Who is On-Site Assessment and Training For?
On-Site Assessment and Training or OSAT are for workers who are highly skilled and have years of experience, but do not have the qualifications to prove it. On-Site Assessment and Training (OSAT) gets you qualified in your job, whilst you’re doing it.
It’s all done on-site, during normal working days – no evenings, no college classes. The beauty of the system is that the skills you already have count towards your qualification. And, if there are some things you’re not so skilled in, you can often pick these up without extra training.
NVQs/SVQs are available through On-Site Assessment and Training (OSAT) in nearly every trade – an OSAT Assessor can help you pick the one that’s most suitable to you. What’s more, your employer may be able to get CITB Grant to pay for the whole process.
Fortunately, getting qualified is easy…
OSAT – On Site Assessment and Training – means you can gain NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) or SVQs (Scottish Vocational Qualifications) in your trade whilst you’re at work.
As part of the same process, you can also sit your CITB-Construction Skills Health and Safety Test. Together, these will lead to your CSCS card – an increasingly essential tool for everyone working in construction.
Why get qualified?
Qualified workers are faster, safer, make fewer mistakes, and raise the general quality of workmanship. You’ll get more work, and there’ll be more and better opportunities open to you.
What does this involve?
- Induction and profiling with an assessor
An assessor will introduce you to On-Site Assessment and Training (OSAT) and make an initial assessment of your skills. They will also explain what you need to do to prove that you have the skills to get your qualification and set up a folder to keep any suitable evidence in. This is a simple process that only takes a couple of hours. - Start gathering evidence
There are lots of ways you can prove that you have the necessary skills and experience to do the job. - Further assessment
The assessor comes back to review your progress, and assesses evidence you have collected. They will assess which areas you need to do more work in and may get your employer to assign you onto some other tasks to help you improve in these areas. Each visit should only take an hour or so. The assessor may take photos and observe you whilst you are working.
- On-going gathering of evidence and assessment
The assessor will come back 4 or 5 times until you have all the necessary evidence for each unit. The assessor will then submit the evidence. - Obtain NVQ (or SVQ) and CSCS card
You will be awarded your NVQ (or SVQ). Once you have passed the CITB-Construction Skills Health & Safety test, you can then apply for your CSCS card.