We too found ourselves with no testing facility and no prior warning for the very same reason, an only just overdue invoice for very little.  We had to keep all the students waiting a further 45mins while we obtained promises of payment from our Finance Dept.  It is a shame they have the monopoly on these exams. I’m sure there wouldn’t be quite so much red tape if there were competitiors.

 

Lorraine Wood

Assessment & Accreditation Officer

Carshalton College

 

 

Also, City & Guilds GOLA exams are wholly acceptable to CSkills for their Diplomas, including the health & safety units, but not for their CSCS card.

I deal with Prometric for their IIBT and for the usual IT professionals exams and they are a total pain. They have onerous admin and security rules, their software will not sit happily with other systems, needs a server all to itself and to cap it all I have to take an exam every year just to have the privilege of ploughing through their over the top systems each time we run a test.

I think the point where public sector exams work meets private sector providers is always going to be difficult. I understand why Prometric systems are so security conscious as they are designed to deliver exams through private testing facilities. However, there is no concession made to the high levels of data and candidate security we run as FE Colleges. There just seems to be automatic mistrust and it is disappointing that UK based awarding bodies decide on the cheap option of buying in online testing systems designed for a totally different market and then leave the Colleges to manage the mess.

On another point I’m sick of getting lawyers letters from CSkills and having our online facility shut down for slightly late, low value invoices. I believe this CSkills systems have  improved but a lot of it is veneer when it comes to handling customers who spend hundreds of thousands each year.

 

Rant over, back to results inputting ;-)

 

Regards

 

Matthew Fletcher

Examinations Manager

College of North West London

Willesden Centre

Dudden Hill Lane

London

NW10 2XD

 

Tel: 020 8208 5083

Fax: 020 8208 5151

email: [log in to unmask]

 

 

 

Couldn’t have put it better myself. Do they think we run “mickey mouse” exams for other awarding bodies?

 

 

 

Couldn’t agree more with the lack of consideration from IIBT to centres in bringing this in….

 

Issues for us:

 

·         The precedent that this is setting amongst awarding bodies, not to accept the security arrangements of centres.

·         Requirement to have webcam drivers installed on many single PC’s around the college - as we use one of possibly fifteen rooms for the tests.

·         The increased overhead - in allowing invigilators roughly 3 to 5mins per person for photo admin time to each session. Nearly ½ hour to 45 mins extra invigilation costs per session???? + The costs of having camera’s for each site and a spare. For us possibly 6@£70.

·         Unnecessary duplication of process through lack of acknowledgement of centres who do already photograph learners as part of their enrolment systems.

·         Increased possibility of technical failure.

 

Is there enough feeling on this matter to write a combined letter of complaint ?

 

Regards

Kevin Francis

 

 

 

 

This is the info I got from Daniel Cooper at Cskills:

 

“We are bringing the private centre up to standard with the fixed public centres around the country. There have been increasing numbers of fraud and we are now going to be taking an image of the candidates before they take the test so we can confirm that it is the same person who then applies for the card.

 

You’ll only need the one web-cam. The image capture is a separate process. What should happen is that they will sit down in front of the machine with the web-cam enter there login’s for the photo to be allocated against and have there photo taken. They would then go to there testing machine and login as they do know to take there test. This way all your candidates have there photos taken before they start there test.”

 

 

Janice Tweed

Examinations Manager

West Suffolk College

 

 

 

 

Hi

 

We have been running these tests for the last couple of years.  The annual £500 fee was one thing but the cameras seems totally over the top – particularly as we are a College and don’t take external candidates.  They are also asking for 2mb quality cameras which are about £70 for the cheapest ones!  We only use 1.3mb for our College ID cards and they are much cheaper and perfectly good. 

 

I am still trying to get hold of Chris Little again to see if they will at least allow lesser spec cameras. It might help if other centres try to put pressure on too to see if anything can be done.

 

Sue Rich

Information Services Manager

Bedford College

01234 239360

 

 

Hello

 

Is anybody renewing their contract to run the IIBT Health & Safety online tests on site?  We’ve been running these for our students since 2006 with few problems but with the new contract not only are Construction Skills asking for a £500 annual fee but we have to have webcams so they can take a photo of candidates before they take the test! 

 

Our teaching staff are insisting we renew the contract – I just wondered if any of you are renewing.

 

Janice Tweed

Examinations Manager

West Suffolk College

 

01284 716350

 

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