What is the CAVA (Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement)?

What does the CAVA cover?

The CAVA covers both halves of the assessor's job: understanding the theory of assessment, and proving you can assess people in practice, both on the job and off it. To achieve the City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (6317-33), learners must achieve 15 credits from three units.

Unit 301 is knowledge-only and is assessed by written work. Units 302 and 303 are performance units: you have to assess real learners and be observed doing it.

The two practical units cover different settings, which is why the full certificate is more useful than either award on its own:

• Unit 302 is assessment in the workplace, such as observing an installer fitting insulation on site.
• Unit 303 is assessment away from the workplace, such as marking assignments, running professional discussions, or assessing a practical task in a training centre workshop.

What are the key facts and numbers?

Total qualification time is the realistic measure of effort: 150 hours including your own portfolio building, not just the 84 taught hours.

CAVA vs the two smaller assessor awards

The CAVA is the largest of three Level 3 assessor qualifications in the same City & Guilds suite. The smaller awards suit people who only assess in one setting; the CAVA covers both.

Which to choose:

• 6317-30 is knowledge-only. It does not qualify you to assess anyone. It suits managers and quality staff who need to understand assessment without doing it.
• 6317-31 suits workplace-only assessors, such as someone who only ever observes competence on site.
• 6317-32 suits classroom or centre-only assessors.
• The CAVA (6317-33) covers both practical settings and is what most employers and awarding organisations ask for, because it leaves nothing out.

What is the difference between CAVA and TAQA?

TAQA is the informal umbrella name for this whole family of assessment and quality assurance qualifications; CAVA is one specific qualification within it. TAQA stands for Training, Assessment and Quality Assurance, and job adverts often use it loosely to mean "an assessor qualification", which causes confusion.

The City & Guilds 6317 suite that contains the CAVA also contains the Level 4 internal quality assurance qualifications:

If a job advert asks for "TAQA Level 3", it almost always means the CAVA. If it asks for "TAQA Level 4", it means one of the internal quality assurance qualifications above. When applying, name the exact qualification you hold rather than the umbrella term.

Do you need to be working to complete the CAVA?

Yes, in practice. Units 302 and 303 require you to assess real learners and be observed doing so, which means you need access to candidates. The qualification itself has no formal entry requirements and no prior qualification is needed, but the portfolio cannot be built without people to assess.

Two routes work:

1. You already assess informally. Supervisors, trainers and experienced tradespeople who sign off others' work can usually generate the evidence in their existing role.
2. A provider or employer gives you access to learners. Some training providers arrange placement candidates for CAVA learners. Confirm this before enrolling if you are not currently in a role that provides them.

You also need to be occupationally competent in what you assess. The qualification teaches you how to assess, not the subject itself, so awarding organisations expect assessors to be qualified and experienced in the trade they assess. For retrofit and insulation, that typically means holding the relevant NVQ, as covered in our guide to internal wall insulation qualifications.

Do you need the CAVA to work as an assessor?

You need an approved assessor qualification to assess regulated vocational qualifications, and the CAVA is the current standard one. The requirement comes from awarding organisations and centre approval conditions rather than from law. Each awarding organisation sets what it will accept for its own qualifications, so check with the specific one before committing.

Older assessor qualifications are often still recognised:

If you hold A1 or D32/D33, do not assume they are dead. Many centres accept them alongside evidence of continuing professional development. Equally, do not assume they are enough: ask the awarding organisation in writing.

Is the CAVA the same as a teaching qualification?

No. The CAVA qualifies you to assess, not to teach. Teaching is covered by the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET), which deals with planning and delivering learning. The CAVA deals with judging whether a learner has met a standard, and evidencing that judgement.

Many people in vocational training hold both, because the jobs overlap. A typical progression from a trade is:

1. AET to learn how to teach your subject.
2. CAVA to assess learners against the standard.
3. Level 4 internal quality assurance to sample and standardise other assessors' decisions.

Frequently asked questions

How Nexis Academy can help

Nexis Academy is a City & Guilds Approved Centre (T91185) in Manchester. Assessing and quality assurance courses are in development as part of our growing portfolio. Contact our team to register your interest.

We are also recruiting qualified assessors and internal quality assurers for our own delivery team. See careers at Nexis Academy.

See also how to become a vocational assessor, CAVA vs the Level 3 Award in Assessing Competence, what an IQA does and tutor, assessor or IQA?.

See also Assessing Competence in the Work Environment vs Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement.

Sources

• City & Guilds, Level 3 and 4 Awards and Certificates in Assessment and Quality Assurance (6317-30-33, 40-42) Qualification Handbook v1.8, November 2025: qualification summary (age group, entry requirements), qualification table (GLH, TQT, regulatory reference numbers) and structure.