Review of the National Occupational Standards and Qualifications for the UK Private Investigation sector

First published summer 2005

Working with a number of representative organisations and individuals, SITO staff are reviewing the current suite of standards and the two NVQs that are available to the Private Investigation sector.

The two qualifications have been available since late 2002 and their accreditation ceases at the end of 2006. However, the national occupational standards were developed during the late 1990s, which could suggest that they could be ‘out-dated’ with current investigation practices. Another reason for reviewing the standards is to bring them in line with current thinking on writing national occupational standards.

When the original standards were developed, it was the practice to write them in a language that was quite alien to most people (even investigators, who are well used to the language of the law!). So we are taking the opportunity to write the standards in plain language, or at least a language that does not hide the meaning of the words. The style or presentation is also being revised to hopefully make the standards less sterile, or putting it plainly - boring.

This particular project is also encouraging the sector the see national occupational standards as being different from the NVQs, which are developed from the standards. We are explaining the different uses that standards can be put, which range across job descriptions; training design and evaluation; person specification; individual and organisational development; employee appraisal; contracts and tenders. This is because national occupational standards are simply the specification of competent performance in employment. The standards specify what ‘industry’ requires of a competent person. The standards are written with significant input from the sector for which the standards are intended.

National Occupational Standards (NOS)

At present, we have a fairly small, but very experienced group of practitioners working on the redevelopment and expansion of the standards. This process requires members of the group to suggest what Investigation is all about, what are the outcomes of Investigation activities? This preliminary works produces a Functional Map of Investigation, in other words it identifies the significant functions of Investigation. The next step involves the group identifying how we would recognise competent performance of these various functions; not how is the function or activity carried out, but what are the indications of someone doing it competently. This is often difficult, because we naturally want to slip in to describing how something is done, not how well it should be done. This work then produces a group of performance criteria, which should each describe an observable and assessable activity, together with a standard against which performance can me measured.

After identifying the performance criteria, the group then work on the knowledge criteria, which is the body of knowledge that someone must have in order to carried out the specified activity to the required standard. This area of work is usually easier than writing the performance criteria, but we must make sure we only identify the ‘must know’, not the ‘nice to know’. For example, it is more important that someone knows a particular part of law with which they must comply, but not necessarily how that part of law was developed, or who was responsible for bringing it to the statute books.

The final part of each standard is identifying the different contexts in which competence is expected; this is referred to as the range statement. This statement identifies the different situations or conditions in which competence should be demonstrated, and therefore have impact on an individual’s competence. For example, we could expect an investigator to be competent to interview people, the range of which could be witness, suspect, adult, child, nervous, helpful, obstructive, etc. This can sometimes cause problems in the working group, but we usually manage to help each other along!

A significant amount of this work has been carried out and we shall soon be able to send out draft standards to a much wider audience for UK-wide consultation. This aspect of the project can be quite a challenge, as we need to reach as wide an audience as possible, but cannot be with each person (investigator) to explain the detail of how standards are written, and the reason why something ahs been written in the way that it has. We have in the past used a simple questionnaire approach, which accompanies either the full suite of standards, or a sample if the particular suite is large. We therefore have to encourage the working group to be part of the consultation process. In the case of standards for the Investigation sector, it is possible to arrange open workshops at which individuals can attend to discuss the proposed national occupational standards.

Qualifications

Whereas a suite of national occupational standards cover a complete sector, eg Investigation, a qualification usually groups the standards in to modules or more correctly units, which can then be used to construct a qualification. There are different types of qualifications, but most can fall in to one of two categories. There are qualifications that confirm an individual is ready for employment, and usually confirms the required knowledge and some skills. These are the qualifications that we are most familiar with - they usually require some study and an end exam or test. Then there are qualifications that confirm an individual is competent in employment, and should confirm their occupational competence. The National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and the Scottish equivalent (SVQ) is an example of this type. These qualifications should normally be achieved after an individual has had the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learnt during a training period. In other words NVQs and SVQs should only be achievable after occupational experience in the job role for which the qualification is intended.

With regard to job roles, it is recognised that there are variations in individual jobs. A qualification structure should allow for these variations, by providing for mandatory units, which all candidates should achieve; with a group or groups of optional units, from which an individual will select those that best reflect their actual job role. There is usually a minimum number of optional units that must be achieved with the mandatory units, after which a full award can be made. However, an individual should be encouraged to achieve as many optional units for which they can provide of meeting the required standard. This shows breadth of competence.

The current project provides us with the opportunity to identify any improvements necessary to the current NVQs to make sure they are still meeting the needs of the Investigation sector. Early work indicates that we could add some new areas, such as tracing people, while losing some others, such as investigating IT security, which appears to be moving out of the Private Investigator’s role.

NOS, Qualifications and SIA Licensing

The development of the relevant standards has been central to the SIA’s Specification of Core Competence. This specification identifies the standard, ie the NOS, against which an individual should be trained and assessed, in order for them to be deemed sufficiently competent to practice in the licensable activity. If this licence confirms ‘entry competence’, it seems reasonable that the sector might wish individuals to demonstrate continued development (CPD). The current and possibly new NVQs at levels 3 and 4 could provide the opportunity for career development, which would be encouraged and recognised by the qualifications at the two levels.

Conclusion

Whilst it is SITO staff who are managing the project and actually writing the national occupational standards, this work would not be possible without the support and commitment of the working group, and with the wider support of the Investigation sector. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who have contributed so far, and thank in advance all who will provide important feedback on the new proposed national occupational standards.

Alan Martin

Alan Martin is the Head of Standards at SITO Ltd.

For more information about the NOS, qualifications or any related matter, please contact either Alan Martin or Carol Oldfield on 01905 727748, or email a.martin@sito.co.uk and c.oldfield@sito.co.uk

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Sito Ltd

This article was first published in Investigate, the magazine of the Association of British Investigators.