NVQ FAQs

The ProQual Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice is a work-based qualification for people who already have responsibility for health and safety within their organisation.

Rather than studying for a traditional exam, you demonstrate your knowledge and competence through the work you already carry out.

The qualification number is 603/3106/9 and it sits at Level 6 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework.

You can read the official ProQual Level 6 NVQ qualification specification here.

Your witness should be a competent individual who can provide written or verbal testimony confirming that they have observed you carrying out health and safety responsibilities in the workplace. Ideally, this should be someone you report to or a colleague of similar seniority within the organisation.

A Witness Statement may include:
“Candidate A is an essential member of the organisation’s health and safety team. They consistently provide valuable management information and chair multiple committees and steering groups. I have observed them leading these meetings with excellent communication skills, presenting complex information in an easily understandable manner for all attendees. This includes displaying loss event data in charts and offering insights on future risk reduction.”

The NVQ is best suited to people who are already carrying out meaningful health and safety responsibilities at work.

This may include health and safety managers, advisers, officers, consultants, safety engineers, coordinators or managers who have significant responsibility for health and safety.

You do not necessarily need “Health and Safety” in your job title, but you do need enough responsibility and access to workplace evidence to meet the qualification requirements.

If you are unsure whether your current role is suitable, contact us and we can look at your experience before you commit.

There are no formal academic entry requirements such as A-levels or a previous NEBOSH qualification.

However, this is not really a qualification for somebody with no health and safety experience.

Because the NVQ is competence based, you need to be working in a role where you can demonstrate the knowledge, skills and activities required by the qualification.

Before you start with SM Safety Training, we will look at your current role, responsibilities and experience to make sure the qualification is suitable for you.

You need access to a real workplace where you can produce enough evidence to demonstrate your competence.

That does not mean your job title has to be Health and Safety Manager. What matters is what you actually do.

For example, you may already be involved in risk assessments, audits, incident investigations, policy development, training, monitoring or managing health and safety arrangements.

If you are not sure whether your role gives you enough evidence, speak to us before enrolling.

No. There are no traditional written exams.

The qualification is assessed through a portfolio of evidence showing that you meet the required learning outcomes and assessment criteria.

Evidence can include workplace documents, reports, professional discussions, witness testimony, questioning and other suitable methods.

This is one of the reasons the NVQ works particularly well for experienced health and safety professionals who would rather demonstrate what they can do in practice.

A lot of your evidence may already exist within your everyday work.

Depending on your role, examples could include:

• Risk assessments
• Health and safety policies
• Audit and inspection reports
• Accident and incident investigations
• Meeting minutes
• Training and competence records
• Health and safety communications
• Emergency arrangements
• Monitoring reports
• Management reviews
• CPD records
• Workplace projects
• Witness statements

Your assessor will help you understand what evidence is useful and which assessment criteria it can support.

You are not expected to work all of this out on your own.

Yes, where it is appropriate.

A good piece of workplace evidence may demonstrate more than one area of competence.

For example, a workplace project could potentially provide evidence around communication, risk management, monitoring and consultation.

Your assessor will help you identify where evidence can be cross-referenced so you are not unnecessarily producing the same information more than once.

The NVQ is assessed gradually as you work through your portfolio.

You submit evidence to your assessor, who reviews it against the relevant assessment criteria.

If something needs further explanation or additional evidence, your assessor will provide feedback and tell you what is required.

Once you have completed all of the required units, your portfolio goes through the appropriate quality-assurance process before the qualification is claimed through ProQual.

It does not mean you have failed.

It usually just means your assessor needs a little more evidence or explanation before they can confirm that the assessment criterion has been achieved.

You might be asked to provide another document, add more detail, answer a question or take part in a professional discussion.
That is a normal part of completing an NVQ.

At SM Safety Training, we give you feedback as you progress so you know what needs to be done next.

There are 10 mandatory units to complete.

They cover areas including:

• Promoting a positive health and safety culture
• Developing and implementing health and safety policy
• Developing effective health and safety communication systems
• Developing individual and organisational health and safety competence
• Identifying, assessing and controlling health and safety risks
• Developing proactive monitoring systems
• Developing reactive monitoring systems
• Developing emergency response systems and procedures
• Developing health and safety review systems
• Maintaining knowledge of improvements that influence health and safety practice

These units are designed to reflect the type of responsibilities expected of an experienced health and safety professional.

At SM Safety Training, the programme is normally completed over around 12 to 18 months.

Some learners progress more quickly, while others need longer.

Your completion time will depend on your experience, how much evidence you already have, your workplace responsibilities and the amount of time you can commit to your portfolio.

There is no benefit in rushing through it. The important thing is producing a portfolio that properly demonstrates your competence.

Yes. The qualification is designed to work around your job.

In fact, your workplace is where much of your evidence comes from.

You can continue working while developing your portfolio, and your assessor can support you remotely as you progress.

This makes the NVQ a flexible option for people balancing study with work, family commitments or other responsibilities.

A professional discussion is a structured conversation between you and your assessor.

It gives you the opportunity to explain your knowledge, decisions and experience in more detail.

Sometimes a workplace document shows what you did, but it doesn’t explain why you made a particular decision. A professional discussion can help demonstrate that understanding.

It is a recognised assessment method and can be used alongside your other workplace evidence.

Witness testimony is a statement from somebody who has seen you carry out relevant activities at work.

A suitable witness might be your manager, a senior colleague or another competent professional who genuinely understands the work you have completed.

The witness should be able to confirm what they have personally seen you do.

Your assessor will explain when witness testimony is appropriate and what information needs to be included.

The Level 6 NVQ sits at Level 6 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework.

That is the same qualification framework level as a bachelor’s degree, but the NVQ itself is not a university degree.

The main difference is the way it is achieved. A degree is generally academic, whereas the NVQ is vocational and based on demonstrating your competence in the workplace.

For somebody who already has significant health and safety experience, the work-based approach can be a very practical route.

Yes, the qualification can form part of the route towards Certified Membership of IOSH.

IOSH recognises appropriate Level 6 health and safety qualifications as part of the academic requirement for Certified Membership.

However, completing the NVQ does not automatically make you CertIOSH. IOSH also has requirements around professional experience and continuing professional development.

You can check the latest requirements on the IOSH Certified Membership page and search for recognised qualifications through the IOSH qualification directory.

The biggest difference is the way you learn and are assessed.

The NVQ is work based. You demonstrate your competence through workplace evidence, professional discussion and other assessment methods.

The NEBOSH Diploma follows a more academic learning and assessment route.

Neither option is automatically better.

If you already have plenty of practical health and safety experience and suitable workplace evidence, the NVQ may suit you very well.

If you prefer a more structured academic learning route, another Level 6 qualification may be more suitable.

If you are unsure, contact SM Safety Training and we can talk through the options with you.

Eligible Armed Forces personnel may be able to use ELCAS funding towards the Level 6 NVQ, subject to the current Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme rules and approval of the individual claim.

If you are serving, preparing to leave the Armed Forces or are an eligible veteran, you can find more information on our ELCAS training page.

Speak to us before making your claim so we can provide the correct course information.

There is no single examination day or results date.

Your evidence is assessed as you progress through the qualification.

Once you have completed all of the required units and assessment criteria, your portfolio goes through the relevant quality-assurance process.

When everything has been successfully completed and approved, the qualification is claimed through ProQual and your certificate is issued.

You can also find ProQual’s certificate verification service here.

With an NVQ, your relationship with your assessor is important because you are likely to work together for several months.

At SM Safety Training, you will receive support throughout the programme, including:

• An initial assessment and induction
• A dedicated assessor
• An individual assessment plan
• One-to-one guidance
• Feedback on your evidence
• Professional discussions where required
• Help understanding the assessment criteria
• Support organising and developing your portfolio

We want the process to be clear and manageable rather than leaving you wondering what you are supposed to submit next.

If you would like to discuss your experience before enrolling, contact SM Safety Training.