Qualifications

Make it Happen have been an accredited National Open College Network (NOCN) assessment centre since 2004. Hundreds of adult learners involved in the Voluntary and Community Sector have achieved level 2 and 3 qualifications on our accredited courses, both online and face-to-face.

We have access to a wide range of accredited units in the NOCN Unit Bank, we devise our own qualifications and write client-specific units that we can accredit with the NOCN. All our trainers and training partners have many years experience of working in the Voluntary and Community sector and are specialists in their subject areas.

As an NOCN assessment centre, Make it Happen has access to the NOCN Unit Bank which contains an extensive range of hundreds of already accredited Units (i.e. qualifications) from Level 1 through to Level 4. Qualifications can range from 10 hour to 60 hour units depending on the number of Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria.

The Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria for qualifications in the Unit Bank are fixed and where possible, mapped to National Occupational Standards. How the training for the qualification is delivered is not stated, allowing great flexibility for the design and delivery of the training. For example; an already existing unit such as ‘Introduction to Business Planning’ could be used to train small community and voluntary groups as well as private sector businesses. We always check the Unit Bank to see if there is an already existing qualification that could meets a clients’ needs.

If the Unit Bank is unable to fulfil an organisation’s specific requirements then we can develop new bespoke units that we accredit with the NOCN.

If none of the qualifications in the NOCN Unit Bank meet your needs, Make it Happen can accredit your learning by writing and designing a NOCN qualification especially for you. Creating a unique, bespoke unit allows a programme of accredited learning to be constructed that is expressly tailored to the precise needs of learners. New units are mapped to National Occupational Standards and Skills for Life. Bespoke Units can be particularly useful to organisations and employers wishing to deliver:

• In-house training
• Specialist learning programmes
• Training aimed at specific target groups
• Learning that needs to be accredited by a recognised Awarding Body

Examples of recently bespoke Units created by Make it Happen include: Effective Meetings, Writing effective Funding applications, Introduction to Chairing skills, Involving Everyone (equality and diversity), The role of the Community Representative, Tenants on the Web, Running and managing Community Buildings and Employing staff.

Vocational qualifications are work-related qualifications. They’re designed to allow you to learn in a way that suits you, and give you the skills that employers are looking for. There are lots to choose from, in a wide range of subjects. All vocational qualifications are grouped together in different levels on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF).

NOCN have a range of Qualifications called Units that are part of the QCF. Each unit is equal to 10 hours of learning. The beauty of the QCF is that it allows learners to group units together to achieve larger qualifications such as Awards, Certificates and Diplomas. Make it Happen have delivered a number of units that are part of the QCF. Find out how these flexible qualifications work by watching the video below.

Make it Happen is a NOCN centre with Direct Claims Status (DCS) and has been for a number of years. This means that we have been judged by NOCN to have robust quality systems in place and appropriately qualified, skilled and knowledgeable staff. We have a team of internal verifiers, all of whom have completed extensive accredited training, and provided evidence of good practice to achieve Approved Internal Verifier Status (AIVS).

As a centre with DCS, we can directly claim credit certificates (qualifications) for learners from NOCN on the signature of our AIV’s, once they have assessed and quality assured the provision. This enables faster certification turnaround which in turn helps learners in progressing their learning or career. DCS status is built on trust and confidence and the reputation of the centre is enhanced, as it signals to others (including funders) that the centre is well-regarded and takes quality seriously.