organisations and employers expect assessors to show current practice and continuing professional development.
How Nexis Academy can help
Nexis Academy is a City & Guilds Approved Centre (T91185) in Manchester. We currently deliver internal wall insulation training, with more trade and construction courses in development. We do not yet offer assessing or quality assurance courses, so please register your interest to hear when that changes.
We are also recruiting qualified assessors for our own City & Guilds programmes. If you hold a CAVA or an equivalent assessor qualification and retrofit or construction knowledge, see careers at Nexis Academy.
See also how to become a vocational assessor and how to become an IQA.
Sources
- City & Guilds, Level 3 and 4 Awards and Certificates in Assessment and Quality Assurance (6317-30-33, 40-42) Qualification Handbook v1.8: qualification sizes, Units 302 and 303 evidence requirements, staffing requirements.