As a specialist Awarding Organisation working with the Glass Industry for twenty years, GQA written qualifications have always been a guaranteed way to prove your competence in Automotive Glazing, now there is a way to prove you have kept your skills and knowledge up to date: not only will this give your customers peace of mind it will also meet the requirements of PAS 125 for proof of current competence.
GQA introduced the Q-Card over 3 years ago, a photo ID card that is a portable proof of qualification achievement; this is in addition to the traditional NVQ Certificate all GQA Achievers receive. The Q-Card holder can clearly prove they have the skills and knowledge to carry out their job to a nationally recognised standard.
Achieving one of the GQA Qualifications available to the Automotive Glazing and Windscreen Repair qualifications will automatically entitle the achiever to apply for the GQA Q-Card, and while a qualification is “for life”, PAS 125 and many customers demand the proof of current competence.
PAS 125 requires anyone replacing glass in a bodyshop environment to have a formal qualification in Automotive Glazing achieved no more than 3 years ago: the new QCF NVQ qualifications written by GQA are the only ones recognised by PAS 125. The GQA Q-Card has a “lifespan” of 3 years, and there is now a way to keep your competence and skills re-assessed against nationally recognised standards without going back through the entire NVQ again.
GQA has worked with some of the major names and independent companies in the Automotive Glazing Industry to create a new qualification: The GQA Level 3 Award for Continued Competence in Automotive Glazing, a nationally recognised qualification that will test the skills and knowledge against current industry developments and needs.
The Q-Card has been well received and adopted by Automotive Glazing companies large and small: Autowindscreens and National Mobile Windscreens are just 2 of the major players in the Automotive Glazing Industry who have the Q-Card for all of their achievers and the introduction of the Continued Competence qualification is seen as a real positive step forward.
Chris Bonsall, Autowindscreens Technical and Training Manager said” I look forward to using the latest qualifications from GQA to help develop our Technicians and in turn secure additional contracts from customers. We are particularly pleased to see the introduction of a qualification for Windscreen Repair specialists and have recently registered our first Technician on this qualification The Q-card is now firmly established and recognised by our customers and coveted by our Technicians”
Denis Reed, National Mobile Windscreens Compliance Manager “We have been working with GQA qualifications for our Engineers for some years now, and when GQA advised us of this new qualification I saw it as a natural addition to our commitment to having qualified people. The GQA Q-Card is now known and recognised as proof of competence”
GQA has Centres approved to deliver Automotive Glazing and Windscreen Repair qualifications across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so for more details please contact GQA on 01142 720033 or email info@gqaqualifications.com
