An NVQ, or National Vocational Qualification, recognises demonstrated competence in a specified occupation at a stated level.
The subject and level together identify what the holder has been assessed to do. An assessor can observe tasks, question the candidate about decisions and review a portfolio of evidence. In beauty therapy, the subject connects the qualification to the treatments the work involves. The level alone does not identify those treatments. When an advertisement accepts an equivalent qualification, the candidate can name their award, its subject and level, and the practical skills it covers.
In job listings
For a beauty therapist position in Dartford, Clarins asked for NVQ levels 2 and 3 or an equivalent beauty therapy qualification. The wording gives someone with a differently named award a basis for applying. A qualification at the same level in an unrelated subject would leave the beauty therapy requirement unanswered.
