Advice and Guidance Courses

About our Advice and Guidance Courses

Our advice and guidance qualifications provide learners with the skills, knowledge and understanding to work in advice and guidance roles. You will cover interacting with clients, legislation, operating within networks, managing caseloads and your CPD. These qualifications are suitable for career advisers, guidance workers, and anyone working in a role that involves providing advice and guidance to clients.

Who Should Enrol?

This course is ideal for career advisers, guidance workers, Connexions personal advisers, and anyone working in a role that involves providing advice and guidance to clients. You will need access to a workplace where you can demonstrate your skills in a real environment.

Course Details

• Level 3
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  Level 3 Award in Information, Advice or Guidance (RQF)

  The Level 3 Award in Information, Advice or Guidance is aimed at providing learners with an understanding of the role and responsibilities of working where advice is provided. This includes the skills of negotiation, communication, wider skills, networking to meet needs.

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• Level 3
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  Level 3 Certificate in Information, Advice or Guidance (RQF)

  This qualification is aimed at practitioners who provide information, advice or guidance in a professional capacity. The course will explore, the skills, roles and responsibilities required to be an effective practitioner.

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• Level 3
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  Level 3 NVQ Certificate in Advice and Guidance (RQF)

  The Level 3 NVQ Certificate in Advice and Guidance is for candidates who provide advice and guidance to individuals who are making decisions about their options for future training, education or employment. The qualification is suitable for career advisors and those supporting the personal development of employees.

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• Level 4
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  Level 4 NVQ Diploma in Advice and Guidance (RQF)

  The Level 4 NVQ Diploma in Advice and Guidance provides candidates with the skills, knowledge and understanding to work in advice and guidance. The mandatory units cover interacting with clients, legislation and procedures, operating within networks, managing their personal case load and evaluate and developing their own contribution to the service.

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Comparing the Four Advice and Guidance Qualifications

Qualification	Price	Credits	Type	Requires access to clients	Duration
Level 3 Award in Information, Advice or Guidance	£350	6	Award (knowledge and competence-based)	No	3 to 8 weeks
Level 3 Certificate in Information, Advice or Guidance	£450	12	Certificate (knowledge and competence-based)	No	4 to 12 weeks
Level 3 NVQ Certificate in Advice and Guidance	£595	9	NVQ (competence-based)	Yes	3 to 6 months
Level 4 NVQ Diploma in Advice and Guidance	£795	17	NVQ (competence-based)	Yes	4 to 12 weeks

The Award and Certificate are knowledge-based qualifications open to anyone working towards an advice and guidance role. The two NVQs are competence-based and require you to already be working in an advice and guidance role with access to clients, since you're assessed on your actual practice rather than just your knowledge.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between the Award, the Certificate, and the two NVQs?

The Level 3 Award and Level 3 Certificate are knowledge-based qualifications, they cover the theory of information, advice and guidance work without assessing you in a live client-facing role, so they suit people working towards a role as well as those already in one. The Level 3 NVQ Certificate and Level 4 NVQ Diploma are competence-based, assessed through your actual work with clients, so both require you to already be working in an advice and guidance role with access to clients.

Do I need the Level 3 Award before the Level 3 Certificate or either NVQ?

No, none of the four qualifications lists a previous award as an entry requirement, each one has its own separate entry criteria. Which one to start with depends on your current role and experience: the Award and Certificate are the more accessible starting points if you're not yet practising, while the NVQs suit those already working with clients.

Is the Level 4 NVQ Diploma a step up from the Level 3 NVQ Certificate?

In level and scope, yes, it carries more credits and covers a broader range of practice. It doesn't require you to hold the Level 3 NVQ Certificate first, but it does require you to already be working in an advice and guidance environment with access to clients, the same practical grounding the Level 3 NVQ Certificate requires.

Which awarding body issues these qualifications?

We hold centre approval with NOCN, Innovate Awarding, and Biiab under our brand, Focus and Achieve (FAA). Contact us if you need to know exactly which body a specific qualification sits under.