Interested in gaining a recognised vocational qualification in community development or youth work?
Contact Carol Burnett on 01670 520889 or email carolb@ncdn.org
Community development work takes place in a wide range of settings and with a wide range of people and concerns. It includes areas such as social inclusion, regeneration and community learning. If your work is about working alongside people in communities, building relationships with key people and organisations, enabling people to identify common concerns, and taking collective action, these NVQs can help you gain a recognised qualification.
The NVQs in Community Development Work are especially designed for people who wish to gain recognition of their skills and knowledge through their day to day work and involvement. They may also offer a route into further training and qualifications at a professional level.
The awards are aimed at all people who are involved in working with communities whether paid or unpaid. You may be working with local communities (e.g. a tenant or neighbourhood group) or communities with a shared common interest (e.g. by age, gender, ethnicity). Most community development workers are attached to voluntary organisations or non-governmental agencies but you could also be working with local authorities perhaps in the area of community education.
For detailed information on Levels 2,3 and 4 NVQs please click on the link below
A_learners_guide_to_NVQs_in_Community_Development_Work.doc 44.50 KB 12.02.2008 11:34
To find out more about community development work and the national occupational standards that underpin it, visit www.fcdl.org.uk
Recent achievements
Last year nearly one hundred learners engaged in NVQ (National Vocational Qualifications) and OCN (Open College Network) accredited programmes.
NCDN has been offering NVQs in Community Development since 2004 and now is well established as a credible assessment centre offering Levels 2, 3 and 4 in Community Development Work. Carol Burnett is the NVQ Co-ordinator. We now have a team of two internal verifiers and fifteen assessors from a wide range of localities and agencies and we are always interested in training and recruiting more.
Of the 50 learners who registered for an NVQ in 2006 80% achieved a qualification.
In 2006 NCDN became a registered centre with OCNNER (Open College Network North East Region) offering Level 2 Certificate in Community Development Work. Courses ran in Alnwick, Blyth and Morpeth either as day or evening sessions in order to meet learners’ needs. Of the 50 learners registered 90% completed their award - an excellent result. For some learners this was the first qualification they had ever achieved which made it even more rewarding.
Our success is down to upholding the principles of Community Development Work by ensuring equality of access to qualifications offered where people live and work. Tutors and assessors give their time and energy to ensure every learner receives the same standard of learning and assessment which meet the awarding bodies exacting criteria.
Our aim in 2009 is to ensure that learners living anywhere in Northumberland will have access to our programmes. We will also extend the range of training available to run shorter accredited courses on aspects of community development that are priorities for communities, such as representation, partnership working and sustainability. To this end individuals who are participating in our Community Engagement Assistant programme and as LiNk representatives are being trained in community development and offered the opporunity to certify that training through the OCN certificate.
