Engineering Qualifications

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is responsible for overseeing the Scottish system for Vocational Qualifications and Further Education. SVQs provide a guarantee that someone can do a real job to the standard required by employers.They have been developed in partnership with industry and are specifically designed to meet the needs of employers and employees alike. SVQs are part of a concept designed to recognise competence in the workplace.

In engineering the classification of SVQs are by occupational area and are at 5 distinct levels:

• Level I Operations
• Level 2 Operations and Higher Skills
• Level 3 Technicians and Craft Employees
• Level 4 Technician Engineer
• Level 5 Professional and Chartered Engineers

Each SVQ is made up of a number of units of competence, which describe what is expected of a competent candidate. In turn the units are broken down into elements of competence which are the standards the candidate should be able to achieve.

Tullos Training helps bring apprentice applicants and employers together as part of an ongoing recruitment process. For the applicant this involves a short test at the Centre on general knowledge, mechanical comprehension and, most importantly, for those entering the electrical and electronics industries a colour vision check. Entry qualifications vary from company to company but in most cases Standard Grades at level 3 or above in Maths, Science, English and Craft related subjects are sought by employers.